Three renowned academic institutes have called for new research into Dutch military involvement in former Dutch Indonesia between 1945 and 1949, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday.

In particular, it is vital the researchers use Indonesian as well as Dutch archives, the three organisations say. Indonesia, a former Dutch colony, finally won independence in 1949 after a bloody struggle.
The research groups – the Dutch war research institute NIOD, the military history institute and the institute of southeast Asian and Caribbean studies KITLV – say new research is needed to better understand the type of war fought in Indonesia and its effects on the population.
They estimate six researchers will take three years to complete the project, which they hope will determine ‘hard facts’ and decide who should take responsibility. ‘We hope to settle this once and for all,’ Gert van Oostindie of the KITLV told the paper.
Apologies
At the end of last year, the Netherlands finally formally apologised for the massacre of hundreds of men and boys in the Javanese village of Rawagede in 1947. Damages claims have also been submitted in connection with a bloodbath in southern Sulawesi.
‘Although the key facts are clear, I have the impression no-one knows how many people we actually shot, which is remarkable in itself,’ lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld, who represents the Rawagede and Sulawesi victims, told the paper.
‘Nor do we know who we executed,’ she said. ‘We were not interested at the time and we are not interested now. Can new research change that? Most of those involved are now dead. Time has closed many doors.’