"Today, December 9, we remember the members of your families and those of your fellow villagers who died 64 years ago during an operation of the Dutch military. In this context and on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for the tragedy," Zwaan said when attending the 64th commemoration of the Rawagede Tragedy in Balongsari village which was also participated in by victims and their families.
Zwaan said the Rawagede Tragedy was a black day and an extreme example of the bad relations that existed between Indonesia and the Netherlands at the time.
"Every one of you (the Rawagede people) must come to terms with the memory of the tragedy in your own way. I hope that by reflecting together on what happened that day, we will also be able to turn together to the future and have close cooperation," he said.
The Rawagede tragedy happened on December 9, 1947, during the Dutch military aggression against Indonesia. When the tragedy happened, it was said that the Dutch military forces were sweeping the Karawang area to look for and capture Captain Lukas Kustario of the Indonesian military forces.
Failing to locate Lukas, a Dutch military group then forced all men in the village to get out from their houses. After the male villagers had gathered, the Dutch soldiers opened fire on them. It was said 431 people died in the tragedy.
In 2009, survivors of the tragedy namely, seven widows and a daughter of one of the victims with one male survivor of the massacre started to file the case to the International Court in The Hague.
In September 14, 2011, the court stated The Netherlands government was responsible for the Rawagede tragedy. The court also urged The Netherlands government to pay compensation to the victims to the amount of 20,000 Euro per person (Rp 240 million each).
Meanwhile, a widow of one of the victims, Laksmi (90 years old) stated she accepted the apology from The Netherlands government.
She also expressed appreciation for the Netherlands willingness to pay compensation to the families of the victims of the Rawagede Tragedy.(*)
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Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
