Abbott stresses ‘respect for Indonesian sovereignty’

Australian PM says two countries ‘are determined to end scourge’ of people-smuggling after Jakarta talks

After weeks of escalating tensions over his hardline “stop the boats” policies, Tony Abbott’s first official visit as prime minister to Jakarta on Monday was marked by a “collegial” tone.

Speaking with Indonesia’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the state palace, Abbott dropped talk of turning the boats around, instead emphasising his commitment to respecting the sovereignty of Australia’s northern neighbour.

Abbott said he had a frank conversation about issues of sovereignty – including the restive province of West Papua – and the talks were “candid, constructive, and collegial”.

“Australia has total respect for Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Abbott, stressing a collaborative, approach to addressing the asylum seeker problem.

“We are resolved together united to tackle this problem and to beat it, on land and at sea, and at the borders of our countries.”

Abbott campaigned hard prior to his election on the promise that he could stop the flow of asylum seeker boats, but his policies to meet this pledge have been the subject of criticism and derision by Indonesian politicians.

Under the so-called Operation Sovereign Borders, Abbott has proposed turning asylum seeker boats around “when safe to do so”, as well as buying boats from Indonesian fishermen and offering them financial incentives for key information about people-smuggling operations.

The Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, had been reported as saying he rejected Abbott’s plans. However, after Monday’s meeting, Natalegawa was diplomatic about future co-operation.

Saying the leaked transcript of his conversation with the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, last week was “behind us”, Natalegawa said that mutual respect for sovereignty would underscore any future agreements on asylum seekers.

Greeted by an Indonesian marching band performing a brassy rendition of the Australian anthem on the palace lawn, Abbott emerged from his meeting with Yudhoyono championing a unified front to combat people smuggling.

“We are determined to end this scourge, which is not just an affront to our two countries but which has so often become a humanitarian disaster in our seas between our two countries,” he said.

Touching on the issue of asylum seekers, President Yudhoyono said that Australia and Indonesia were both “victims” of people smugglers, and that asylum seekers were both an economic and social burden.

Each year thousands of asylum seekers fleeing from countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar transit through Indonesia, where they pay people smugglers to ferry them to Australian territory.

Discussing other aspects of the bilateral relationship, Yudhoyono noted that trade between the two countries increased 700% from 2011-2012, and the countries have targeted bilateral trade to hit $15bn in the near future.

Abbott who is accompanied by Bishop, his trade and investment minister, Andrew Robb, and a delegation of Australian businessmen, also stressed the need for greater trade and investment ties.

Abbott praised Indonesia’s democratic transition and thriving economy, noting that in the past Australia had made economic policy mistakes. In an apparent reference to a Labor decision to end live cattle exports he said Australia should “never again take actions that would jeopardise the food supply”.

He continued to apologise for Labor policies at an official dinner in Jakarta later on. He said: “There have been times, I’m sorry to say, when Australia must have tried your patience, when we ‘put the sugar on the table’ for people smugglers, or cancelled the live cattle trade in panic at a TV programme.

“There have been times when all sides of Australian politics should have said less and done more.

“I am confident that these will soon seem like out-of-character aberrations and that the relationship will once more be one of no surprises, based on mutual trust, dependability and absolute respect for each other’s sovereignty under the Lombok treaty.”

As part of his Colombo plan – an initiative to encourage more Australians to study in Asia – Abbott also highlighted the need to strengthen people to people links, and encourage Australia’s best and brightest to fully participate in the Asian Century.

Envisaging continued strong ties between Indonesia and Australia, Abbott said the “best days” of their relationship lay ahead.

Source: The Guardian

An Educator’s Heroic Journey to Change Gender Relations in Papua

Esteemed mythologist Joseph Campbell is famous for breaking down “The Hero’s Journey,” a template by which all heroes — from Hercules to Harry Potter — follow the same pattern: the separation, the initiation and the return.

When Nabire, Papua-born Els Tieneke Rieke Katmo decided to earn her PhD in gender studies and HIV/AIDS at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, distance and separation were never factors, and the path seems more fluid and ultimately direct — but no less heroic.

After all, Els — a professor at the State University of Papua in Manokwari, West Papua — is from a remote part of Indonesia where walking three hours to school in the morning is par for the course.

It’s more than 4,000 kilometers from Nabire to Adelaide, but distance has done little to shake the confidence of a woman who has dedicated her life to gender issues and HIV awareness.

“Suddenly my neighbor passed away because of HIV,” the 38-year-old mother of two said. “Then one-by-one my relatives and friends started passing away. The biggest problem was people still believed these deaths were caused by black magic. A lack of education of the people around me pushed me to find out more about the issue, to help people around me.”

During her undergraduate dissertation in the same university where she has taught since 2009, Els stumbled upon a number of gender issues and overall lack of education leading to the spread of HIV. “I looked closely at the use of contraception by women and realized there was a big lack of knowledge about this, which is one of the major reasons behind the spread of HIV,” Els said.

Born to a forward-thinking father from Merauke in Papua, Els knew from a young age that she and her siblings were different. School attendance was mandatory. Men and women were equal. Els learned how to ride a motorbike and mend faulty electric devices while her brothers were taught how to cook.

Most recently Els, who earned her master’s degree in gender studies from the University of Indonesia, has tackled HIV among housewives in Manokwari.

“All the projects and research I’ve been involved in, have led me to the conclusion that not only education, but also the mentality about gender and HIV have to be changed,” Els said. “This pushed me to pursue a PhD focusing on gender, the sexuality of Papuan men and women and its relation to HIV and AIDS.”

Awarded a scholarship by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), now Els is ready to take her mission to the next level.

“I strongly believe knowledge is the most important element to survival,” Els said. “After I return to Papua, I’ll collaborate with local radio to produce a program about HIV. Also, I will start a project for the economic empowerment of women and kids with HIV. The most effective way to make people understand about the topic is by giving them examples based on daily life.”

Close friend and a master’s degree candidate at the University of Adelaide Zainah Rahmiati believes it’s her friend’s deep roots and unassuming attitude that has helped her make a lasting impact on the lives of men and women in Papua.

“Els is a great person, but at the same time she’s very humble,” Zainah said. “She has great ideas to make a change in society. Papua is remote and a lack of infrastructure makes it difficult for Els to implement her changes, but she never gives up. She is an inspiration for agents of change.”

A tireless advocate of education, Els firmly believes training and proper schooling is essential to understanding and stopping the spread of HIV in Papua.

Her passion led her, together with her best friend Maria Goretti, to establish a children’s library in Edera, a tiny village 10 hours by car from Merauke.

Most children in Edera, Maria explained, are 8 years old before they can read or write properly.

“In the village where we opened the library, if you can go to church or to school it is already a blessing, let alone gain access to quality books,” Maria said. “The idea of starting to provide books to kids and teenagers came after I saw in the school where I teach the low interest children have for reading. In the library the school books are very old, some were published in the ’70s.”

Marice Aun, 12, dropped out from school after third grade because her parents could not afford to pay the fees. Because of the low quality of education, she barely learned how to read.

“I fell in love with books because of the reading garden,” Marice said. “I’m so happy to be able to read colorful and cute books, they are interesting. I want to keep studying, and when I grow up I want to become a midwife.” A midwife who can help Els explain the dangers of HIV across Papua.

“I want the next generation of Papuans to have a better future, to be healthier, smarter and to believe in themselves,” Els said. Campbell would be impressed.

Source: The Jakarta Globe

UNODC and Norway: Working with Indonesia to protect Jayapura’s Cyclops Mountains

Indonesia is home to the world’s third largest tropical rain forest and 10 percent of global forest cover. This has enabled Indonesia to become a key timber supplier for the legal world market.

Mr. Stig Traavik, Norway’s Ambassador to Indonesia, recently visited Papua as part of the final evaluation of the project X14, “Countering Illegal Logging and the linkage between Forest Crime and Corruption in Indonesia”.

Funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the project focuses on law enforcement. It uses specialized training, performance standards and the development of a coordination network to build the capacity of law enforcement agencies and judicial officers. It also engages civil society to lend valuable local support to law enforcement efforts.

Accompanied by Mr. Troels Vester, UNODC Indonesia Country Manager, Mr. Traavik met Mr. Yeri F. Dien, Jayapura District Secretary, who explained why the Norwegian government’s attention to the management and protection of the Cyclops Mountains’ Nature Reserve, the X14 pilot project area, mattered.

“Norway’s support of this UNODC forest environmental protection project is very important for the people of Papua because Cyclops Nature Reserve is our main source of water and is also home to a wide variety of rare and unusual flora and fauna,” explained Mr. Dien.

The “Countering Illegal Logging” project successfully assisted the local government to finalize its Local Regulations of Jayapura District on Protection and Management of Cyclops.

The local government also formed a state budget-funded civilian task force to protect the Cyclops Conservation Area. In addition, the project successfully established a strong coordination network among the law enforcement agencies and judicial officers. It also engaged civil society to lend valuable local support to law enforcement efforts.

With the conclusion of the “Countering Illegal Logging” project, Mr. Vester explained UNODC’s next steps to preserve Indonesia’s forests and biodiversity: “UNODC in Indonesia is responding in several ways to assist Indonesia in preserving its forests. We are committed to a new regime to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), and preparing for a fair, equitable and transparent REDD+ architecture.”

Source: UNODC

Indonesia holds air interception simulation in Papua

The National Air Defence Command (Kohanudnas) held an unidentified aircraft interception simulation with two F 16 combat jets of Indonesia Air Force (TNI AU) at Mozes Kilangin Airport, Timika, Papua.

“Kohanudnas held an interception simulation with code name – 37th of Tutuka – as a climax of national air defence training operation,” said Timika Airbase Commander Lieutenant Colonel Untung Suropati in an interview with Antara on Wednesday (25/9).

He added that the simulation demonstrated an unidentified aircraft without permit infiltrating Indonesian airspace, which was intercepted by two F 16s.

TNI AU deployed a Boeing 737-200 Maritime Surveillance as the unidentified aircraft.

“After TNI AU received a report from Kohanudnas, they launched an F 16 combat jet to intercept the unidentified aircraft. The F 16 conducted visual identification and urged the aircraft to identify itself,” said Suropati.

When interceptor jets come across suspicious cases, they will force unidentified aircrafts to land at the nearest airport.

In the exercise, Boeing 737-200 was forced to land at Mozes Kilangin Airport and TNI AU combed out the aircraft and held the plane until they received the permit license.

“The officers then interrogated the pilot and crew members of the unidentified aircraft. If they do not have a valid license, they should wait until the license is issued,” said Suropati.

The simulation was operated by officers at Mozes Kilangin Airport after 12 p.m. local time when the air traffic was low.

The Boeing 737-200 flew from its airbase at The Fifth Air Squadron Ujung Pandang, while the two F 16s flew from Manua Air Base of Biak, Papua.

The Kohanudnas is holding simulations from Tuesday (September 24) to Thursday (September 26) at Mozes Kilangin Airport to mitigate the impact of air strikes on national vital objects.

“We cannot conduct the simulation above the national vital object of PT Freeport Indonesia and simulate the air exercise above Mozes Kilangin Airport,” Suropati said.

Kohanudnas deployed at least 100 Army (TNI AD) soldiers and several officers from Mozes Kilangin Airport as well as PT Freeport Indonesia.

Source: ANTARA News

OPM killed driver in Papua

A group of armed men of Free Papua Organization (OPM) shot a public transportation driver to dead in Puncak Jaya sub-district, Papua on Saturday.

Head of Public Division of Papua Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono told that the victim, identified as Ali Mangalik, 30, was shot in the head and died at the scene.

The shooting might have been done to disrupt security in Puncak Jaya, which has been stable in the past month, according Sulistyo.

“We continue to hunt down the shooters. When they’re arrested, they will be charged with criminal offences,” he said.

Saturday’s shooting is the second one this month, following the death of First Pte. Andri Candrayansyah, who was shot on September in Puncak Jaya.

Nine soldiers, six civilians and one medical worker have been killed in a series of shootings in Papua since February 2013.(*wpnn)

Timor Leste Establishes Relations with NTT

Deputy Foreign Minister of Timor Leste, Coustancis Pinto visited East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to establish trade cooperation between the two regions.

“We want to establish cooperation with NTT government,” Coustancis Pinto said yesterday. Most of the goods in Timor Leste come from Indonesia through Motaain border at Atambua, Belu Regency, NTT.

Timor Leste government has met with NTT Governor Frans Lebu Raya. The meeting was attended by Timor Leste officials, among them are Consulado RDTL for NTT Feliciano da Costa and National Director for Bilateral Relations, Markus da Costa.

Governor Frans Lebu Raya said NTT government welcomes the cooperation. Frans said Timor Leste citizens prefer to buy cement from Kupang since it is transported through land which makes the price cheaper. The needs for chickens can also be sent from NTT.

Source: Tempo.co

A Remote Education Plan in Papua

The Lippo Group has established a partnership with JSAT, Japan’s largest telecommunication satellite company, to build telecommunication networks in Papua in hopes of giving residents in the province’s remote areas better access to Internet and educational television programs.

Lippo Group chief executive James T. Riady said that education was the core solution to the various issues faced by the people of Papua and that the telecommunication network built by the partnership would provide basic infrastructure needed to boost access to education in the region.

“Indonesia has been independent for more than 65 years, yet there remains plenty of places that have yet to be touched by our national development efforts. As we can see, regions in Papua, especially remote areas such as Mamit and others, need infrastructure and attention in education,” James said during a visit to the Sekolah Lentera Harapan (SLH) in Sentani, Papua, last Tuesday.

JSAT has 16 satellites in Asia and has been in partnership with the Lippo Group previously. Lippo Star is the product of this partnership.

“They are willing to help in Papua, especially in the installation of VSAT [very small aperture terminals] in schools in remote areas, so that they would become connected. They provide Internet as well as the best educational programs in the world for students here to watch,” James said.

Three schools in Papua have been selected to be part of the pilot project in the partnership, namely SLH in Kampung Harapan, Kecamatan Sentani, Sekolah Papua Harapan (SPH) in the Doyo Baru village of Jayapura, as well as the SLH in Mamit Village in the Tolikara district.

In the future, the program will be aimed at other schools in remote areas, mainly those located in mountainous regions.

“The VSAT will be installed in one or two months, not just in Sentani but also in Mamit. The models will be found in two school in Sentani and one in Mamit, if the concept goes well,” James said.

Shinji Takada, chief executive of JSAT, said that they had put initial efforts to improve the quality of education and the school’s facility prior to constructing the connectivity network.

“We have sent teachers with a new concept, where education is not only offered through knowledge but also the learning process. Our teachers here are graduates of UPH [Universitas Pelita Harapan], and they have come from different parts of Indonesia to teach, with the support of local government,” Takada said.

Paul Wetipo, principal of SPH said the installation of a telecommunication network would be useful to teachers.

“This [VSAT] will open up access to the outside world, especially because education is something that continuously evolves. Accessing the internet will offer teachers more knowledge and they will also be able to guide students more effectively,” he said.

Source: The Jakarta Globe

Breakthrough imminent in Indonesia: O’Neill’s plan to defuse standoff over West Papua

By Rowan Callick === A breakthrough may be on the way for one of the most intractable conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region. Relations between Indonesia and the Melanesian nations, led by Papua New Guinea, have remained awkward ever since the Dutch withdrew from “Netherlands New Guinea,” and the Pacific islands became independent states.

The plight of “West Papua” as it is often called, has prevented Indonesia, the biggest and closest country in South-East Asia, from building the links that might otherwise have been expected, with the island countries to its east—even since it became a liberal democracy 15 years ago.

But, the PNG government, led by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, has recently launched an initiative aimed at defusing the stand-off over West Papua, building the economy of the centre of New Guinea island, and gaining diplomatic spin-offs.

The western half of New Guinea island comprises two Indonesian provinces: Papua, whose capital is Jayapura, and West Papua, whose capital is Manokwari. It has a 750-km mostly mountainous and often in the past fraught and dangerous border with PNG.

In 2001, the area now covered by the two provinces was declared autonomous with 80 percent of its tax receipts to be retained for local use. But this process has remained only partially complete compared with the more successful governance situation in Aceh, at the other end of the Indonesian archipelago.

O’Neill, who led a delegation to Jakarta for talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said: “West Papua has been a sticky issue for PNG and the western Pacific for quite some time. Our role is to open up discussions.

Genuine desire
“We feel the government of Indonesia has a genuine desire to ensure issues relating to West Papua are managed in a mutually beneficial manner. For the first time in our bilateral discussions, we were able to discuss this openly with the Indonesian government,” said PM O’Neill.

He said he is convinced that Yudhoyono now wishes to withdraw military presence from West Papua, and allow for more autonomy through economic empowerment of the people.

“We feel this is a good opening for us to engage with the Indonesian government so we can participate in the improvement of the lives of Melanesian people there and of our own people along the border. Our officials are now engaged meaningfully in establishing the cooperation we agreed,” he said.

PNG’s Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato elaborated on the deal that was informally struck: “The Indonesian president will adopt a softer approach to West Papuan issues, allowing them greater autonomy.”

As an indicator of this, official representatives will participate in the Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture to be hosted by PNG next year.

He said Indonesia would allow Papua New Guinea communities near the border to draw on its excess hydro power capacity with state-owned enterprise PNG Power buying electricity for its grid from Indonesia, and that the two countries would jointly explore for oil and gas in highly prospective targets that straddle the border.

Indonesia, Pato said, would fund an ambitious paved highway from Merauke on its side of the border in the south, to PNG’s Wewak on the northern coast.

The countries’ leaders signed a total of 11 MOUs during O’Neill’s visit, after which Pato and his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa began to chart an implementation course.

Extradition treaty
They agreed on an extradition treaty—which may ensure that Indonesian businessman fugitive Joko Chandra—wanted for corruption and who obtained PNG citizenship under a process that is being challenged legally—returns to face charges.

Another agreement under final negotiation, will permit planes to fly from Nadi, Fiji, through Honiara in Solomon Islands, then Port Moresby, and on to Bali.

One goal of the warming of relations, Pato said, was to prevent any resurgence of asylum-seekers from the Indonesian side of the border. About 8,000 refugees remain in PNG, living in camps in Western province run by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees following earlier conflicts, many of them seeking refuge more than 25 years ago.

The discussions between PNG and Indonesia have led to the latter inviting the foreign ministers of the four Melanesian states — Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, as well as PNG, who form the “Melanesian Spearhead Group” (MSG) — to visit its Papua and West Papua provinces.

O’Neill flew for talks with Yudhoyono instead of attending an MSG leaders’ meeting held at the same time in New Caledonia.

While PNG is helping to usher its fellow Melanesians in towards better relations with Indonesia, Indonesia in return is backing Port Moresby’s membership of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN has 10 members at present — and PNG feels it is entitled to join it because it has such a long land border with the group’s largest state.

Indonesia is also backing PNG’s bid to host the 2018 summit of the APEC forum — which would bring the American and Russian presidents, among other leaders, to Port Moresby — which will be decided at the next summit in Bali in October.

“It’s important for us to have such a relationship with Indonesia,” said Pato — who points out that in previous years, tensions not only unresolved but not even fully discussed about West Papua had prevented the full development of positive, mutually beneficial arrangements between the countries.

Now a joint committee of ministers from the countries has been formed to tackle the details and ensure the MOUs are implemented, he said — starting with the joint economic projects.

Source: Islands Business

Papua: Working Together for Prosperity

By Hyginus Hardoyo === In Ogenetan, a tiny village located in Iniyandit, one of the more remote districts of Boven Digoel regency in Papua, residents recently donned their best traditional attire to welcome several guests from Jakarta.

Some, including several children, had painted their bodies black and white with makeup and danced to songs and chants as soon as the guests exited their cars. A group of women also started to dance at the other end, in front of the main building of the kampung, which is located deep in the rainforest near Indonesia’s border with Papua New Guinea.

As a group of young men started to play music using guitars and a plastic water drums, girls sashaying in grass skirts invited the guests to pass through.

“This is our way to give guests a warm welcome,” Yan Karowa, the local district head, said. “The dances and songs show our hospitality to anybody who is willing to come here.” Everybody was happy whenever guests visited the kampung, he said.

Processing: The cooperative sold about 1.5 tons of good-quality rubber sheets for about Rp 15,000 (US$1.33) a kilogram, described as a fair price given current conditions.

Ogenetan is inhabited by 57 families comprising 306 people, who rely principally on rubber farming, introduced to Papua in the early 1970s by Christian missionaries, as their main source of income.

Nearly every resident of the kampong was on hand at the hall, which houses the Nonggup Cooperative that they established.

People wanted to watch as the cooperative’s representatives stake a deal with PT Montelo, a private company. About one-and-a-half tons of good-quality rubber sheets were bought by the company for about
Rp 15,000 (US$1.33) a kilogram, described as a fair price given current conditions.

Living in isolation about 350 kilometers south of Jayapura, those who live in Ogenetan find that economic development comes very slowly.

Basic foodstuffs were previously exorbitantly expensive. Residents had to venture to places such as Tanah Merah, the capital of Boven Digoel, about five hours away. The journey had to be made by foot; the roads were almost impassable.

The hardships drove Yan Karowa and Riswanto from the NGO Wahana Visi Indonesia to establish the Nonggup Cooperative. “How can local people enjoy the fruits of their labor if they are burdened with huge debts and are unfavorably dependent on middlemen?” Riswanto said.

The local residents were at first reluctant to found a cooperative, due to previous failures, when money collected from the members was misused or taken away. However, through the work of the NGO, local residents became aware of how a well-organized and transparent cooperative could help the community.

The cooperative was established in 2009 with just 29 people who pitched in Rp 8 million for its operating capital. Through the cooperative, the local residents reached an agreement with PT Montelo to sell the rubber sheets.

Realizing that a cooperative could work and generate profits, members of the kampung joined the cooperative in increasing numbers. Currently, more than 130 people from Ogenetan have signed up and representative offices have been opened in the neighboring districts of Mindiptana and Arimop.

“The establishment of the cooperative enables us to easily communicate on the need to improve quality of rubber production from here,” Widia from PT Montelo said.

With total annual turnover of over Rp 300 million, a shop was opened under the supervision of the cooperative, providing affordable basic necessities and other agricultural produce to members. The shop is managed by Maria Wometa.

The mother of six says that business has been so good that she has been able to send one of her kids to study at a university in Merauke.

Bruno Etmop, the head of the cooperative, said that the cooperative booked a net profit of about Rp 23 million in its first year. By the third year, members were able to share a annual dividend of Rp 7 million.

Aloysius Bayub, a cooperative member, said he earned an average of Rp 1.5 million a month from the sheets made from sap from his 1.5-hectare rubber plantation. “It is enough to support my daily expenses, including paying the tuition fees for my youngest child at elementary school,” said Bayub, the father of three, whose wife has just died due to illnesses.

Bruno said that the cooperative’s rapid growth could not be separated from the discipline of its members in playing by the established rules. ”Each member of the cooperative who has debts has understood that the debt must be repaid in installments, together with interest.”

The money collected from the members was deposited in a BPR rural bank, whose officers came to Ogenetan once a month.

Backed by skilled assistants with a basic knowledge of management, Bruno said that he was confident that the cooperative could expand even further.

However small, this joint effort has contributed greatly to the local residents. A spirit for advancement has arisen from province of Papua in Indonesia.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Dutch apologise for Indonesian executions

Formal apology for colonial era mass killings comes ahead of state visit by the Dutch prime minister to Jakarta.

The Dutch government has formally apologised for the mass killing of Indonesians during colonial occupation which ended in 1949.

The Dutch ambassador in Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, officially presented the state’s apology at a Jakarta ceremony on Thursday.

“On behalf of the Dutch government I apologise for these excesses,” De Zwaan said,

The Netherlands had already apologised and paid compensation in certain specific cases, but this was the first general apology for atrocities carried out during the colonial era.

“The Dutch government is aware that it bears a special responsibility in respect of Indonesian widows of victims of summary executions comparable to those carried out by Dutch troops in what was then Celebes (Sulawesi) and Rawa Gede (West Java),” De Zwaan added.

Representatives of the victims welcomed the apology.

“We feel grateful and very happy to be here. Before that we never imagined that it would be like this,” said one, Nurhaeni.

Westerling executions

Special forces from the Netherlands carried out a series of summary executions in its former colony between 1945 and 1949, killing thousands.

In total, about 40,000 people were executed during the colonial era, according to the Indonesian government; however, Dutch figures mention only a few thousand.

South Sulawesi was the site of one of the worst atrocities. On January 28, 1947, Dutch special forces executed 208 men on a field in front of a local government office.

It was one of the many mass murders by notorious captain Raymond Westerling who was long considered a hero in the Netherlands.

Westerling and his troops held summary executions in tens of villages for a period of three months in a bid to wipe out resistance against Dutch colonisation. Neither he or his men were ever prosecuted.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta, said the Dutch government suddenly seemed in a hurry to apologise for the atrocities that were committed over 60 years ago.

“In a couple of months from now, the Dutch prime minister is visiting Indonesia and many have said it would actually be much more appropriate to issue the apology then. But suddenly they decided it had to happen today at the Dutch embassy and not in the places where these war crimes have taken place,” Vaessen said.

“They chose the embassy because they want to apologies for a lot more than only what happened in South Sulawesi and other places. They are apologising for all the war crimes, which the Dutch merely call excesses,” Vaessen added.

The Hague had previously apologised and paid out to the widows in individual cases but it had never said sorry or offered compensation for the victims of general summary executions.

Legal action

Two high-profile legal actions have resulted in 20,000 euros being awarded to the widows of some victims and a public apology for summary executions that took place on the island of Sulawesi and Rawagadeh, on the island of Java.

“When I received the money from the Netherlands I smelled it, I was so happy. But when I was smelling it I could not forget what happened to my husband. I was so sad,” Nani, a 93-year-old widow told Al Jazeera.

The father of Andi Mondji was one of 208 executed in Sulawesi. He witnessed it when he was still a small child.

“Look what I have lost back then, my grandmother was shot when she was 80 years old and my father was shot and another relative too. All of them shot dead. They should be able to imagine how I as a child have suffered because of this,” Mondji told Al Jazeera.

Source: Al Jazeera