Dutch monarch offers apology for past ‘excessive violence’

The Jakarta Post, Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, March 10, 2020

Dutch King Willem-Alexander (second right) and Queen Maxima (right) return after
laying a wreath during their visit to the Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta on March 10.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are on a five-day
visit to Indonesia, a former Dutch colony. ( AFP/BAY ISMOYO)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander has offered an apology over "excessive violence" suffered by Indonesians during the early years of Indonesian independence, acknowledging the period as a "painful separation".

The statement was conveyed by the king after he and Queen Maxima were hosted by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in an official ceremony at the Bogor Palace in West Java on Tuesday.

"In line with earlier statements by my government, I would like to express my regret and apologies for the excessive violence on the part of the Dutch in those years," Willem said during a joint press statement on Tuesday.

"And I do so in the full realization that the pain and sorrow of the families affected continue to be felt today."

Willem's statement reversed previous Dutch monarchs’ stance of refusing to apologize for the nation’s past war crimes in the country. During the last state visit by a Dutch monarch in 1995, Queen Beatrix was prevented by then-prime minister Wim Kok from offering an apology, saying the Netherlands was not ready.

Indonesia declared independence on Aug. 17, 1945, but the Dutch only recognized its sovereignty on Dec. 27, 1949.

The Dutch government had apologized several times for its colonial troops’ war crimes conducted between 1945 and 1949 in Indonesia.

In 2013, then-Dutch ambassador to Indonesia Tjeerd de Zwaan addressed an apology to 10 widows of men who were summarily executed in a series of mass killings in South Sulawesi between December 1946 and February 1947 during military operations by Dutch troops under Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling.

The king’s four-day state visit kicked off on Tuesday. It went ahead despite the recent announcement of 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia.

The Dutch king also expressed his desire to see a stronger tie between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

"Indonesia has a long tradition of religious tolerance and can play a constructive part in this respect. It's important to continue working together to foster peace, justice and the protection of minorities based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity," King Willem-Alexander said.

"And we are keen to work together with you toward this end."

Speaking before Willem, Jokowi emphasized the need for the two countries to forge ahead in a relationship of mutual respect.

"Of course, we cannot erase the history, but we can learn from the past. It serves as a lesson for our commitment to grow a relationship that is equal and with mutual respect and mutually-beneficial," the President said.

Dutch FM: Confront Painful Parts of Indonesia-Netherlands History

Jakarta Globe, Bastiaan Scherpen, March 24, 2016

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, left, with his Indonesian counterpart
Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Thursday. (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside)

Jakarta. Indonesia and the Netherlands must have the courage to confront the difficult periods and events in their common past to be able to move forward together, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders told students in Jakarta on Thursday.

"After the birth of the Republik Indonesia on Aug. 17, 1945, we experienced a painful separation, a process marked by terrible violence," Koenders said. "The deployment of military force in 1947 put the Netherlands on the wrong side of history."

"The years after the Proklamasi [declaration of independence] had lasting consequences for those suffering during that time — both Indonesians and Dutch," the minister added. "I believe this is a history that we should have the courage to examine and discuss, lest we forget. And we preferably do this together."

Historical sensitivities

Only in 2005 did a Dutch foreign minister, Ben Bot, openly recognize Aug. 17, 1945 as the date when the Indonesian republic came into existence, clearing the way for better bilateral ties. Previously, Dutch officials had insisted that Indonesia only became independent on Dec. 27, 1949, when the Netherlands formally relinquished sovereignty to its former colony.

Relations between the two countries have improved significantly since Bot's acknowledgement, and the formal apology by the Dutch government in 2013 for massacres committed in South Sulawesi to quell resistance against Dutch rule.

Some experts in Indonesia and in the Netherlands have been calling for a more open-minded approach to the common Dutch-Indonesian past for years.

Koenders insisted on Thursday that "even with all its ups and downs, our shared history offers a sound basis for building a shared future."

Agreeing to disagree

At the Dutch cultural center Erasmus Huis in Kuningan, South Jakarta, where he delivered his speech, the minister told the Jakarta Globe that he believed Indonesia-Netherlands relations currently were "really at a high level."

"They are at a high level because we discuss all issues openly, with a lot of trust in each other," Koenders explained. "As you know, for instance we have different views on the death penalty, so we will discuss that — not only in terms of judging, but also in working, for instance right now, on drugs policy, together."

Koenders also met with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi and other ministers earlier in the day. Human rights, long an important pillar of Dutch foreign policy, were on the agenda, the Dutch government said in a statement.

Last year the Dutch ambassador in Jakarta was briefly recalled to The Hague after the execution of a Dutch drug convict in Indonesia. The move does not appear to have had a major impact on trade ties, however, as the Netherlands still ranked fourth in investment realization in Indonesia for 2015, outperforming economic giants such as China and the United States.

The rejection of the death penalty is a point on which "we agree to disagree [with Indonesia]," the minister told the Globe. He added that "we have questions whether it [capital punishment] can be effective in tackling drugs issues," but that does not prevent the two countries from working together "in a very productive and positive ambiance."

On the rights of LGBT people in Indonesia, which has been a highly controversial topic in recent months, Koenders said: "For me, that's a question of human rights, it's not an issue to be politicized."

"They have the right to be protected [from violence], all over the world, and I think that is also something that your minister of security [Luhut Panjaitan] mentioned in his public statement."

Luhut, Indonesia's coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said last month that LGBT people, as citizens of Indonesia, have the right tobe protected against violence and to be treated humanely, although he also said he believed they needed to be "cured."

Areas of cooperation

In his speech, Koenders identified several main issues that he said are important both for the European Union and for the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is dominated by Indonesia due to the size of its economy and population.

The minister singled out migration crises, foreign terrorist fighters and domestic violent extremists, freedom of navigation and maritime security, and keeping the Internet open and secure. In practical terms, he said Dutch-Indonesia cooperation was centered around the maritime economy, education and issues related to the rule of law.

On the tensions in the South China Sea, where China has been increasingly assertive in staking its claim to almost the entire area, Koenders said that the Netherlands does not take sides in territorial disputes. He added however that "freedom of navigation and maritime security are absolutely vital, not only for your [Indonesia's] safety and prosperity, but also for the rest of the world."

"There are many opportunities for us to deepen our friendship and collaboration even further, for example in the areas of trade and investment, the judicial sector and counterterrorism," he said. "Our relationship should be forward-looking. It should be an equal partnership. We should build on our common past, not be hostages to it."

Equal Partners: Indonesian FM Retno Marsudi Meets Dutch Counterpart Bert Koenders @Portal_Kemlu_RI @DutchMFA pic.twitter.com/2KloUnMOrc

— The Jakarta Globe (@thejakartaglobe) March 24, 2016

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A Taste of the Caribbean in Jakarta, Courtesy of the Dutch

Jakarta Globe, Sylviana Hamdani, September 17, 2015

The 'Antilles Festival – A Taste of the Caribbean' event will take place at the Erasmus
Huis Jakarta from Sept. 19 to Oct. 31 and will feature a photo exhibition, culinary show,
and music and dance performances. (Photo courtesy of Erasmus Huis)

The Dutch cultural center in Jakarta plans to introduce Indonesians to a little-known corner of its kingdom through a festival that celebrates the sun-kissed isles of the Netherlands Antilles.

The “Antilles Festival – A Taste of the Caribbean” event will take place at the Erasmus Huis Jakarta from Sept. 19 to Oct. 31 and will feature a photo exhibition, culinary show, and music and dance performances.

The festival is part of celebrations this year marking the 200th anniversary of the kingdom of the Netherlands, with a focus on the realm’s Caribbean lands deemed an “interesting idea” for residents of Indonesia, once the jewel in the crown of the Dutch empire.

“For the Dutch, it’s not very easy and also not very common to travel [to the Antilles],” said Ferdinand Lahnstein, the deputy head of mission of the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta.

“I expect also that people in Indonesia are not very familiar with this area. So that’s also a reason why we think that it’s probably a good idea to bring forward that there’s something like the Dutch Caribbean. And then hopefully people in Indonesia who would like to try something different will be interested to travel to this area.”

The festival’s photo exhibition, themed “Dushi Tera,” will showcase images unique to the six islands that make up the Netherlands Antilles – Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius – including the architecture, nature, and panoramas. (In the Papiamento language of the inhabitants of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, “dushi tera” translates into “sweet country.”)

These photos come courtesy of the islands’ various tourism authorities as well as the Leiden University Library.

“The photo exhibition is meant to give an impression of the cultural, social and economic differences between the six islands,” Lahstein said.

Peter Sanchez, a historian from one-time Dutch colony of Suriname on the South American mainland, has been appointed curator of the photo exhibition.

“He knows a lot about the region,” said Ineke de Hoog, the embassy’s deputy head of public diplomacy and cultural affairs. “And he will be there for the opening [on Sept. 19].”

The opening will also feature culinary treats from Dutch Caribbean chefs Sherwin Alexander and Jethro Wirht, brought over by the DoubleTree hotel in Jakarta.

Alexander won a bronze medal in the seafood competition during the prestigious “Taste of the Caribbean” competition in Miami in July 2014, while Wirht was named “Chef of the Year” at the same event.

Both men will cook live at the festival’s opening at Erasmus Huis, assisted by local hospitality school students.

The menu will feature seven iconic dishes served tapas style from the Dutch Caribbean.

“The chefs have chosen the menu that gives a broad spectrum of all the different islands’ cuisines,” de Hoog said.

Among them are sopi di marisco, a traditional soup from Curaçao that contains seafood, callaloo (a vegetable native to the island), okra and fresh lemon.

Also not to be missed is the arepa di pampuna, a sweet pumpkin pancake with pickled prawns and fishcake and served with pineapple salsa.

“The cuisine is, of course, influenced by the Creoles, a fusion of the Spanish and Portuguese Antilleans,” de Hoog said. “I invite you to come and try for yourself.”

Entry to the festival is free, and the embassy expects between 500 and 700 people to turn up for the opening day.

“My impression of the Antilles Festival is something fresh and juicy, like salsa,” said Olivia Evelinda, a secretary at an accounting firm in Jakarta who said she was interested in going. “I think the festival will be very, very interesting, because we can get to know about the food and different cultures of the islands.”

Olivia also hopes to take part in the Antillean dances, such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Kimboza, to be performed by Dutch Caribbean dancers on the opening day.

Orquesta Pegasaya, a popular Salsa band from the region, will also be n hand to perform live. And to fuel the guests, a round of delectable Dutch Caribbean cocktails will be served throughout the night

For more information, go to erasmushuis.nlmission.org.

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Australia-Indonesia Relations Likely to Improve After Abbott Exodus

Jakarta Globe, Erin Cook, September 2015

An anti-Tony Abbott protester attends a demonstration at the Australian
embassy, South Jakarta, earlier this year. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

Jakarta. An expected foreign policy pivot under the guidance of new prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, will see Australia pay particular attention to mending and maintaining relations with China and Indonesia, regional pundits have predicted.

Turnbull, who rose to the country’s top job after trumping former prime minister Tony Abbott in a party room vote late Monday night, has been a long term supporter of Asian business in Australia and a vocal advocate of the China Australia Free Trade Agreement.

While Turnbull has indicated continued support for the “boat turn backs” policy, which sees asylum seekers entering Australian waters towed into Indonesian waters by local law enforcement, experts have suggested his style of diplomacy may weather the controversy better than that of his predecessor.

Evi Fitrani, international relations head at the University of Indonesia heralded the change of leadership as a likely improvement to relations.

"Even though Malcolm Turnbull hasn't made any statement about foreign policy yet ... judging from his personality — judging from Abbott's personality at least — we think we will deal more communicatively and maybe in a better situation and better environment with this kind of leader," she said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Sydney-based Tom Wheelwright, a managing director of BowerGroup Asia focusing on government relations in the region, told ChannelNews Asia that Turnbull’s pragmatic and respectful style will likely be welcomed by his Asian counterparts.

“The big change we’ll see is that there will be no more three-word slogans to confuse or irritate our Asian neighbors,” he said.

“I think we’ll see more substance to foreign policy and I think Julie Bishop will have a stronger hand with foreign policy and less interference from domestic considerations.”

Bishop is tipped to retain her role as Foreign Minister under the new leader, a move likely to be welcomed across the region. Bishop and her Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, met in August for the first time after the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson, was recalled in response to the April execution of two Australian drug traffickers. Grigson returned to Jakarta in June.

After a private meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers conference in Kuala Lumpur on on Aug. 6, both ministers welcomed a return to warm relations.

Abbott’s time at the helm is marred by a series of events marking a particularly tumultuous period in the Australia-Indonesia relationship, from a phone hacking scandal targeting Indonesia’s political leaders to the #CoinsforAbbott campaign which saw thousands collect rupiah coins to “pay back” Australian aid to Indonesia after the then-prime minister linked the 2004 Aceh tsunami to the Bali Nine executions.

Related Article:

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Hungary’s Youngest Ambassador Aiming High in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Sylviana Hamdani, Jul 15, 2015

Judit Nemeth-Pach is Hungary's youngest
ambassador who is currently serving a three-year
term in Indonesia. (The Peak Photo/Sylviana Hamdani)

Jakarta. Hungarian Ambassador to Indonesia Judit Nemeth-Pach looked fabulous in her lemon-hued dress and red velvet stilettos that afternoon. Her generous smiles, however, outshone her vibrant attire.

At 32, Nemeth-Pach is currently the youngest ambassador from Hungary. She started her career in the government in 2005 at just 22 years old.

“I started as one of the president’s staff for press and communication matters,” said the ambassador.

She was soon promoted as the president’s spokesperson, a key position in the government that required her to venture across the globe.

And in 2008, her duties took her to Indonesia.

“We met [former] President SBY [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono],” she said. “And we also went to see the volcano Tangkuban Parahu near Bandung [in West Java].”

And Nemeth-Pach was instantly captivated by the archipelago.

“I liked it very, very much,” she said. “For me, I’ve traveled with the president to a lot of places. And to be very honest, Indonesia just stole my heart. I loved it at first sight.”

Therefore, when a chance to be posted as the Hungarian ambassador to Indonesia arrived, Nemeth-Pach gladly accepted.

Her husband, an outdoor enthusiast, was also very excited of her new position.

“He was the one with the ‘Lonely Planet’ [ travel guide book], marking all the places that we should visit [in Indonesia],” she recalled with a laugh.

And when the Nemeth-Pachs arrived in Jakarta in January this year, they truly embraced the country.

“We see that it’s such a fantastic country in a [...] lot of ways,” she said.

Upon her arrival, the ambassador wasted no time in taking Indonesian language lessons.

“Saya mulai belajar Bahasa [I've started to learn the language],” she said, displaying her new skills. “Tapi saya bicara sedikit [But I can only speak it a little bit].”

Both husband and wife, who are vegans, also love Indonesian cuisine.

“Gado-gado is one of our favorites, but also lontong, the rice-cakes,” she said. “We love sate tahu [tofu sate] and sate jamur [mushroom sate].”

Avid rock climbers, the couple also had the chance to treck one of the most beautiful sites in Indonesia, the Harau Valley, West Sumatra, in May 2015.

“My husband and I really enjoyed it,” she said.

The ambassador was also smitten with Indonesia’s traditional dances.

“The dances, they mesmerize me,” she said. “In every island, in every region, you have different types of dances. Everything is completely different when you just travel 100 kilometers away.”

And with each passing year, her love for the archipelago only deepens.

“Indonesia is more than interesting,” she said. “It’s the melting pot of so many religions and cultures. It’s fascinating how Indonesia can incorporate all these. It makes Indonesia a very special country that’s very close to my heart.”

Nemeth-Pach also sees that the people of Indonesia and Hungary are very much alike.

“Our mindsets are really, really [similar],” she said, elaborating that the two nations share a similar historical background.

Between 1946 and 1989, Hungary was under the strong influence of what was then the Soviet Union.

“It threw us back 45 years,” she said. “After the change of the regime, we faced difficulties again, but this time economically.

“A lot of well-developed Western companies entered the now free market and practically monopolized some of our public sectors.”

“We’ve faced the same challenges that Indonesia is now facing,” she added. “That’s why we say that we understand what you’re sometimes feeling here.”

With similar mindsets, the ambassador believes that Indonesia and Hungary could engage in further collaborations in trade and economics.

“Now our trade is really marginal, compared to what it can be,” she explained. “We can do much better, because in Hungary, there is a great demand for tropical fruits, tea, cacao and coffee.”

Currently, the main problem for exports from Indonesia to Europe is the distribution channel.

“In Indonesia, a lot of companies are thinking in old-fashion way, to send everything through shipping routes from centuries ago, and from there, to be distributed throughout Europe,” she said. “But you see, Europe is so big. Sometimes, it’s be easier if you focus on some places in Central Europe.”

“When you want to reach Central and East Europe, which is a huge market, Hungary would be the perfect hub,” the ambassador added.

Hungary, in turn, could assist Indonesia in technology.

“For IT, one company that’s very good is Trasset,” she said. “Trasset is a Hungarian company, which is providing treasury software for banks and shariah banks. They have already closed deals with Danamon and other banks in Indonesia.”

Another company currently in negotiations with the provincial government of Jakarta is  Budapest Waterworks.

“They’re experts in cleaning water,” she said. “But they’re also managing the whole water cycle.”

In Budapest, for example, the company filters wastewater to produce clean water. And the resulting mud and filth are transformed into biogas to sustain the wastewater plant.

“So, [the plant] is totally self-sustainable,” she said. “And nothing is wasted.”

Budapest Waterworks has also won the tender of the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works to provide clean water to 35 villages in Indonesia.

“It’s really good news,” Nemeth-Pach said enthusiastically. “They’re bringing the technology [from Hungary], but they’re also building it together with Indonesian companies. The logistics, the pipelines, will be done by Indonesian companies.”

Hungary is also planning to provide 50 full scholarships for Indonesian graduate and postgraduate students in the field of agriculture, engineering, economics and medicine.

Additionally, Hungary and Indonesia are planning to join hands in creating research groups that will allow the two countries to learn more from one another.

“There are some scientific fields in which Indonesia is very advanced,” she said. “We could have, for example, agricultural research together, or [research] in fisheries.”

“We [would need] new exchange programs, [a memorandum of understanding] between universities, and also on the [government-to-government] level, enhance tour relationship,” the ambassador added.

Nemeth-Pach will serve in Indonesia for three years, by the end of which she hopes to have boosted the image of Hungary among Indonesians.

“Our [tourism] slogan says, ‘Hungary is more than expected’, and it definitely is,” she said.

“We’re not just some small country in Central Europe; we’re small, but we have so much power [and] so many [accomplishments].”

Hungary has won a total of 16 Nobel prizes in the fields of chemistry, physics, literature and medicine.

“I believe have one of the highest [number of Nobel Prize winners] compared to our population,” she said, adding that the European nations is home to 10 million people.

“In the European Union, we’re among the eight countries that could reduce state debt in [the current] economic situation,” she said. “And besides, we have a [gross domestic product] growth that is higher than the EU average.

“From such a small country, it’s such a big achievement.”

Forbes magazine has even ranked Budapest second in the list of capitals home to the most IT start-ups.

“So, when you want to be creative in IT, you go to Budapest,” Nemeth-Pach said.

The capital city also has plenty to offer in terms of tourism.

“Apart from our culture and historical sites, we have a lot of Art Nouveau buildings to see in Budapest,” she added. “[The city has] around 15 thermal baths, which are like spas.

“Our hot springs [contain] water with different types of minerals, which can cure both chronic and acute diseases and provide relaxation and stress relief.”

“What I really want to achieve is [for] Hungary to have this image as a vibrant face of Europe, a new hub to enter the European market, [and for Indonesia] take part in our creative, new ways of thinking,” Nemeth-Pach said.

The Peak

Chinese ambassador urges punishment for scam tours in Thailand

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-25

Tourists in Pattaya, September 2006. (File photo/Xinhua)

The Chinese ambassador to Thailand, Ning Fukui, said Sunday that responsible agencies of China and Thailand should strengthen punishment for travel agencies that continue to organize zero-fare tours despite complaints, including blacklisting them.

China and Thailand have taken some measures to resolve the issue of zero-fare tours, which have proved effective to a certain extent, but failed to eradicate the practice, Ning said.

The practice of "zero- or negative-fare tours" refers to tour services sold by travel agents at or below cost in order to attract travelers who are later forced to purchase goods or tip agents during their tours.

There have been frequent reports of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand being troubled by such practices.

The Chinese embassy in Thailand has begun to forward a list of travel agencies against which Chinese visitors have filed a lot of complaints to Thailand's tourism departments, in the hopes of deterring the practice by beefing up punishment for one or two of the agencies, according to the ambassador.

Indonesian Ambassador Dies in Singapore, 11 Days After Pakistan Crash

Jakarta Globe, Novy Lumanauw, May 19, 2015

Pakistani army soldiers carry coffins, wrapped in national flags and carrying
 bodies of helicopter crash victims, at the Nur Khan air base in Islamabad on
May 9. (Reuters Photo/Faisal Mahmood)

Jakarta. Indonesia’s ambassador to Pakistan, Burhan Muhammad, died at a hospital in Singapore on Tuesday, 11 days since suffering severe injuries in a helicopter crash in northern Pakistan in which his wife was killed.

Burhan, 57, reportedly died at 12:50 a.m. from severe burns sustained in the May 8 crash. His body will be flown to Jakarta on Tuesday evening for a memorial service at the Foreign Ministry office, before being taken to his hometown of Yogyakarta for burial.

“I pray that he earns a good place by Allah’s side and that the family he leaves behind be given strength,” President Joko Widodo said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi said separately that Indonesia had “lost one of its best diplomats.”

Burhan was among several diplomats on board a Pakistani military Mi-17 helicopter on the way to inspect a tourism project in northern Pakistan’s Gilgit region when it crashed. The Pakistani Taliban initially claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, but the government insisted that the crash was due to engine failure.

Hery Listyawati, Burhan’s wife, was killed in the crash, along with the Philippine and Norwegian ambassadors to Pakistan, as well as the wife of Malaysia’s ambassador and three Pakistani crew members.

Vanuatu to Open Embassy in Jakarta

Jakarta Globe, Apr 20, 2015

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, right, chats with Vanuatu's Foreign Minister
 Meltek Sato Kilman Livtunvanu, left, on the sidelines of the 60th Asian-African
Conference in Jakarta. (Antara Photo/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

Jakarta. Vanuatu is preparing to open an embassy in Jakarta in a bid to enhance bilateral relations, the foreign affairs minister of the Pacific Island nation announced on Sunday.

“Vanuatu has a great diplomatic relationship with Indonesia. Therefore, Vanuatu hopes to have its embassy in Jakarta,” Minister Meltek Sato Kilman Livtunvanu said on Sunday, as cited by state-run news agency Antara.

“Indonesia and Vanuatu will also be able to experience stronger bilateral relations in the future and be able to discuss various global issues together,” Kilman added.

Vanuatu is among the 80-plus nations gathering in Indonesia for the Asian-African Conference, which is taking place in Jakarta and Bandung until Friday.

Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said on Sunday that the government welcomes Vanuatu’s plan.

“We are very excited and proud of Vanuatu’s decision to open its embassy in Jakarta. This means that almost all countries of the Pacific will have an embassy here,” Retno said.

She added that both countries are committed to discussing the technicalities of establishing resident embassies and opportunities for partnership in other sectors.

“We have talked about boosting partnerships in the economic, engineering and agricultural sectors where we already have very good cooperation with Vanuatu,” Retno said.

The minister also expressed her optimism about where relations are going between Indonesia and other Melanesian countries in the Pacific.

Melanesia extends from Fiji to the Arafura Sea and is commonly thought to include Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, West Papua and the Maluku islands. The latter two are part of Indonesia.

“Indonesia’s Melanesians are about to become larger than other groups of Melanesians. So, I tell you this: Indonesia is Melanesia and Melanesia is Indonesia,” Retno said, as cited by news portal CNNIndonesia.com.

In early April, the Indonesian government sent $2 million worth of aid to Vanuatu after a devastating cyclone hit the country and left 11 dead and thousands homeless.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, center, sends off the Indonesian aid

delegation to cyclone-hit Vanuatu. (Antara Foto/Rivan Awal Lingga)

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Former Miss Indonesia Enlists in US Army

Jakarta Globe, Mar 17, 2015

Beauty queen scandals are often so predictable — purloined tiaras, garden-variety sex tapes, spectacular Q&A fails — as to be boring. But now a new contestant for the crown of Miss Ignominy has taken the stage, with all of Indonesia weighing in on social media to judge: What does it mean when your country’s top beauty queen takes up arms for another country — and gets a new passport?

Kristania Virginia Besouw, 29, was crowned Miss Indonesia in 2006. She previously reigned as 2004′s Miss Manado, her hometown in North Sulawesi. Now, she’s enlisted in the US Army as a nurse, a career decision that also put her on the fast track to become a US citizen.

Can you guess which of these soldiers
 once wore the Miss Indonesia crown?
(Photo courtesy of Facebook)

 Prior to joining the US Army, Specialist Kristania had lived in the United States for eight years on a student visa, during which time she was unable to return to Indonesia — not even for her father’s funeral in 2011, she said in an interview last Thursday with Tribun Manado. “I was on a student visa, which meant that I had to keep going to college, and college here is really expensive.”

“So I joined the army through the MAVNI [Military Accession Vital to the National Interest] program. That’s for people who have gone to school here for at least two years. Graduates become US citizens, so I don’t have to think about going to college again. Anyway, I wanted to become a citizen quickly so I can go home to Manado to see my family and friends. I miss them so much.”

In addition to US citizenship and a professional nursing certification, Kristania’s service in the US military will make her eligible to attend college for free — should she decide to return — courtesy of the Army Tuition Assistance program.

On average, the US military recruits about 5,000 non-citizens each year, nearly all of them permanent US residents, or so-called “green card” holders. Starting in 2006, the US military began accepting some foreigners with nonpermanent visas, such as students or tourists, if they have special skills that are highly valued. Since 2001, more than 92,000 foreign-born service members have become US citizens while serving in uniform.

US Army Specialist Kristania Virginia
Besouw, right, enlisted last October after
 studying nursing in Kansas. (Photo
courtesy of Facebook)

Kristania said she felt proud to carry on a family tradition by serving in uniform.

“I wanted to continue my father’s legacy. My father was an Indonesian Navy veteran,” she said. “And before him, my grandfather was a policeman. So I’m continuing my family’s legacy. If my father was alive, he would be so proud of me.”

Still, why not serve in the Indonesian military?

“The situation is very different,” Kristania explained. “I am here to become a nurse. And the nurses in America are really appreciated; [nursing] school is really hard, and then when entering the Army, it’s [even] more rewarding.”

Still, Kristania says she loves Indonesia and her hometown of Manado in particular. She frames her commitment to the US Army as an effort to return home, if perhaps the hard way.

“When I was trying to pass BCT [Basic Combat Training, or 'boot camp'], which is incredibly hard, I just remembered that this is all in order to return home. My time in training, from the end of October through January, was cold. We woke up at 4 a.m. and slept at 5 p.m. every day, with a two-hour night watch in between. It was winter, and very physically difficult.”

Still, Kristania says she’s happy: “I got in trouble for smiling too much at BCT,” she confesses in a Facebook post. “So I have to make constant effort not to smile.”

While many across the archipelago have expressed joy and pride on the achievements of their fellow countryman and nation’s former top beauty star, not all Indonesians will be so pleased at Kristania’s homecoming.

An article titled “Kristy is Automatically No Longer an Indonesian Citizen,” citing comments by the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) chief information officer, Maj. Gen. M. Fuad Basya, appeared in Manado-based newspaper Harian Komentar, alongside the news of her new job and citizenship.

Kristania says she feels proud to be
carrying on a family tradition of uniformed
service. Her father was a Indonesian
Navy veteran and her grandfather a
policeman. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Fuad’s assertion that Kristania’s Indonesian citizenship is automatically annulled by joining the US Army may not be wholly accurate. Assuming she has not renounced her citizenship before an Indonesian consular officer, Kristania is unlikely to learn of any official change in the disposition of her Indonesian citizenship unless she attempts to renew her passport.

Kristania’s new life in the US is not totally without precedent in the annals of beauty queen scandals. Former Miss St. Petersburg Anastasia Michaeli was elected to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, as a member of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Haaretz reported. Though second citizenships had historically been an accepted among Israeli politicians, Michaeli and two other legislators were ordered in 2009 to officially annul their foreign ties.

“If Indonesia allowed dual citizenship, that would be nice. But for now, yes, I am citizen of the United States,” Kristania said.

The United States tolerates dual citizenship; Indonesia does not, at least for nationals over 18-years-old. However, were Kristania to enjoy the privileges of Indonesian citizenship, for example by traveling on her old passport, she could jeopardize of the security clearance that her job as a US Army nurse requires.

The Jakarta Globe has submitted questions to President Joko Widodo asking whether his administration would support a change in the law that would allow Indonesians to enjoy dual citizenship.  The president has yet to reply to this question, or to the Globe’s request for an interview, which has been outstanding since January.

The United States Embassy in Jakarta’s Twitter and Facebook feeds, usually quick to herald and applaud achievements by US citizens of Indonesian origin — as when an Indonesian-born judge is tapped for the highest court in Massachusetts, or becomes chief of police for a town in Florida — has so far been silent on the former Miss Indonesia’s proud news.

Commenting on a Facebook photo of the newspaper article calling into question her loyalty, Kristania wrote: “Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya and Tantowi Yahya have commented on my status. I do not know what’s going on; I just want to say I love my two countries.”

Related Article:

Beauty Queens and Jihadis Leave Kalla Spelling Out the Law on Citizenship - New

Indonesia, Netherlands Organize Harm Reduction Talks at UNODC

Jakarta Globe, Natasia Christy, Mar 11, 2015

A casket carrying the body of Ang Kiem Soei, a Dutch national executed by
firing squad on Jan. 18, seen in an ambulance on the prison island of
 Nusakambangan, off Central Java. (EPA Photo/Bayu Nur)

Jakarta. As the Australia-Indonesia diplomatic rift over the pending executions of two drug convicts shows no signs of abating, ties with the Netherlands — which recalled its ambassador after one of its nationals was executed in January — seem to be on the mend.

On Tuesday, Indonesia and the Netherlands jointly organized a discussion on harm reduction on the sidelines of the 58th Commission on Narcotic Drugs session, at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna.

At the discussion, three experts, including Edo Agustian from the Indonesian Network of Drug Victims (PKNI), discussed ways to limit the spread of HIV as a consequence of drug use, a statement on the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s website said.

According to Edo, the Indonesian law enforcement system — with a primary focus on punishment instead of rehabilitation — has not been conducive in bringing down the number of infections.

Ambassador Rob Swartbol was called back to the Netherlands for consultations after the execution of Dutch national Ang Kiem Soei, on Jan.18. In a letter to the Dutch parliament, Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in early February that Swartbol had returned to Jakarta.

Koenders explained that the Netherlands opposes the death penalty in principle and that one of its government’s goals is to try and get Indonesia to abolish the punishment. The minister added, however, that it was important to be represented in Indonesia at the ambassadorial level.

“I would like to investigate the possibilities to cooperate with Indonesia to fight drug-related problems,” Koenders said in the letter.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry, in the statement posted on its website on Wednesday, said: “The cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands in handling drugs is not affected by the difference of opinion over the death penalty.”

According to data from the Indonesian Health Ministry, the number of people living with HIV and AIDS as a consequence of drug use grew from 186,000 in 2009 to 640,000 in 2013.

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Dutch State Ordered to Compensate ‘Children of Sulawesi’

Jakarta Globe, Bastiaan Scherpen, Mar 12, 2015

In this file photo taken in 2011, a mural depicting a 1947 massacre by Dutch
troops is displayed in Rawagede, West Java. (AFP Photo/Romeo Gacad)

Jakarta. The Dutch state has to compensate not only widows, but also the children of men murdered during a bloody crackdown on Indonesians resisting colonial rule in South Sulawesi in the years 1946-49, a court in the Netherlands ruled on Wednesday.

Widows and children of men who were summarily executed in that period have a right to compensatory damages, as the soldiers carrying out the killings were operating on behalf of the Dutch state, the court in The Hague ruled.

A previous ruling, which led to a settlement that included the payment of 20,000 euros ($21,150) to select widows by the Dutch state and the issuance of a formal apology, did not apply to the children of executed men. The latest ruling mentions that just like in the case of the widows, the statute of limitations does not apply in the case of the sons and daughters of those put to death.

The ruling, announced in a statement in Dutch posted on the official website of the Dutch judiciary, did not state how many people would be compensated, nor was an amount mentioned. Both would have to be established after further investigation, the court said.

‘Westerling method’

The massacres in Sulawesi were part of a 1946-47 campaign in which the controversial Dutch Capt. Raymond Westerling played an important role. As the commander of a Special Forces unit, Westerling was called upon to “pacify” South Sulawesi.

The so-called “Westerling Method” entailed summary executions of people suspected to be involved in any anti-Dutch activity and other harsh counter-insurgency tactics.

Estimates vary widely, but historians have put the death toll as a direct result of the actions by Westerling’s unit in South Sulawesi at around 1,500, with regular military units being responsible for many other killings in the region.

The Indonesian government at the time put the number of victims in Sulawesi at 40,000.

Official apology

In 2013, the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia at the time, Tjeerd de Zwaan, issued a formal apology for the killings.

In a statement, de Zwaan said that 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 South Celebes [Sulawesi] and Rawagede [now Balongsari, West Java].”

“On behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for these excesses,” the ambassador said in English before repeating his words in Indonesian.

In Rawagede in December 1947, hundreds of boys and men were killed by Dutch troops who were trying to locate an Indonesian fighter presumed to be hiding in the village. Relatives of Rawagede victims received compensation in 2011.

Related Articles:

Editorial: Indonesia Can Learn From Dutch Ruling - New

Indonesian widows get Dutch compensation, apology over 1946-47 killings -  (Aug 2013)

The Netherlands apologies for Indonesia executions - (Sep 2013)   

Dutch Ambassador Tjeerd de Zwaan speaks with relatives of

 those executed by Dutch soldiers at a public apology ceremony

in Jakarta on September 12. (EPA Photo/STR)

Dutch State to Apologize for Indonesia Massacre - (Dec 2011)
Dutch court: Compensate Indonesian massacre widows - (Sep 2011)

Slowly but Surely, Dutch Are Coming to Terms With the Colonial Past - (Nov 2011)