Dutch king apologises for colonial killings in Indonesia

JAKARTA: King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands has apologised for his country’s aggression during its colonial rule of Indonesia and formally recognised the Southeast Asian nation’s independence date, on his first state visit to the former Dutch colony.

The king’s apology was conveyed after he and Queen Maxima were hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife, Iriana, at an official ceremony in the ornate colonial-style presidential palace in Bogor, just outside the capital, Jakarta.

The Netherlands did not initially apologise for its 350 years of colonial rule and aggression until 2013, when the Dutch ambassador expressed remorse for a series of massacres carried out by the Dutch military to crush resistance against colonial rule in Java and Sulawesi islands after Indonesia’s 1945 declaration of independence. That apology came only after the victims’ widows took the Dutch government to court.

At a joint news conference with Widodo on Tuesday, the king said: “In line with the previous statement by my government, I would like to express my regret and apologise here for the excessive violence on the part of the Dutch in those years. I do so with full awareness that the pain and sorrow of the affected families will be felt for generations.”

Indonesia declared its independence from Dutch colonial rule on August 17, 1945, but the Netherlands refused to acknowledge it and fought unsuccessfully to maintain control of the lucrative Asian outpost. It finally recognised the country as an independent nation in December 1949.

Indonesian authorities claim some 40,000 people were killed during the fighting, while most Dutch historians estimate the dead at about 1,500.

The king and queen started their busy day on Tuesday by laying a wreath at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery to honour Indonesia’s war dead, especially those who fell during the War of Independence. In the afternoon, the royal couple laid a wreath at Menteng Pulo Cemetery, the resting place of almost 4,300 Dutch soldiers who died during the Second World War and the independence war.

The king and Widodo witnessed the signing of agreements for economic partnership in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, coastal protection and the maritime industry.

The Dutch royal couple are scheduled to meet the Sultan of Yogyakarta on Wednesday (today). On Thursday, the king and queen will visit Lake Toba in North Sumatra province, one of Indonesia’s “10 new Balis”, an ambitious plan to boost tourism and diversify Southeast Asia’s largest economy. They will also visit Sebangau National Park on Borneo island on Thursday.