Njahim was an Acehnese whom, according to H. van Kol speaking in the Tweede Kamer on 17 November 1897, the governor and military commander Van der Heyden “liet onschuldig doodschieten” — caused to be shot dead though innocent.
The allegation
The charge was made in a single sentence which linked three acts to Van der Heyden: that he had Njahim shot though innocent; that he wrote in pencil in the margin of a krijgsorder for the VI Moekims, XXII Moekims and XXVI Moekims the words “er worden geen krijgsgevangenen gemaakt” (no prisoners of war are to be taken); and that he was with his command “kassi mandie!” so cruel that Van Kol preferred not to communicate its meaning to the chamber, “om geen kreet van afschuw in Nederland te doen opgaan.”
The source gives no further particulars — no date, no place, no indication of Njahim’s status, and no account of the proceedings, if any, by which he was condemned.
Historiographical caution
The allegation rests solely on Van Kol’s parliamentary statement of 17 November 1897. Neither the Minister of Colonies Cremer nor any other speaker addressed it. Kuyper replied in general terms that he fully endorsed the condemnation of cruelties “indien metterdaad die feiten zoo zijn,” and that if such facts were concretely and clearly proved to the chamber, no member of any party would hesitate to condemn them.
See Also
- Karel van der Heijden
- Krijgsorder for the VI, XXII and XXVI Moekims
- Atrocities in the Aceh War as alleged in the Tweede Kamer (1897)
- H. van Kol
- Abraham Kuyper
- 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, p. 64.
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.