In 1950, the Indonesian army defeated the South Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist movement set up by former Ambonese soldiers in the Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indisch Leger (KNIL) — the Dutch colonial
Army.

After the Indonesian army took control of Ambon and Seram Islands, the Dutch Cabinet in The Hague gathered the remaining KNIL soldiers of Ambonese origin and sent them to the Netherlands.

In March 1951, the first group of around 4,000 KNIL members from Ambon and their families arrived in Rotterdam, Holland. Around 12,000 Maluku people followed later aboard 14 ships.

This community which has now settled in the Netherlands has grown to around 60,000 people.

Meanwhile, the remaining supporters of RMS have continued their activities, albeit overseas.

This group was again in the spotlight in October, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono canceled his visit to Holland as a result of a claim they filed with The Hague court. They threatened to take Yudhoyono to court for alleged violation of human rights in Indonesia.

Yudhoyono’s abrupt cancellation of his Dutch visit doesn’t seem to have had any direct impact on Maluku. Residents of Ambon and other cities in Maluku are still living in peaceful conditions.

“The RMS movement in Holland has had no effect on the situation in Maluku. What they’re doing
there only reflects their lingering romanticism about life in the 1950s, when they wished to be free,” Vox Populi Director Almudatsir Z. Sangadji told The Jakarta Post in Ambon recently.

Sangadji said their bygone society could not be brought about forcefully today as the majority of Maluku people were opposed to it.

Moreover, he added, the movement was more based on mere sentiment than ideology. Yet he did not rule out the possibility of certain circles in Maluku benefiting from the RMS issue.

“Their quest for freedom is irrelevant to present circumstances. RMS has no real supporters in Maluku.The myth that RMS has international backing must be dispelled so it cannot be used by certain parties to serve other political, economic interests,” he pointed out.

Jhon Patikayhattu, a historian at Pattimura University, echoed Sangadji’s views, stating the presence of Maluku people affiliated with the separatist group in the Netherlands would not affect Indonesia’s Maluku community.

“They are Maluku people who have become Dutch citizens. Their activity in Holland along with RMS will have no influence on the Maluku population here,” he stressed.

“Even if Maluku people maintain contact with their relatives in Holland, this won’t affect their identity as citizens of the Republic of Indonesia. Though hundreds of RMS followers in Holland are of Maluku descent, they are already Dutch citizens,” he added.

He hoped people would not perceive RMS’ sentiment as representative of the whole Maluku community because the movement in fact only involved a handful of people. “There are only a few people flying RMS flags and following the group, therefore the public should not assume support is widespread,” he said.

Following the flag flying incident on the 2007 National Family Day in Ambon, the RMS controversy again arose as a number of RMS political detainees were allegedly tortured by Maluku Police anti-terrorist Special Detachment (Densus) 88.

RMS activist in Holland, Natanael Pietersz, told the Post via email that Yudhoyono should be held responsible for the torture and violation of rights of RMS followers in Maluku.

“We claim that SBY is responsible [for these acts],” said the chairman of FKMCPR, an RMS organization in the Netherlands lobbying the government of Australia in connection to the alleged torturing by Densus 88.

Australia was approached over this incident because it is one of the countries funding Densus 88’s eradication of terrorism program in Indonesia.

As a result, the Australian Foreign Office spokesman blamed Densus 88 in September for torturing RMS detainees while receiving millions of US dollars of aid a year from Australia.

It is said the prisoners were burned with cigarettes, forced to eat raw chili, and badly beaten up. The case also received the attention of Austria, Canada and Spain, all of which expressed their concern over the alleged Densus 88 treatment of the RMS detainees through NGOs.

Commandant of Densus 88 Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian even announced Densus 88 in Ambon would be dissolved following these reports of rights violation in Maluku. Pietersz added that the RMS government in exile had demanded the release of RMS political detainees in Maluku and wished to open a dialogue with the Indonesian government.

Despite the eventual the court rejecting RMS’s demand to arrest Yudhoyono, Pietersz believed the case had drawn world attention in favor of the RMS struggle.

According to him, many of the 60,000 Maluku people living in Holland are tired of living in the Netherlands and wish to return to Maluku to build a country along with their relatives there.

Pietersz said the Indonesian government didn’t realize the extent of RMS’s global network. He claimed RMS had formed solidarity groups in Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Holland, Britain, France, Malaysia and Japan.

“From next year, we will be demonstrating in those countries and submitting petitions to the embassies and consulates of Indonesia.

“We will also ask questions through opposition groups as we have done in Holland. Some people say Papuan lobbyists are ahead of us in the game, but within one or two years Maluku will be ahead of them,” he pointed out.

Since Yudhoyono put off his Dutch visit, the Maluku Regional Police have continued to monitor the activities of RMS supporters in the region.

Maluku police chief spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Johanis Huwae said the Maluku Police had been monitoring their activities intensely, but RMS’s action in Holland had not disturbed peace in Maluku.

Besides the arrest of at least 40 RMS sympathizers during the 2007 flag flying incident, 20 more were seized before Yudhoyono visited Ambon to attend the Sail Banda celebration in July.

Frans Sinmiasa, who was arrested on this occasion, who was referred to as RMS’ home minister, is believed to be an important actor behind another flag flying event at the peak of Sail Banda on Aug. 3.
“Some others are still on the wanted list, including Simon Saiya, the self-appointed head of the transitional government of RMS in Maluku replacing Maluku Sovereignty Front leader Alex Manuputty, who is also a fugitive,” he added.

Twenty other RMS followers were caught on Saparua Island, Central Maluku regency, on Aug. 11.

“They were arrested on charges of attempting to establish RMS sovereignty,” concluded Huwae.

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