Plaintiffs are of the view that these crimes, committed there by the Dutch army and the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) between 1946 and 1947, are of the gravest in the history of our postcolonial war with Indonesia. Both the number of fallen victims as well as the policy-based nature of the executions make them scarcely comparable to other executions by Dutch military forces in the period 1945-1949. Experts underline this without exception.
Plaintiffs are aware that the widows in the case concerning summary executions in the village of Rawagedeh (9 December 1947) received an amount of Euro 20,000.00 per person in damages, along with formal apologies that were extended on behalf of the Netherlands by the Dutch ambassador in Indonesia. Plaintiffs are of the opinion that compensation in that form, and of that order, does justice to the suffering and damage that was inflicted upon them.
The court proceedings will now be continued; the plaintiffs are represented by lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld and Brechtje Vossenberg.
Previously: