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Netherlands and others are poor advisers for Indonesia
Basically Dutch people think that they are superior to Indonesians when it comes to human rights.
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President Joko Widodo talks to Queen Maxima of the Netherlands on financial technology development at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta on Sept 1. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat/Press Bureau)
A
s a Dutch journalist and historian I believe that Dutch-Indonesian relations are completely damaged by the past, but instead of stepping back, my fellow citizens take every opportunity to teach Indonesia a lesson about human rights.
The latest incident was when non-active Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was recently sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for having insulted Islam. It was not difficult for Joel Voordewind, a Christian member of the Dutch parliament, to get the full support of other members of parliament and urge Foreign Minister Bert Koenders to call on Indonesia to release Ahok.
What is wrong here?
Basically Dutch people think that they are superior to Indonesians when it comes to human rights. They seem convinced that past Dutch human rights violations are no longer relevant, since then foreign minister Bernard Rudolf “Ben” Bot already expressed “regret” in 2005 for them.
