What is happening in Indonesia now is not an emergency, but it
is a chronical process which is started since the existence of
the Republic of Indonesia . The peoples in Indonesia who have
already suffered long enough since the colonial times, the Dutch,
the Japanese, the Portuguese and become worse since 17.8.1945.
What they call as the day of Independence is actually the day
of another tragedy for these nations.
Indonesia is indeed not a nation. It is not by mean of anthropology,
neither by philology, nor by history. The word Indonesia comes
from Indo and Nesos mean the islands of Indies. It is just a geographic
name for the islands of this continent. The true peoples in the
regions are The Achenese in Sumatra, in the West, the Banjaris
Borneo and the Bugis Sulawesi in the North, the Sundanese, the
Javanese, the Balinese in the middle; the Moluccans and the Timorese
in the South; and the West Papuan in the East. It was the Dutch
who once invaded them through the different blood shed of war
and colonized them under a single administration from Batavia
(Jakarta now). They are never once a nation and never will be
a nation. To tie them up with one rope and rule from Batavia was
only for the benefit of the Dutch. And now they continue to rule
from Jakarta which is only for the benefit of the Republic of
Indonesia.
Who then represent Indonesia?
Indonesia is represented by the Javanese. The administration
system of Indonesia is just following the ruling system of the
colonial, the Dutch East Indies. Indonesian administration is
for the benefit of Jawa and the Javanese. All the revenues from
outside Jawa are explored and pooled in Jakarta to develop Jawa.
The independence of Indonesia is the independence for the Javanese
in Jawa not for the rest of the peoples outside Jawa. You see
the territorial integrity of the Dutch East Indies is still kept
intact until today. The Dutch East Indies has never been decolonized.
The Achehnese, the Banjaris, the Sundanese, the Bugis, the Balinese,
the Moluccans, the Timorese, and the West Papuans never get the
chance for self determination. When you speak about Jawa then
people blame you as racists. Because of fear for being called
racist and then you ignore the right of many other peoples and
nations and legalize the right of the Javanese-Indonesian troops
to terrorize and mass murder other peoples i.e. the innocent people
of East Timor, the people of West Papua, and the people of Acheh.
Everyone scared to speak in Indonesia. So many newspapers and
magazines were black listed. Many people, journalists and Ulamas
were jailed and silenced. I think you still remember the Australian
Journalists who were silenced and killed in East Timor.
However, under this military repression you still can see the
peoples reaction desperately through out these 54 years as follows:
1949: Karto Suwiryo, the Sundanese, proclaimed the NII (Negara
Islam Indonesia), Islamic State of Indonesia.
1951: Kahar Muzakkar, the Bugis from Sulawesi supported the idea
of Karto Suwiryo, against the Republic of Indonesia to establish
the Islamic State of Indonesia.
1951: The People of the South Moluccas proclaimed the Republic
of South Moluccas. Their leader, Dr. Soumokil was captured, crussified
and executed. Now 50.000 of the South Moluccan people are living
in exile in Holland and celebrate their independence day every
year in the Hague. They are expecting that one day they can celebrate
it at home in the Moluccan soil.
1953: In the West of Sumatra the people of Acheh showed their
military reaction against the Republic of Indonesia with their
leader Teungku Mohammad Daud di Beureueh. He first co-operated
with Karto Suwiryo and Kahar Muzakkar, but later in 1962 he realized
that he has to liberates his people, the Achehnese, rather than
to join the Indonesian ideology. He then declared the Islamic
Republic of Aceh.
Thousands of people were killed. In Cot Jeumpa, West Aceh, 116
men and women were massacred , villages were changed into inferno.
My father, M.Hasan Yusuf, one of the Commanders of Teungku di
Beureueh, was killed at this time. His properties were seized
and robbed by the Indonesian armies.
We were not even allowed to see his corpse until a year later
then we knew from somebody that he was buried together with 12
other peoples in one hole.
1954: The struggle of the people from Banjarmasin under the leadership
of Ibnu Hajar against the Republic of Indonesia.
1965: The revolution of Indonesian Communist Party. I do not
think that they were all communists in ideology but I believe
the frustration of this Indonesian administration made them become
communists member and for that reason it is enough, more than
enough for the Indonesian to kill them. (see the "Surviving Indonesia’s
Gulag" 1996, by Carmel Budiardjo).
1971: The declaration of Independence of the West Papuan People
by OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or Free Papua Organization)
. What has happened to the West Papuan people is really the same
as what is happening to the East Timorese people now. They were
once invaded by the Indonesian troops, just when the Dutch left
the country in 1962. The Indonesian claimed West Papua as a province
of the Republic of Indonesia, then. It was just because the West
Papuan territory was colonized by the Dutch once before under
the Dutch East Indies administration. What is really happening
is the R.I. colonized them replacing the Dutch. The West Papuan
has been never given the chance to have their right for self determination.
1974: The East Timorese People’s struggle desperately shows their
willingness desperately to have their right for self determination.
It is crystal clear that the East Timorese is not Indonesian.
Not even under the Dutch East Indies. It is just because of the
East Timor is the neighbor of West Timor and it is situated in
the huge ’Indonesian’ empire. Even the Dutch under the Dutch East
Indies empire left East Timor for the Portuguese. Just after the
Portuguese left, the Indonesian troops greedily invaded East Timor
and occupied it. The same with the West Papua , they claimed East
Timor as one of Indonesian provinces. I do not understand how
some civilized people who cares so much about saving the tropical
forests and ’orang utan’ but support the Republic of Indonesia
in murdering the innocent people of the East Timor. This people
has nothing to do with Java or Indonesia. They just want to be
the masters in their own homes and to be as they are, the East
Timorese not the Indonesian.
1976: The Declaration of Independence of the People of Acheh
Sumatra. Again the Achehnese express their aspiration to gain
back their freedom which once lost by the Dutch occupation and
then continued by the Indonesian annexation . The world media
name this peoples aspiration as "separatist". We are not separatists.
We want back our freedom as we were once before. We are Achehnese
not Indonesian.
The Dutch who had the longest war with us during her colonial
time know who the Achehnese are. They never called us Indonesian.
You can see these from the diary of the Dutch Officers like Snouck
Hurgronye, Kol. Smith, van der Veer, Kol. Tijdschrift, J.Kreemer
and more others. Like the East Timorese, and the West Papuan we
the Achehnese also have nothing to do with Indonesia. We want
to be as we are, the Achehnese, the master in our own home, Acheh.
1989-1998: The genocide in Aceh. Indonesian soldiers claimed
Aceh as "DOM " (Daerah Operasi Militer) means Military Operation
Area. It means that the Indonesian soldiers can shoot the Achehnese
civilian on the spot without any question or prosecution. Thanks
for the Amnesty International , the International Red Cross, and
the Human Rights Commsission who had revealed the terrible abuses
of Human Rights and extremely world criminal of the Indonesians
army against the innocent and unarmed people of Acheh. Thousands
of people found in mass- graves throughout Aceh. And many innocent
girls and Achehnese women were raped in front of their husbands
or families just to demoralize the Achehnese. You can read the
reports from the Amnesty International.
The terrorism by the Republic of Indonesia is still going on
in front of you.
Just yesterday 53 men were killed in Idi Tjut, East Acheh. The
people had a public meeting in the village. The Indonesian soldiers
came and caught them after the meeting. It was a man found the
blood drops on the bridge. He followed it and found 12 corpses
under the bridge of Arakundo river. The corpses were tied to a
big stone so that the body woul
