Moluccans in the Netherlands

Moluccans in the Netherlands. In 1951, approximately 12,000 Moluccans were transferred to the Netherlands. These were mainly soldiers who had served in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) and their family members. The Moluccans have been in the Netherlands for 55 years this year… while they were actually only going to be here temporarily until it was quiet again in their native country…

Moluccans in the Netherlands

Moluccan soldiers were the foundation of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) in the Dutch East Indies. But when the colony became independent in 1949, there was no longer room for these Moluccans.

The Netherlands had promised that the Moluccas would gain some form of self-determination. But when the ‘Republik Maluka Selatan’ (RMS) was proclaimed on April 25, 1950, the Netherlands dismissed this as an uprising of rebels.

Suddenly the Moluccan soldiers, as former fighters in the Dutch army against Indonesia, found themselves in a dire position. As a temporary solution, the 4,000 Moluccan KNIL members and their families were brought to the Netherlands. During the first years they lived in central residential areas, such as the former Westerbork concentration camp. The Moluccans were deliberately kept out of Dutch society. They weren’t allowed to work either, because they were going back, after all? The inevitable soon became clear: returning to hostile Indonesia was no longer an option.

The train hijacking in De Punt

In the 1970s, the second generation of Moluccans in the Netherlands caused a stir with hostage takings, which also resulted in deaths. The most famous is the train hijacking in 1977 at De Punt (Drenthe). The young Moluccans felt misunderstood and demanded that the Netherlands make more efforts for their freedom in Indonesia.

The current, third generation is still committed to the old ideal, but also realizes that their lives are rooted here. She participates much more in Dutch society and is catching up. However, unrest among the Moluccan community remains, especially when the situation in the Moluccas is bad. The violence there in 1999 also caused tensions in the Dutch Moluccan community.

Who are the Moluccans?

Moluccans are people from the Moluccas, a group of islands in the far south-east of Indonesia. However, there are many different groups of Moluccans, who differ greatly from each other. The most well-known difference is in the political field: the supporters of the RMS (±70% of Moluccans living in the Netherlands) and those who do not feel for their own republic. The non-RMS supporters can also be divided again. Namely in people who do not want to participate in politics, but only want to have their rights as soldiers recognized and Moluccans who sympathize with Indonesia (or who have Indonesian nationality).

The majority of Moluccans in the Netherlands are Protestants (±93%). A number of Moluccan Protestant churches have emerged, of which the Moluccan Evangelical Church is the largest. On the Moluccas themselves the number of Muslims is much larger.
85% of the Moluccans living in the Netherlands are ,Ambonese, (from Ambon, Nusalaut, Haruku, Saparua and Ceram). The rest are Ternatans (from the North Moluccas, islands north of Ceram). The 5% of Catholics are overwhelmingly Southeast Moluccans (from the Kei Islands).

History before WWII

The Moluccas (and East Timor) were traditionally suppliers of nutmeg and cloves. First the Chinese spread these spices. In 1512 the Portuguese reached the Moluccas. They made alliances there and secured supplies of spices. The Spaniards then failed to dislodge the Portuguese. The Dutch succeeded in this.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century (1605), the VOC displaced the Portuguese and obtained a monopoly on the export of cloves. The Moluccans tried to evade this monopoly, but the VOC reacted fiercely with, among other things, the destruction of the plantations and executions. In the seventeenth century these sometimes became outright wars.

The VOC went bankrupt in 1798. From that time on the Moluccas went downhill. The clove monopoly was broken and the market collapsed. Small numbers of Moluccans were employed by the VOC. The VOC brought Protestantism here. This changed at the end of the nineteenth century. Quite a few Moluccans then enlisted in the KNIL (the Royal Dutch East Indies Army). The KNIL was founded in 1830 with the aim of strengthening Dutch authority in the Dutch East Indies. The Moluccans who enlisted in the KNIL were largely Christian Moluccans, from Ambon and surrounding islands. They played an important role in bringing the Indian archipelago under Dutch authority. The Ambonese soldiers had some privileges, including a higher salary than the other Indian soldiers. The KNIL was a kind of police apparatus (more than a military apparatus). Its task was more to maintain order and peace in the country than to defend against foreign aggressors. When Japan invaded Indonesia in 1942, the KNIL proved unable to cope.

During WWII

On December 8, 1941, the day after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the Netherlands declared war on Japan. Nothing happened for a while (Japan was too busy conquering other areas). Yet at some point Japan took action, because they needed the natural resources of the Dutch East Indies, including oil.

On January 10, 1942, the Japanese army fleet units carried out a massive attack on the Dutch East Indies. This battle lasted two months. The Ambonese KNIL soldiers were almost the only ones who remained loyal to the Dutch (other KNIL soldiers sided with their fellow Asian occupiers, whom they regarded as liberators). Japan’s superior power was too strong and the KNIL was no match for such an enemy. Rear Admiral Karel Doorman was killed during the Battle of the Java Sea.

On March 8, the KNIL capitulated and the Dutch East Indies were occupied. The Dutch then ended up in internment camps. In addition to the Dutch, many Moluccans also had a hard time during the occupation. Because of their loyalty to Dutch authority, they too were a danger to the Japanese. Many Moluccans played an active role in the resistance. Many of them fell into the hands of the Kenpeitai (the Japanese secret police) and were tortured or killed.

The Moluccas were controlled by the Japanese navy. It was destined to remain a domain for the Japanese empire. During 1944 it became clear that Japan was going to lose the war. The Indonesian nationalists wanted to be independent before the Netherlands had the chance to restore the colonial system. With Japanese support, a committee was set up to prepare for independence.
The Japanese capitulated on August 15, 1945. The nationalists decided to declare the independent Republik Indonesia (RI). On August 17, 1945, Sukarno and Hatfa signed the Declaration of Independence. After the war with Japan, a new battle immediately started, namely a battle between the RI and the Netherlands. All kinds of armed troops moved through the country.

The Dutch, Moluccans and Chinese had to pay the price. Youths (pemudas) attacked people in internment camps in the name of the new republic. The Moluccan soldiers made themselves useful by spontaneously defending women’s camps.
In 1945 the Netherlands tried to regain a foothold in Indonesia. Dutch troops (of the Netherlands and the KNIL) relieved the Allies. It was already clear then that independent Indonesia would become a reality. The Netherlands defended its presence by pointing to the chaotic situation in Indonesia (calm had to be restored before independence could be discussed).
But because countries such as the US and Australia believed that one country should not dominate the other, the US threatened to withdraw Marshall aid for the reconstruction of the Netherlands. After the Round Table Conference (= RTC), sovereignty was transferred to the United States of Indonesia (VSI) on December 29, 1949.

Independent VSI

The RI did not gain power, but became one of the states that together formed the VSI. When sovereignty was transferred to the VSI on December 29, 1949, it soon became clear that the federation would not have a long life. One by one, the states decided to join the Republik Indonesia. Sukarno became the first president.
The state of Eastern Indonesia (Negara Indonesia Tim ur = NIT) did not want a connection. Soumokil, Manusama and Metekohy (Moluccans) feared domination of Eastern Indonesia by the central authority in Jakarta. They wanted to maintain a federal state and wanted to retain access to their own, ie KNIL, troops. A suggestion by the RTC to give the Moluccas a special place within the Dutch-Indonesian Union, outside the VSI context, but still connected to both Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, did not meet with response.
The Central Government did not want this and sent the federal army (APRIS) to Eastern Indonesia.
The KNIL troops led by Captain Aziz were defeated. It took until August 15, 1950 before the unitary state was formally a fact.

Proclamation of the RMS

Under the leadership of ir. Manusama and mr.dr.Soumokil, discussions were held on Ambon about what to do next. The Moluccan KNIL soldiers in Ambon also played a role in these discussions. The leadership of the Daerah Maluku Selatan (Province of the South Moluccas) was pressured to declare the South Moluccas independent. After much insistence, in a mass meeting and later with the South Moluccan Council, independence was proclaimed on April 25, 1950. The proclamation of the Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS) was a fact. Manuhutu became President, Wairisal Prime Minister, Soumokil Minister of Foreign Affairs and Manusama Minister of Education.

The Central Government did not accept the RMS proclamation. RI-minded Moluccans were sent. This mission was not successful.
International support for the RMS failed to materialize. The UN soon became too busy with the war in Korea. The Dutch government also provided no support, to avoid the impression that the Netherlands had a hand in the RMS (which had been enforced by the KNIL military).
The Dutch troop commander of eastern Indonesia was sent to Ambon to call the soldiers to order. This was also unsuccessful. On May 9, 1950, Sergeant Major Samson, commander of the new RMS army, officially resigned from the Dutch army.
Many Dutch then left Ambon, fearing an Indonesian attack. From June 13, the Indonesian army carried out attacks on the Central Moluccas, and Ambon was attacked on September 28. The force majeure was too great . On November 3, 1950, Ambon was completely under the control of Sukarno’s army. At the beginning of December, the RMS moved to the island of Ceram with the remainder of the troops. In 1952 Manuhutu was captured on Ceram and the scent was continued by Soumokil. Manusama fled to the Netherlands. On Ceram the guerrilla battle would last another 13 years.

Demobilization of the KNIL soldiers

When the RMS was proclaimed and the Indonesian army subsequently conquered Ambon, most Moluccan KNIL soldiers were far away from the Moluccas (in tangsis = barracks) in other parts of Indonesia.
When sovereignty was transferred in 1949, it was determined that the KNIL would be dissolved within six months. There were 65,000 KNIL soldiers on US territory in December . 26,000 men transferred to the APRIS without difficulty (including a number of Ambonese). Others opted for demobilization.
Many Moluccan soldiers (approximately 4,000) did not want to join the APRIS against which they had recently fought. Yet there were negotiations. Possibilities were: they would be transferred as their own unit under their own officers, they would be stationed in Eastern Indonesia. During these negotiations, however, the RMS was declared on Ambon.
Most Moluccan soldiers who had not yet switched to the APRIS then sided with the RMS.
The Moluccan soldiers, concentrated in a number of camps on Java, now wanted to be demobilized.

The KNIL regulations stated that soldiers could choose where they wanted to be discharged upon demobilization from the army. This had to be within the borders of the Dutch East Indies (this was to prevent a soldier from being demobilized in Java, for example, and having no money to pay for the trip to the Moluccas). Discharge would only take place once one had arrived at the destination.
The Moluccan soldiers chose to be demobilized on Ambon. However, the USI government did not want this, because they would then support the RMS and the Netherlands needed the permission of the Indonesian government for demobilization, because the Moluccan soldiers were Indonesian citizens (according to the RTC agreements).
The soldiers now wanted to go to Dutch New Guinea when Ambon was not possible. This was also not approved . They were also not allowed to go to Ceram (where the RMS army was still fighting).
Almost a year after the transfer of sovereignty, a Dutch army of 9,000 men was still present on Java (4,000 Moluccans and 5,000 Dutch who had to act as a buffer between the Moluccan soldiers and the Indonesian environment).

Six months after the transfer of sovereignty, the KNIL was disbanded. The remaining soldiers were temporarily incorporated into the Royal Netherlands Army (this later turned out to be
a very important fact ). The Drees/Van Schaik Cabinet considered demobilizing the Moluccans on Java. Although this was against the regulations, it would constitute force majeure. A delegation of Moluccan soldiers, under the leader Aponno, initiated summary proceedings against the State in the Netherlands. This lawsuit was won. On January 21, 1951, the judge forbade the Dutch government from leaving its soldiers behind against their will in the area of a country hostile to them. Demobilization on Java was therefore not allowed. This verdict/judgment contained the fateful suggestion: ,temporary transfer to the Netherlands,. The main motive for this statement was concern for the safety of the Ambonese if they were left unprotected within the reach of Sukarno’s army.
The Minister of War s’Jacob thought this was the ,worst possible solution,. However, the Moluccan soldiers wanted this transfer when it became apparent that failure to choose would result in immediate dismissal from the army.

To the Netherlands

Ultimately, it was decided to bring the Moluccan soldiers and their families to the Netherlands. Both the Dutch government and the Moluccans thought that the stay in the Netherlands would only be for a short time. The Moluccans thought that the RMS battle on Ceram would lead to the recapture of Ambon, so that they could return to their own RMS.
A total of 12,500 Moluccans were shipped to the Netherlands between March and July 1951, in thirteen ships. There were no houses as a result of the Second World War. The Dutch government preferred to house them together, away from Dutch society (after all, integration was not the intention, but return). A number of Moluccan residential areas, namely 46, were created (including barracks, prisons and two camps from the German period (camp Vught (= Lunetten residential area) and Westerbork camp (= Schattenberg residential area)). Within these, a kind of military hierarchy continued to function.
When the Moluccan soldiers arrived in Rotterdam on March 21, they were told that they had been demilitarized. They received a letter of dismissal, which in one stroke deprived them of their status, profession, life purpose and uniform. Instead of pay, they now received pocket money This came as a bombshell. They knew that the KL (Royal Army) status was temporary, but they still thought that they would only be demilitarized at the place of their choice.

Why dismissal?

The Dutch government considered it incorrect that soldiers who are Indonesian citizens were retained in the Royal Netherlands Army. Sukarno was also promised that the Moluccans would no longer be used for operational purposes. Yet the Dutch government had no other choice. (After all, the Netherlands has never agreed to support the RMS’s drive for independence. Recognition of a country belonging to the area over which sovereignty had already been transferred was impossible.) It was
striking that the Ministers of War and of Overseas Parts of the Kingdom involved were against dismissal. , because in this way order and discipline could be maintained. The Moluccan soldiers went to court. They were initially proven right, with the result that the Military Civil Service Court in The Hague annulled the dismissal. The State appealed, but already made preparations to remilitarize them. The State was right, because the KNIL soldiers were not civil servants within the meaning of the Military Civil Servants Act. The dismissal was upheld and the Moluccans fell into a void. They also did not receive a KNIL pension.
The Moluccans who served in the Royal Navy were not discharged.

The daycare

The following was appointed to manage the shelter: Head Leader of the Ambonese Residential Areas in the Netherlands (HAWIN). KNIL Major General Scholten was appointed. He could not handle the problems, as civilian head over residential areas full of citizens unwillingly (no restoration of military status, so no more powers like HAWIN). On November 16, 1952 he disappeared from the scene.
Care for the Moluccans fell to the Commissariat for Ambonese Care (CAZ). This service fell under the Minister of Social Work (later under CRM) and did its work until 1970.
Everything was arranged by CAZ, including things like infant care, school choice, housing, work, etc. Yet in the 1950s and 1960s there were regular clashes in residential areas against government policy. There was a lot of mutual conflict, including clashes between the Kei-ezen and the Ambonese in Vught.
At the beginning of 1952, a triumvirate of Moluccans tried to restore unity among the RMS-minded Moluccans. This only partially worked. Dutch sympathizers (Stichting Door De Eeuwen Trouw = DDET) also did a lot for the Moluccans (e.g. purchasing aircraft and weapons for the guerrilla battle on Ceram).

Integration

When it became clear that the stay in the Netherlands would be longer, Moluccan policy became more focused on forced integration (instead of isolation). State care was replaced by ,self-care,. They had to look for a job themselves, but they only wanted one thing: their old job as a soldier back. They had to rely on unskilled work. The central kitchens were also closed. People had to provide their own meals. There was a lot of protest against this new situation. They also did not want to integrate. Housing became a point of attention. The residential areas were not conducive to integration (they were far from Dutch society) and employment (they were in areas with little work).

Housing

So other accommodation had to be arranged. Integration was necessary and the residential areas could not cope with population growth and were of very poor quality.
In 1959, a State Commission (Verwey-Jonker) recommended closing the residential areas and building Moluccan residential areas within the built-up areas of municipalities (for approximately 50 families). This housing, between Dutch neighbors, was considered a big step. Moluccans did not want this (it was a confirmation of permanent residence in the Netherlands) and not all municipalities agreed to this plan. Most
Moluccans did not want to leave the residential areas, because they resembled the Tangsis and because it was very pleasant there, like a village in the East Indies. Ultimately, the residential areas (with many more than 50 families ) were located near the old residential areas and not in places where there was a lot of employment.
In 1989 the last residential area (Lunetten) would also be closed. After lengthy legal battles, an agreement was reached: after renovation, the residential residents could return, but with payment of normal housing costs. This renovation was completed in 1995.

Hijackings

The 1970s were characterized by radicalization among Moluccan youth.

There were several reasons for this:

• the young people received a kind of KNIL-disciplined upbringing at home.
• the poor socio-economic position.
• the fact that their parents had achieved nothing with peaceful actions.
• they had been inspired by the Palestinian actions.
• the poor integration of young people: they remain isolated, because Ambon-Malay is spoken at home. Their lives are also cut in two culturally. The RMS ideal became an ideology.
• The young people stated: ,We are not an ‘after-the-fact’ product of colonialism, but have become the victims of the dirty politics practiced by our enemies, the Netherlands and Indonesia, the ultimate result of which was that our beloved parents were embarked and transported to this country.,

On December 2, 1975, a train was hijacked near Wijster (Drente) . The violence was now again directed against the Netherlands (as an accomplice of Indonesia). Previous plans to take Queen Juliana hostage had been foiled. This hijacking was a reaction to Surinamese independence. Queen Juliana said to the Surinamese people: Every people has the right to independence. This was on November 25, 1975.
The hijackers in Wijster stated: ,Our aim in taking up armed struggle is to involve the governments and the masses of the world in our Moluccan struggle, which has been leading to independence for 25 years., screams and is oppressed. What is better than to die for your beloved country, which you know has longed for freedom for years.,
At the same time, the Indonesian consulate in Amsterdam was occupied . During these 18-day actions, 3 Dutch and 1 Indonesian died. After negotiations, the Moluccan activists surrendered. (Mrs. Soumokil eventually talks the young people out of the train). The hijacking was a complete success from a publicity point of view.

Two years later, another train was hijacked near De Punt (Groningen) on May 23 (1977). At the same time, a primary school was taken hostage in Bovensmilde. Most of the people from the Schattenberg residential area were housed in Bovensmilde after its closure in 1971.
The Dutch army put an end to these actions on June 11. 2 hostage passengers and 6 Moluccan hijackers were killed. The dead Moluccans were buried as heroes. During this action, the Moluccan youth accused both the Dutch government and the older RMS leadership. The purpose of these actions was: the release of 21 South Moluccans convicted of previous hostage actions from prison.

The attack

Saturday morning, June 11, 1977, almost three weeks after the hijacking began, Marines opened fire on the train, assisted by six Starfighters who flew over the train. This major military operation involved two hostages (the then 20-year-old Ansje Monsjou and the 40-year-old Rien van Baarsel) and six hijackers (in addition to the leader Max Papilaya, also Hansina Uktolseja, Ronnie Lumalessil, George Matulessy, Minggus Rumahmory and Mateus Tuny). for life. The remaining train passengers were liberated. The South Moluccans in the school surrendered without resistance. During the press conference after the storming, Den Uyl said ,We experience the fact that violence was necessary to end the hostage situation as a defeat.,

Although the death of the two hostages was the result of the train hijacking, a few months later the judge in Assen decided to convict the three surviving hijackers (Marcus [Rudi] Lumalessil, Junus Ririmasse and Andreas Luhulima) only for prohibited possession of weapons and unlawful deprivation of liberty. For this they received a prison sentence of six to nine years.

In 2000, the documentary Dutch Approach was published about this hostage drama. Hostages, hostage takers and other involved parties contributed to the documentary.

On March 13, 1978, the Provincial House in Assen was robbed by 3 Moluccan youths. 2 Dutch were killed. T he army also ended this action.

The actions therefore became more and more radical and targeted an increasingly wider audience. First it was only against Indonesian interests in the Netherlands, then against the Dutch (because the RMS ideal was not supported) and during the second hijacking even against the leadership of the RMS (Manusama was accused of a lack of decisiveness). the increasing phenomenon of racial discrimination in the ,dying, Netherlands

strengthened
their adherence to their unattainable ideal. The position of the Ambonese has always been characterized by a high degree of ambivalence. A certain degree of integration has been achieved, not only geographically and economically, but also with regard to choice of partner (between 1963 and 1966, 35% of marriages were concluded with Dutch people). On the other hand, the sense of an individual identity and the unifying ideal of the RMS remained undiminished. What was

the effect of the actions?

• failure to approach the RMS ideal.
• the fact that the Dutch government realized that attention needed to be paid to the position of the Moluccans (and other ethnic minorities).
• the realization that integration did not happen automatically.
• the realization that the 2nd generation problem (minority policy) had to be taken into account.
• The Dutch government acknowledged that a psychological blunder had been made at the time.
• part of the Moluccan pension claims were honoured. A commemorative medal (the Rietkerk medal) was awarded to all former combatants and an annual benefit of NLG 2,000.
• part of the rehabilitation of the Moluccans was the gift by the Dutch state of the Moluccan Historical Museum in Utrecht.

In 1990, 14 years after the hijackings and hostage takings, at least one thing was achieved: a list of broken promises was drawn up. This included, among other things:

• the Moluccans were promised in 1984 that they would receive a Dutch passport without being naturalized (at least they could then cross the border). 40% of Moluccans did not want to become Dutch. They wanted (and still want) to let go of the ideal of the RMS.
• The relaxation of repatriation and the improvement of communication between the Moluccans here and Indonesian society, agreed in the Wassenaar agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands, had not proven so successful. Between 1976 and 1988, approximately 240 Moluccans returned to Indonesia.
• Unemployment among the elderly was 40-50% in 1990. This was even higher for young people (70%). Agreements and promises about job plans (including the 1000 jobs plan) have not been kept.

Official contacts with the Dutch government were maintained by the Participation Body for the Welfare of Moluccans (IWM), founded in 1776.

On April 10, 1993, after 26 years as president of the RMS, Ir. Manusama resigned in the Moluccan Church in Assen and resigned. place for Dr. Tutuhatunewa.

Are things now going in the right direction for the Moluccan community?

What is certain is that Moluccan society shows an increasingly differentiated picture. Moluccans continued to work in a limited number of professions for a long time. This is changing . You will find them at all levels. This is because they have received more and better education over the years. Yet the number of Moluccan students at HAVO and VWO remains far below par and there are still many underprivileged Moluccans: dropouts in education, the unemployed and addicts. For some, the RMS ideal means the feeling of belonging to one people, for others the hope that the Moluccas will one day become independent again. There are also Moluccans for whom the RMS ideal no longer means anything.
Nowadays, about half of the Moluccan population lives ‘outside’, ie individually among the Dutch. One problem with this is that the Moluccan elderly are no longer taken care of by their families as a matter of course.
At the beginning of the nineties, the realization that the Moluccans must take their fate into their own hands grew. The relationship with the Dutch government has become milder.

If you want to know more about the Moluccan culture, visit the Moluccan Historical Museum. There you can see and read all kinds of things. It’s really worth it. Website: Museum-maluku