The Government of the Netherlands apologized this Sunday to the Moluccan community for the mistreatment meted out to the first generation (about 12,500 people) brought to Europe 75 years ago with the promise that they would obtain an Independent Republic of the Moluccas. Many Moluccan soldiers fought on the Dutch side during the Indonesian war of independence (1945-1949), and were prohibited from returning to their homeland – the Moluccas Islands, in the Indonesian archipelago – for being considered traitors to the homeland. , and without there being an integration policy, took advantage this Sunday of the inauguration in Rotterdam of a national monument in his honor to make a statement that is considered historic.
The monument has been erected at the Lloydkade dock, in the port of Rotterdam, one of the places where the ships with the Moluccan families who arrived in 1951 docked. There, Jetten asked for forgiveness with words that had a certain breath of prayer. He said that he did so “because of the ruthless and dishonorable dismissal of the military, because of poor reception and accommodation, because they were ignored and abandoned.” And he added: “For the unsatisfied longing to return home, for the sadness and pain in so many Moluccan families, for all of this I apologize today on behalf of the Dutch Government.”
Today, some 70,000 citizens of Moluccan origin live in the Netherlands, according to the Central Statistics Office, and the prime minister has stressed the importance of apologizing now while representatives of the first generation are still alive. “A historical injustice has been inflicted on them, which has not been sufficiently recognized and expressed,” he declared.
The 19th century Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, were colonies valued for their spices, especially nutmeg, cloves and Moluccan pepper. The exploitation and occupation ended with the Japanese invasion during World War II. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno declared the independence of the archipelago and was named president of the Republic of Indonesia. Despite being in the midst of the European post-war, the Netherlands tried to regain control, giving rise to an armed conflict that was only resolved in 1949 with Dutch recognition of Indonesia.
During the war of independence, the Moluccan soldiers of the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (NKIL, in its Dutch acronym) fought on several occasions against groups from their same community that were fighting on the side of the Republic of Indonesia. When the transfer of sovereignty to the new republic took place in December 1949, there were more than 6,000 KNIL soldiers left without demobilizing.
In 1950, the Republic of South Moluccas was unilaterally proclaimed, rejected by the Indonesian Government. At that time, the Netherlands decided to transfer the military and their families to Europe.
Once they landed in the Netherlands, these soldiers were discharged from the army. To return to Indonesia they were required to be civilians. Depriving them of military status was considered a betrayal by the Moluccans, who hoped that the Dutch Government would mediate so that they could create an independent republic. “They planned to come temporarily and hoped for a quick return,” Jetten stressed during this Sunday’s tribute. Hope faded as time passed, “and left them uprooted and homeless.”
in Netherlands. They took more than 50 people hostage and the assault ended with two hostages and six kidnappers dead in an operation by anti-terrorist special forces.
The dream of return was completely shattered as the political and economic interest of the Dutch Government in maintaining a viable relationship with Indonesia took precedence. “There has been a feeling of not being at home,” the prime minister said this Sunday. “But you can be seen,” he stressed.
