Netherlands ordered to pay damages for Indonesia colonial killings
- The Dutch state must pay compensation ranging from US$10,800 to US$133 to relatives of 11 men, who were killed in southern Sulawesi in the late 1940s
- In early March, Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologised for ‘excessive violence’ during the former colony’s fight for independence
The Hague District Court ordered the state to pay damages ranging from 10,000 euros (US$10,800) to 123 euros (US$133) to eight widows and four children of the men, who were killed in southern Sulawesi between 1946 to 1947.
It is the first time specific amounts have been awarded despite Dutch courts hearing a slew of similar cases, the claimants’ lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld said.
“The court considers it proven that eleven men have been killed as a result of misbehaviour of Dutch soldiers. Most cases involved summary executions,” the judges said.
The highest amount was paid to a man who as a 10-year-old saw his father being killed, the court’s spokeswoman Judge Jeanette Honee said.
Widows of the men also received damages of up to 3,600 euros (US$3,903) but claimants who were children received less, depending on their ages at the time of the killings.
