Widows of Indonesian men from the village of Rawagedeh who were shot dead by Dutch troops exactly 62 years ago today are to sue the Dutch state.

They want recognition of the massacre which took place in the village of Rawagedeh and financial compensation. They also accuse the Netherlands of failing to investigate the bloodbath.

It is the first time that victims of the Dutch military operation during the Indonesian War of Independence between 1945 and 1949 have taken legal action against the Dutch state.

On 9 December 1947, Dutch troops attacked Rawagedeh on Java and killed hundreds of men and boys. Even people who fled the village or were taken prisoner were shot dead.

In spite of a number of expressions of regret the Netherlands has never accepted responsibility for the massacre. The families do not accept the Dutch defence that the war crimes are precluded by the lapse of time as Second World War cases are still being tried in court. The Dutch government recently agreed to meet the widows, but failed to satisfy their desire for justice.

None of the soldiers involved in the massacre were ever prosecuted. The Netherlands has never apologised to the relatives of the victims nor has it offered any compensation. A United Nations report from 1948 calls the Dutch operation “deliberate and merciless”.

Photo: Java landscape - Flickr Java tourism board