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E-book Beyond the Pale : Dutch Extreme Violence in the Indonesian War of Independence, 1945-1949

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Penilaian

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Between 1945 and 1949, Indonesia defended its recently declared indepen-dence, and the Netherlands waged its last major colonial war.1 Much is now known about this war, but a great deal has also remained unclear or con-tested. At the end of 2016, the second Rutte cabinet decided to finance a broad-based study – conducted by the kit lv, the nimh and niod2 – on the Dutch military conduct during this conflict.3 This book presents the conclu-sions of that study. In this chapter, the background, guiding principles and methodolog y of the study will be explained. On 17 August 1945, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the Repu-blic of Indonesia. Their proclamation of independence came two days after the Japanese capitulation, which had brought an end to the Second World War and paved the way for the departure of the Japanese occupation forces from Indonesia. The Japanese occupation, which had lasted three and a half years, had effectively brought an end to the Dutch East Indies in 1942. The Dutch government refused to accept Sukarno and Hatta’s proclamation of independence and initially sought to recolonize the archipelago – that is, to restore its colonial authority. From 1946, Dutch policy was geared towards a process of decolonization under the auspices of the Dutch government. This was made conditional upon a restoration of ‘calm and order’ – or, as a later wording put it, ‘order and peace’ – that had to be enforced by military means. It was for this reason that this process – which from the Dutch per-spective was concluded on 27 December 1949 with the transfer of sovereign-ty – was characterized by not only protracted negotiations, but also bitter warfare. The war took a very unequal toll, as demonstrated by the fatalities documented by the Dutch armed forces: approximately 5,300 deaths on the Dutch side, of which half were the result of accidents or disease, compared to possibly 100,000 soldiers and civilians killed on the Indonesian side as a result of Dutch violence.4The Dutch authorities justified the war as necessary for restoring calm and order. Hidden behind this justification were economic and geopolit-ical interests as well as a colonial sense of obligation to help the colony in its development. More specifically, the Republic was portrayed as nothing more than a Japanese fabrication, while the restoration of order was alleg-edly focused primarily on protecting the European population – and other groups affiliated with the colonial regime – from the revolutionary violence. By contrast, the Indonesian nationalists saw the return of the Dutch mili-tary and colonial administration as an act of aggression and an attempt to restore the colonial order. This remains the leading view in Indonesia, a view that comes in many variations. This period is seen by Indonesians as a Dutch attempt to ‘reoccupy’ and ‘recolonize’ the archipelago, and by the same to-ken as the ‘defence of our independence.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

959.802 AMS b

Penerbit

Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press B.V., 2022

Deskripsi Fisik

594 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

789048557172

Klasifikasi

959.802

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

History of Indonesia at Ducth Period

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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