Justice for Victims of the Rawagede Massacre

After Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces at the end of the World War II, on 17 August 1945, people of the former Dutch colony in South East Asia declared the independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

In spite of this fact, the Dutch Armed Forces wanted to re-conquer said former colony, for which purpose they tried every efforts, including mass murder of hundreds even thousands of Indonesian people.

One of the bloodiest massacre took place on 9 December 1947 in Rawagede (now called Balongsari) a village located between Karawang and Bekasi, West Java, where the Dutch killed 431 innocent people.

In the past I would think that the Rawagede Massacre would remain a mystery, and those responsible would not be touched by the laws, just like the Westerling Massacre in Sulawesi, or victims of Nazi massacre in Europe. Especially that the Indonesian government doesn't seem to support this action.

That's why I was pessimistic when I read that 10 widows of the victims of the Rawagede Massacre initiated legal action against the Netherlands on 10 September 2008.

But thank God, I was very happy when I read on The Jakarta Globe and the blog of Dutch blogger Colson that last Wednesday, 14 September, a Dutch Court has ruled that the Netherlands must pay compensation to seven of the widows (the other three widows died while waiting for the verdict).

I hope this success would inspire the families of victims of other mysterious killings, such as people who died after the 30 September 1965 tragedy, and/or Trisakti University students and others who were killed after the Reformasi on May 1998, and/or the killing of Munir, to initiate legal actions against anyone allegedly responsible for those killings.

Of course it would not be easy considering that it has been very long time, therefore witnesses and/or evidences might not be available anymore, but who knows ?

Daniel Sahuleka

There were five Dutch musicians that I have known and liked, i.e Blue Diamonds,  Shocking Blue,  Focus, Golden Earrings, and Daniel Sahuleka.

I am not sure about the first four musicians, but I'm sure that Daniel Sahuleka is still active singing and playing music.

Last Thursday night, he appeared on TVOne's one hour show singing his hits among others "Don't Sleep Away the Night" and "You make my world so Colorful"  almost the same way he did around 30 years ago. Frankly speaking, I was mesmerized. And from the look on faces of the audiences, including Daniel's wife Alice, I can tell they all felt the same way too.

In the interview, a.o with senior singer Bob Tutupoli, Daniel said in fluent Bahasa Indonesia, that he kept coming back here because he has many fans, many relatives and he like Indonesia. This is obvious, because he was born in Semarang, Central Java, on 6 December 1950, and his parents originated from the Province of Maluku, although later on he became a Dutch citizen.

Watching Daniel on TV, reminded me that Indonesia has friends in the Netherlands, including those originating from the islands of Maluku. I personally know this because my late brother's ex-wife Cherry is living there with her daughter Kemilau and relatives. And my other niece got a Law Master degree there. Besides, I also have friends there including blogger Colson, who until now always gave positive opinions about Indonesia.

Photo : Courtesy of the official website of Daniel Sahuleka

National Heroes Day

On 10 November 1945 the army and militia of newly independent Republic of Indonesia fought a fierce battle in Surabaya, East Java, against the British military forces who tried to help the Dutch re-conquer its former South East Asian colony.

Although the Indonesian side suffered military defeat and loose many men & weapons, the battle has strengthened the new nation’s determination for independence and garnered international attention on Indonesia.

For the Dutch, it removed any doubt that Indonesia was not a gang of collaborators that has no popular support. It also had the effect of convincing Britain that wisdom laid on the side of neutrality in Indonesia’s struggle for independence.

Considering the above mentioned facts, every 10 November has been commemorated as Indonesia’s National Heroes Day.