Friday, 14 August 2020, 08:58
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THE HAGUE –
The Indisch Monument in The Hague was defaced in the night from Thursday to Friday. The action has been claimed by a group calling itself Aliansi Merah Putih (the red and white alliance). The monument reads include ‘kami belum lupa’ which means’ we have not forgotten ‘and ’17 / 08/45’. On August 17, 1945 Sukarno proclaimed the independent state of Indonesia. He became the country’s first president.
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The alliance wants to ‘get justice for the atrocities committed during the illegal Dutch occupation of Indonesia’. After independence, the Indians brought their colonial-glorifying stories to the Netherlands’.
On Saturday, the national commemoration will take place at the monument in the Scheveningse Bosjes near Madurodam. Due to the corona measures, this year’s commemoration has no public character. Only one limited number of invitees will be present.
‘Fuck VOC’
The Aliansi Merah Putih action group also has the statue of it in June Johan van Oldenbarnevelt daubed near the Hofvijver in The Hague with the text ‘Fuck VOC’. Van Oldenbarnevelt was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company, a Dutch trading company with a monopoly on overseas trade.
After the monument to Van Oldenbarnevelt was demolished in June, the Federation of Dutch Indies (FIN) received signals that the Indisch Monument might also be destroyed or defaced. “One of those signals was a report that 268 more monuments would follow,” said a FIN spokesperson. He calls the daubing of the Indisch Monument disgusting.
Shocked
‘We are shocked but not surprised. We had asked the police and the municipality of The Hague for extra security. Now that it has come to this daubing, we ask them again to think about permanent surveillance. You should not think that the monument will be targeted again today or tonight, so shortly before the memorial ceremony on Saturday. ‘
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