Associated Press, Rawagede Fri, 12/09/2011 1:27 PM
After six decades of waiting, relatives of men killed in a notorious massacre during Indonesia's bitter struggle for independence finally got what they wanted: An official apology from the Dutch state.
Tjeerd de Zwaan, ambassador to Indonesia, made the announcement before hundreds of villagers in Rawagede, scene of the Dec. 9, 1947 execution-style killings of up to 430 boys and young men by Dutch troops.
The crowd, tense with emotion, erupted in cheers.
Tears rolled down the cheeks of surviving widows, now in their late 80s and early 90s, some of whom had started to doubt they would ever hear the words.
"It makes me feel my struggle for justice was not useless," said Cawi binti Baisa, who was 20 when her husband of two years headed to the rice paddy in the morning never to return.
There were no immediate details about promised compensation for her and eight other surviving relatives, but in her mind, that wasn't what mattered most.
Dutch troops clinging to their retreating colonial empire arrived in Rawagede just before dawn 64 years ago and opened fire, sending sleepy residents scattering from their homes in panic.
The soldiers were looking for resistance leader Lukas Kustario, known for ambushing Dutch bases. When villagers said they didn't know where he was, nearly all the men were rounded up and taken to the fields.
Squatting in rows, with both hands placed on the backs of their heads, they were shot one by one.
The ceremony was held at the Rawagede Hero Cemetery, where many of the victims were buried in a mass grave. Big white tents were erected to provide relief from the blazing tropical sun.
"Today, Dec. 9," de Zwaan began, "we remember the members of your families and those of your fellow villagers who died 64 years ago through the actions of the Dutch military."
"On behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for the tragedy that took place."
The apology followed a landmark ruling earlier this year by a Dutch court - in a case filed by nine surviving relatives - that said the state was responsible for the massacre.
The relatives' lawyer, Liesbeth Zegveld, said the state also would pay each of the nine relatives euro 20,000 ($27,000) compensation.
It's not clear when that would happen.
(read in the JP)
( I just wonder...how much of that money will get stuck aan betje Zegveld's "strijkstok"? siK.
vr 9 dec 2011 - 7:02