Netherlands Apologizes to Indonesia Over War Crimes

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“For the systematic and widespread extreme violence from the Dutch side in those years and the consistent looking the other way by previous governments, I apologize deeply to the people of Indonesia,” Rutte said.

The Dutch premier said it was necessary to confront the findings: “They are harsh but unavoidable.” He said the government takes full responsibility for the “collective failure.”

The apology about the war is not the first from the Netherlands to Indonesia but it is the first acknowledgment that a deliberate campaign of violence effectively took place.

During a visit to Indonesia in March 2020, King Willem-Alexander made a surprise apology for “excessive violence” by Dutch troops.

In 2016, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders apologized for a massacre by Dutch troops of 400 Indonesian villagers in 1947.

Sources: Reuters, dpa, AFP, AP