Dutch troops involved in the bloodbath in the Indonesian village of Rawagede in in 1947 will not be prosecuted.

The Public Prosecution in Arnhem has ruled that the statute of limitations has passed (it lapsed after 24 years) and therefore no investigation will be launched. This also applies to war crimes committed between December 1946 and February 1947 against the population of the current Sulawesi.

In January, a committee set up to urge for the investigation of Dutch war crimes in Indonesia asked the Public Prosecution Office to review the case - even after Dutch prosecutors drew the same conclusion in a 1995 investigation: “The Public Prosecution realises that the decision is unsatisfactory to relatives and anyone else involved, but is unable to come to any other decision after legal deliberation.”

In 1947, Dutch soldiers killed hundreds of men in the Javan village of Rawagede, now known as Balongsari. Prisoners and escapees were also killed. Recently, nine surviving relatives of the men were each awarded 20,000 euros in compensation. The Dutch government eventually apologised for the killings 65 years after they took place.

(nc/ae)

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