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Not Queen Beatrix who came to Indonesia to express her remorse and confession, especially to apologize. Nor is Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
The person who was ordered to represent the "recognition" of the Netherlands that Indonesian independence had indeed occurred since August 17, 1945 was Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot.
After 60 years, the Dutch finally agreed to officially accept the historical reality of the independence proclamation read by Sukarno-Hatta on behalf of the Indonesian people on August 17, 1945. Before that, the Kingdom of the Netherlands remained convinced that Indonesia had only become an independent state after the surrender of sovereignty on December 27, 1949 .
Minister Bot arrived in Jakarta on August 16, 2005. He attended the 60th anniversary of Indonesia's independence at the State Palace (Pewarta, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2006: 139). The presence of the official envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is the first time in the history of the celebration of the proclamation of independence.
Dutch-style pleasantries
The day before sending his foreign minister to Jakarta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands held a memorial to the end of the Japanese occupation in Indonesia. Queen Beatrix attended the event that took place in The Hague. However, the one who climbed to the podium was Bernard Bot. The queen did not give any message, just pinned a bouquet of flowers at the end of the event.
Bot admitted that the task he had been instructed to deliver a speech at the event was quite exhausting, moreover he was a Dutchman born in Indonesia, precisely in Batavia (Jakarta) on November 21, 1937.
Quoted from the NRC Handelsblad published in the August 15, 2005 edition of Nieuws Briefs (page 5), Bot said at the beginning of his speech: "... memories come today - both positive and negative - from Indonesia, across 5 time zones and 28,000 kilometers away from this place, but not yet so emotionally close. "
Long enough the exposure delivered by the minister. Some of them related to the suffering caused by the Japanese occupation in the Indies (Indonesia). The bot seems to want to direct that the Dutch and Indonesians share the same fate and responsibility; both have languished under the grip of Dai Nippon.
Bot stressed several times that history should not be forgotten, but it would be better if the focus looked forward.
"Knowledge of history is not luxurious, but (it is) a requirement to see more clearly about the future. And for sure, it applies (also) to the relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia. "