Study says Dutch troops used 'extreme' violence in Indonesia

Source: Associated Press

Study says Dutch troops used ‘extreme’ violence in Indonesia

By MIKE CORDER
February 17, 2022

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch troops used “extreme violence” — often deliberately — during Indonesia’s 1940s war for independence, and military leaders and politicians in the Netherlands largely ignored the excesses, a long-running research project concluded in findings published Thursday.

The 4 1/2-year investigation by experts from three historical research institutes contradicts the Dutch government’s long-held view that the country’s troops engaged in extreme violence only sporadically as they battled pro-independence forces in what became Indonesia.

In a statement, the researchers said the sources they consulted “show that the use of extreme violence by the Dutch armed forces was not only widespread, but often deliberate, too. It was condoned at every level: political, military and legal.”

The researchers said it was not possible to give exact numbers of crimes and victims.

In 2013, the Dutch government apologized for some atrocities committed by its forces between 1945, when Indonesia declared its independence from Dutch colonial rule, and 1949, when the Netherlands finally recognized Indonesia’s independence.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/europe-netherlands-mark-rutte-847d84b6b8a38b286e739713386c7635