World

Dutch PM apologises to Indonesia

By AAP Newswire

Feb 18, 2022

A file photo of Mark Rutte — The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte has apologised to Indonesia for actions after WWII. -EPA

The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte has apologised to Indonesia for excessive violence used by the Dutch military during the country's 1945-1949 War of Independence.

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At a news conference in Brussels, Rutte said his government accepted the full findings of a major historical review that found Dutch violence was systematic, excessive, and unethical as it sought to regain control of its former colony after World War II.

The review was funded by the Dutch government in 2017 and conducted by academics and experts from both countries.

That the Netherlands was found to have used excessive force as it fought an increasing hopeless war to regain control over its former colony in the period immediately following World War II does not come as a surprise more than 70 years later.

The report also notes that Indonesian forces also used "intense" violence as they waged a guerrilla war and initially targeted Indo-Dutch and Moluccan minority groups.

However the Dutch government has never before fully examined or acknowledged the scope of its responsibility.

In 2013 the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia issued an apology for summary executions, and during a visit in 2020, King Willem-Alexander made a surprise apology for "excessive violence" during the conflict.

In October 2020, the Dutch government said it would offer 5000 euros ($A7925) compensation to children of Indonesians who had been executed during the conflict, after a 2013 settlement with some widows.