Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-05-Speech-4-209"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030605.7.4-209"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the borders of the developing world are largely a product of European colonial administration. People who wanted to stay together were split up because the areas they lived in were divided up between colonial occupiers. Conversely, people who would have liked to have had an independent state were allotted to large, powerful neighbours who wanted to conquer the areas they lived in. It is becoming difficult to change the way countries are divided up in a peaceful manner, particularly if oil or metals have been found in the ground in such areas.
Indonesia is a product of more than three centuries of Dutch colonialism. Five large islands and innumerable small ones were brought together under one administration in order to supply what the nineteenth century author Multatuli called a North Sea robber state with cheap raw materials and commodities. The two areas in which the Indonesian army is now trying to destroy separatist movements, Aceh on Northern Sumatra and West Papua, were the last to be added to the Dutch colonial empire. They were occupied by the Dutch colonial army as late as 1900, and this was preceded by a bloody war in Aceh.
The Netherlands had very little interest in the island of New Guinea, which was initially divided between the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain and which was inhabited by Papuans whose way of life had not changed since ancient times, until Indonesia broke away from the Netherlands in the War of Independence. This was the last colonial foothold in Asia at the time. The Netherlands had to cede this territory 40 years ago under pressure from America, which was looking to establish good relations with Indonesia. The promised referendum for the residents about whether or not to join Indonesia never materialised.
In 1945 the Netherlands once again tried to divide Indonesia into an independent, densely-populated Java and a number of satellite states in the region linked to the Netherlands. Many Indonesians, and certainly their rulers and their military, still regard the fact that they made this split impossible as a great success. The powerful role of the Indonesian army, which has been guarding minerals and suppressing ethnic minorities for many years, can be explained by this, as can the long-standing occupation of the former Portuguese Timor and an earlier attempt to annex the former British Malaysia.
Indonesia’s current problems were caused by Europe and America. It is therefore a good thing that the European Parliament is concerning itself with these wrongs. Unlike in the past, this must not be done through military intervention from outside but through diplomatic, and, if necessary, economic pressure. In order to enable the Indonesian peoples to achieve democracy and self-determination, we must always take these causes and sensitivities on board."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples