Moluccans in the Netherlands
While Indonesia was a Dutch colony, Moluccan soldiers served in the Dutch army, attempting to crush Indonesian moves towards independence.
When Indonesia declared independence in 1945 and the Dutch colonial army was finally disbanded in 1949, the Moluccans emigrated from their native island of Ambon to the Netherlands. The Dutch government had promised that their exile would be temporary and that they could return to their islands in the Indonesian archipelago later.
The Moluccans, who are mainly Christian, were settled in temporary refugee camps. They later moved to town estates where they formed tight-knitted communities. To this day, some families have a packed suitcase ready by the door, in anticipation of a return to the Moluccan Islands.
An attempt in 1950 by the South Moluccan islands to secede from Indonesia failed, and the South Moluccan Republic (RMS) settled in exile in the Netherlands.
First generation Moluccans firmly believed that one day they would return; the second generation lost faith in the Dutch government's promises and some turned to train hijacking in order to force the Dutch government to act on their word. The third generation is said to have settled firmly in the Netherlands.
The state visit to the Netherlands by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, due to begin tomorrow, has been cancelled at the very last moment. It's reported that the president was already onboard his plane in Jakarta, then suddenly disembarked.
The reason for the unexpected move lies in summary proceedings filed for in the Netherlands by the Moluccan government in exile in an attempt to force the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office to arrest Mr Yudhoyono when he arrives in the country.
Many ethnic Moluccans (from the South Molucca (wikipedia) islands in the Indonesian archipelago) once served in the Dutch colonial army. They and their families came to the Netherlands in the 1950s following the independence of Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies) in the 1940s. They have maintained a campaign for the independence from Jakarta of their self-proclaimed republic, the RMS, ever since.
The Moluccans want the Indonesian president to face prosecution for human rights violations and the physical abuse of political prisoners
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