Republic of the South Moluccas

chapter 4:

THE COLONIAL ERA

Foreign nations which are known to have joined the struggle for power in Maluku and Timor are amongst others: '

(a) Modjopahit.

The Empire of Modjopahit, which came into existence about 1300 on East Java, ruled as far as the Philippines; at that time she tried to rule over West Melanesia (Maluku and Timor). She didn't succeed to reach that goal either peacefully or by force. In the 15th century the power of Modjopahit crumbled (1), leaving behind her "ideal" of hegemony. This ideal of hegemony was pursued by the late Sukarno and Suharto through the forming of the R.I. (Republic of Indonesia). The R.I. is a "neo colonial state", the realization of the hegemony of Modjopahit, the old Hindu Empire in modern time.

(b) Portugal.

When the Portuguese and Spaniards arrived in the East, the fine of the war blew over from Europe to Asia as far as Maluku. The Portuguese have exerted themsel­ves for almost "a hundred years" (1513 1605) to rule over us; our forefathers got involved in all sorts of bloody tragedies, resulting from the policy of those foreigners. Our forefathers who adopted the Gospel according to the Arabic doctrines, took up weapons against their own relatives who adopted the Gospel according to the Portuguese etc. The result was bloodshed between our forefathers and Portuguese, and between our forefathers mutually (Muslims against Christians). Everywhere in our country people mourned because so many of the people had been killed needlessly (2).

(c) The colonial Netherlands.

The enmity that resulted from this enabled the Dutch to carry out their "divide and rule" policy. Though our forefathers were able to limit the bloody trage­dies, they were able to continue to live according to the rule of our Adat Society as before. In April 1605 after the Portuguese had been defeated and dislodged, the Muslim princes of Basi, Lesidi, Luhu, Kambelo (Ceram), the Kapi­tang of Hitu (Ambon) and the Christian princes of Rumukay etc. (Ceram), got together to frame a statement which they presented to Houtman and Hoen (V.O.C.­officials), containing the following points:

1. There will be peace between Muslims and Christians.
2. The Dutch are not to build forts anywhere, which disturb the harmony.
3. Spices may be sold to the Dutch but the prices are to be fixed together with the Sultan of Ternate.
4. All the fugitives who were deported must have a chance to return to their original abode without hindrance (3).

But later it turned out that our peace was destroyed by the Dutch policy of monopoly. Since March 1602 the Dutch (V.O.C.) had a keenly worked out policy, which enabled them to enrich themselves by seriously damaging our economical and national power.

(d) The neo colonialism of Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Four centuries later from the Dutch colonial system emerged the neo colonial Indonesia (see chapters 6 10). The Proclamation of the R.M.S. was the direct answer to that. The legitimacy of the R.M.S. is a confirmation of the neo colo­nial character of the R.I.

The legitimacy of the R.M.S. has been established in various ways, for example:

1. A thorough investigation led the Dutch Society for International Right to he conclusion in June 1950 (4), that the Proclamation of the R.M.S. is legitimate. The Dutch government of that time and all the consecutive Dutch governments have always known this. Even the High Council, the Supreme Court of Holland, has accepted this conclusion.
2. And now, roughly 30 years later, on the 1st of November 1979, this legi  ~. timacy was again strengthened by the Council of State in the case of the author of this Memorandum, Docianus Sahalessy, against the Department of Justice; a verdict, by which the Dutch government in fact has been proven wrong, and by which she was forced to give priority to justice above commer­cial interests. Sahalessy was given on this grounds legal protection for his foremost and seriously violated political beliefs: the inalienable Right of Self-determination of the Moluccan Nation, a right, that has been violated by the R.I. in such a serious way. He was granted political asylum with A status on the grounds of the Convention of July 28, 1951 (the Geneva Con­vention).

Despite this the Dutch government keeps denying the legitimacy of the R.M.S. This way also the Netherlands manifest themselves as a neo colonial power. But matters are even worse: the Dutch government supports the Indonesian neo colo­nialism in an active way.

For this statement much evidence can be given:

1. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has deliberately violated International Right by arresting our official representatives in 1952 upon their arrival in New Guinea. The Netherlands authorities boycotted and politically isolated our Missions from us in the interior of Nusa Ina (Ceram).
2. During his first term of office the Dutch prime minister, Van Agt, stated upon returning from Jakarta in April 1980, that the R.M.S. is a Dutch inter­nal problem. Here he has used his official status as a propaganda stunt for the neo colonial R.I. "junta" in Jakarta to distract the attention of the world from the aggression against the Republic .of the South Moluccas.
3. The Dutch government also continually manipulated the Moluccan community in the Netherlands regarding their point of view concerning the political meaning of the R.M.S. in our fatherland Maluku. For this purpose the govern­ment of the Netherlands has made available hundreds of thousands of guilders to give Moluccan people the opportunity to make use of the so called "orien­tation journeys" to Indonesia and the Moluccas. These jourrieys were supposed to demonstrate that the R.M.S. should have been finished as a political reality.

Against this policy of the "junta" of Jakarta and the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, I, Docianus Sahalessy, accuse on behalf of our fallen free­dom fighters who's blood cries out day and night for truth and justice. This I do in the commission of the people in the occupied fatherland:

1. The Dutch governments that they are constantly in conflict with the spirit of Righteousness that lives in the consciousness of the Dutch people.
2. 
   The Indonesian government, that it is constantly in conflict with the preamble of its own constitution*.

* Since independence is the right of every nation, any colonial system in the world is contrary to humanity and justice, and must therefore be abolished.