Brief summary:
During the independence war (1945-1949) the Dutch army carried out two so-called "police actions", efforts to wipe out the Indonesian army and rebellion groups. Several books have been published, none of which has been decisive with regard to the claims that war crimes and excessive violence have structurally taken place. As yet the Dutch government is reluctant to take responsibility, mainly with an eye to possible claims for compensation. In 2016 Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders has promised "a quick but careful investigation".
For decades rumours have been going around about summary executions during the decolonization war (1945-1949) in South Sulawesi. These exectutions seemed to have been condoned by the Dutch Government as a measure of repression. In August 2012 an interview was broadcasted by Dutch television with captain Westerling on his war crimes in South Sulawesi. He is quite honest about his approach. A summary in Dutch is included in De Volkskrant .An Indonesian translation is provided by Historia Online.
Recently photos have surfaced in the Netherlands that allegedly show summary executions in the Netherlands Indies, during the years 1947-1949. Investigations by the Dutch authorities is ongoing. We refer to the Dutch language article from De Volkskrant, 10 July 2012.
In 2016 an in-depth historical investigation has been published on the excessive use of violence during the independence war in Indonesia by Dutch military, and the line of command at the time: Remy Limpach: De Brandende Kampongs van Generaal Spoor (The burning kampongs of General Spoor). A summary will follow shortly.
© Album Jacobus R.. Drie Indonesiërs worden beschoten. (Three Indonesians being shot at)
© Album Jacobus R.. Doden in een greppel, twee Nederlandse soldaten kijken toe (Dead bodies in a ditch, two Dutch soldiers are standing by).
Well-known are the executions in the Javanese village Rawagedeh and in South Sulawesi. Relatives of the victims in Rawagedeh have been granted a compensation of € 20,000. Other procedures are still to follow.
In NRC-Handelsblad Martha Meijer has also stressed the importance of investigations in order to show that human rights violations cannot go unpunished: Armeense genocide moet een waarschuwing zijn
by Martha Meijer | NRC Handelsblad | 2 juli 2012 | pagina 14 - 15
Joost van der Vaart wijst ons terecht op de actualiteit van het in 1933 verschenen boek van Franz Werfel over de Armeense genocide: Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh (NRC Handelsblad, 25 juni). Er is nog een andere kippevel veroorzakende link tussen deze genocide en de Holocaust. Op 22 augustus 1939 zei Adolf Hitler: „Wie spreekt er vandaag de dag nog over de vernietiging van de Armeniërs?” Hij zei dit om de moord op Poolse mannen, vrouwen en kinderen te beargumenteren. Hitlers impliciete conclusie: doordat de Armeense genocide nooit is bestraft, ga ik ervan uit dat ook ik ongestraft te werk kan gaan door, zoals hij sprak, „onbarmhartig en zonder medelijden de Polen de dood in te sturen”.
Decennia na dato is het onbestraft blijven van mensenrechtenschendingen niet alleen onrechtvaardig tegenover de slachtoffers en hun nabestaanden, maar ook een blanco cheque voor volgende daders. Zij nemen die straffeloosheid immers als voorbeeld. Dit geldt voor Turkije en Armenië en Argentinië en Chili, maar ook voor de schendingen die Nederlanders hebben begaan in Indonesië tussen 1945 en 1949.
Sources for Dutch readers:
