Nederland staat terecht in Indonesië: Achtergronden van de processen tegen Nederlanders in Djakarta (“The Netherlands stands trial in Indonesia: Background to the proceedings against Dutch nationals in Djakarta”) was a book by H. C. Beynon published in 1957 by A. W. Bruna & Zoon in Utrecht, with a foreword by Prof. Mr. J. M. van Bemmelen, documenting the politically motivated trials of Dutch nationals in Djakarta between 1953 and 1956 and arguing that the proceedings reflected the broader failure of Dutch postcolonial policy toward Indonesia.
Subject and argument
The book’s central argument, announced in its title, is that it was not the accused Dutch nationals — principally Schmidt and Jungschläger — who stood in the dock in Djakarta, but Dutch colonial and postcolonial policy itself. Beynon traces the origins of the so-called NIGO (Nederlands Indische Guerilla Organisatie) affair — an alleged Dutch underground conspiracy used as the pretext for the arrests — to a combination of Indonesian domestic politics under the cabinet of Ali Sastroamidjojo and a calculated anti-Dutch propaganda campaign.
The book covers the political context of the trials in detail: the rise of the Darul Islam movement and its Acehnese branch under Daud Beureueh, which broke out in open rebellion on 20 September 1953 following the installation of the Ali Sastroamidjojo cabinet on 1 August 1953; the Indonesian domestic political crisis of 1954–1955, including the controversy over the expulsion of Chinese nationals; and the attempts to discredit and disbar the Dutch defense lawyers Mr. H. A. Bouman and Mr. Nany Razak.
The NIGO trials
Beynon documents the arrests beginning with Schmidt on 18 December 1953 and Jungschläger on 27 January 1954, the fabricated testimony of crown witnesses including Tomasoa and Manoch, the removal of skeptical judge Mr. G. Kh. Liem, and the campaign to eliminate effective defense. Jungschläger died in a Djakarta hospital on 19 April 1956 before the verdict was delivered. The book also reproduces key primary sources including Mr. Bouman’s letters to the minister of justice and a letter by prosecution auxiliary Broeks that revealed the planned entrapment of the defense lawyers.
The Aceh dimension
Chapter 3 of the book discusses the strength of the Darul Islam (DI) movement and its three theaters — West Java under Kartosuwirjo, Aceh under Daud Beureueh, and South Celebes under Kahar Muzakkar. Beynon cites figures presented in the Indonesian parliament on the cost of the Aceh rebellion: some 10,000 dead, 27,000 people in need, material damage of 100 million rupiah, railway losses of 80 million rupiah, and 70% of railway stations destroyed.
The book’s chronological appendix records key dates for the Aceh conflict: the outbreak of the rebellion on 20 September 1953, the stoppage of Garuda Indonesian Airways flights to Kutaradja on 21 September, the official branding of Daud Beureuh as rebel leader on 25 September, and the statement of Kolonel Simbolon, territorial commander in Aceh, on 3 October 1953: “De toestand in Atjeh is zeer ernstig; het is niet mogelijk deze kwestie met wapenen alleen op te lossen” — “The situation in Aceh is very serious; it is not possible to solve this issue with weapons alone.”
Postcolonial argument
The closing chapters argue that the Dutch–Indonesian relationship had been irreparably damaged by the half-hearted and self-interested character of the transfer of sovereignty on 27 December 1949, and that only a genuine acceptance of Indonesian independence — without the “fear of losing something” that had governed Dutch policy — could restore productive relations. The final chapter presents two future scenarios: continued antagonism ending in the complete loss of Dutch influence in Southeast Asia, or a renewal of relations on a genuinely equal basis.
Physical description
The volume was stamped at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library, The Hague) on 15 January 1957, bearing shelfmark 26526217. It was written during the period July–September 1956 in Bussum, as noted in the closing section.
See Also
- H. C. J. G. Schmidt
- Leon Jungschläger
- Ali Sastroamidjojo
- Darul Islam
- Negara Islam Indonesia
- Teungkoe Moehamad Daoed Beureu-éh
- Kartosuwirjo
- Kahar Muzakkar
- Kolonel Simbolon
- Atjèh’s accession to the Negara Islam Indonesia (1953)
- Soevereiniteitsoverdracht
- 1953
- 1957
Source
Nederland staat terecht in Indonesië: Achtergronden van de processen tegen Nederlanders in Djakarta, by H. C. Beynon; foreword by Prof. Mr. J. M. van Bemmelen (Utrecht: A. W. Bruna & Zoon, 1957). Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, shelfmark 26526217; stamp date 15 January 1957.