Dutch PM apologises for Moluccan soldiers’ mistreatment after Indonesian independence

The Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten , has formally apologised for the “heartless” mistreatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers who fought for the Dutch colonial army during Indonesia’s struggle for independence. About 12,500 men from a group of Indonesian islands who served in the Royal Dutch East Indies army came with their families to the Netherlands in 1951, many having been given no choice. They thought it would be a temporary evacuation after Indonesia had won independence. They hoped for their own Moluccan republic after a six-month stay but instead they were involuntarily discharged, banned from work and voting, and housed in places such as the former Nazi transit camp Westerbork. A republic never came and some never unpacked their suitcases. At the unveiling ceremony for a crowdfunded national monument on the harbourside in Rotterdam, where their last boat arrived, Jetten said: “For their heartless and dishonourable discharge as soldiers, for their inadequate reception and housing, for being unseen and abandoned, for the unfulfilled longing for home, for the grief and pain in so many Moluccan families. “For this, I offer apologies today on behalf of the Dutch government. It is not only high time, but it is also necessary if we want to move forward.” Rob Jetten said his apology was ‘necessary if we want to move forward’. …