Netherlands has officially apologized to its former colony of Indonesia for violence

AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands has officially apologized to its former colony of Indonesia for violence and brutality from 1945 to 1949 during the archipelago's War of Independence.

“Today, on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands, I would like to apologize to the Indonesian people for the systematic and extreme violence on the part of the Dutch side in those years,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said yesterday.

Earlier, the result of a long-term study of the conflict, conducted by Dutch and Indonesian scientists, was published.

Dutch forces are responsible for the burning of entire villages, mass arrests, torture, execution and murder of civilians - often done with the tacit support of the government in The Hague.

"The study shows that the vast majority of those responsible on the Dutch side - politicians, officers, civil servants, judges and others - knew or could have known about the systematic use of extreme violence," the scientists say.

“There was a collective willingness to endure, justify and cover it up and let it go unpunished. All this was done in the name of a higher goal: to win the war.”

The investigation shatters the long-standing official position of the Dutch government that there were only isolated instances of excessive violence by Dutch troops in that war. Rutte deplored that "various previous Dutch governments turned a blind eye to this".

“We also apologize to all the people living in the Netherlands who had to live with the consequences of the colonial war in Indonesia, including war veterans who behaved appropriately,” he added.

This is not the first time the Netherlands has apologized to Indonesia. King Willem-Alexander officially apologized for the "excessive violence" during the war during a 2020 visit to the former colony. But for the first time, the Dutch authorities officially acknowledged that a targeted campaign of violence was being waged at the time.

Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands for over 300 years. During World War II, today's island nation was occupied by Japan. In 1945, Indonesia declared itself independent. The Dutch then sent troops to regain control, but without success, they left the region in 1949.