The krijgsorder for the VI, XXII and XXVI Moekims was a Dutch order of battle for operations in the VI Moekims, XXII Moekims and XXVI Moekims of Groot-Atjeh on which, according to H. van Kol, the governor and military commander Van der Heyden wrote in pencil in the margin the words “er worden geen krijgsgevangenen gemaakt” — no prisoners of war are to be taken.
The allegation
Van Kol made the charge in his reply of 17 November 1897 in the Atjeh debate, in a passage cataloguing breaches of the lois et coutumes de la guerre (laws and customs of war). In the same sentence he alleged that Van der Heyden had caused Njahim to be shot though innocent, and that his order “kassi mandie!” was so cruel that Van Kol preferred not to communicate its meaning, “om geen kreet van afschuw in Nederland te doen opgaan” (so as not to raise a cry of horror in the Netherlands).
Legal context invoked
Van Kol set the order against the articles of the Conference of Brussels of 1874, which he quoted: “il est interdit de mutiler ou de tuer un ennemi qui est hors de combat, et de déclarer d’avance qu’on ne fait pas de quartier, même si l’on ne le réclame pas pour soi-même” — it is forbidden to mutilate or to kill an enemy who is out of the fight, and to declare in advance that no quarter will be given — it is forbidden to mutilate or kill an enemy who is hors de combat, and to declare in advance that no quarter will be given, even if one does not claim it for oneself. He supported this with the Dictionnaire général de la politique of M. Block, p. 1165: “tuer un ennemi qui se rend, ou qui est impuissant à se défendre est un crime déshonorant. Il en est de même des attentats commis sur des femmes et les enfants en pays ennemi.” — to kill an enemy who surrenders, or who is powerless to defend himself, is a dishonouring crime. It is the same with assaults committed on women and children in an enemy country.
The pamphlet’s footnotes render both passages into Dutch for the reader.
Historiographical caution
The allegation rests on Van Kol’s parliamentary statement alone; the order itself was not produced in the chamber, and neither the Minister Cremer nor any other speaker confirmed or contested this specific document. Kuyper replied generally that he fully endorsed Van Kol’s condemnation of cruelties “indien metterdaad die feiten zoo zijn” (if indeed those facts are so), and that no member of any party and no Dutch Minister of Colonies would hesitate to condemn such acts if concretely and clearly proved.
See Also
- Karel van der Heijden
- Njahim
- H. van Kol
- Atrocities in the Aceh War as alleged in the Tweede Kamer (1897)
- Brussels Conference of 1874
- VI Moekims
- XXII Moekims
- XXVI Moekims
- Atjeh debate in the Tweede Kamer (16-17 November 1897)
- 1897
Source
Atjeh in de Tweede Kamer: Debatten bij de behandeling der begrooting van Nederlandsch-Indië voor 1898, uitgave van de Sociaaldemokratische Arbeiderspartij in Nederland (Amsterdam: J. A. Fortuijn, 1897). Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Br P95-178, pp. 63–64, 71–72.
Acknowledgement of sources. The material in this article derives from Atjeh in de Tweede Kamer: Debatten bij de behandeling der begrooting van Nederlandsch-Indië voor 1898 (Amsterdam: J. A. Fortuijn, 1897). Dutch passages are quoted in the original with an English rendering.