Open letter to H.E.  Mr Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia

Dear Mr. President,

May I express my profound disappointment that it was necessary for your visit to Holland to be cancelled. My sentiments are shared throughout Holland. Your visit would have been the first visit of an Indonesian President to Holland in forty years.

Be assured that many of my countrymen looked -- and are still looking -- forward to your visiting Holland. We shall be honoured to receive you.  As over one million Dutch citizens claim their roots in your nation, our bond with Indonesia remains deep, warm and respectful of Indonesia’s rightful place in the world.

We admire the Indonesian people and their Founding Fathers whose sacrifice and leadership led Indonesia into a new chapter of history. Their dream of one country, one people and one language brought to birth the vision of Pancasila.  The Dutch people deeply respect this achievement.

When we realize Indonesia is peopled with multiple cultures, three hundred languages and seventeen thousand islands, we  begin to appreciate the vision  the Founding Fathers of Indonesia displayed in developing a new language for all Indonesian people -- the Bahasa Indonesia. As we further realize the unstinting endeavours of those leaders we Europeans might well compare Indonesia’s achievements with Europe’s prolonged efforts to create a united Europe.

In this sense, your visit to our country might help Holland and Europe better understand both the uniqueness of the Indonesian achievement, as well as how to apply the cooperative spirit of that achievement to Europe. For Indonesia has been pioneering the new way the world must travel in this new century…unity in diversity.

Increasingly, the human family confronts unprecedented challenges, as well as promising possibilities. We seek to feed the millions of malnourished, eliminate poverty, ensure the supply of fresh water as well as produce new oil and energy sources…all of which are aspects to be addressed in your upcoming visit to Holland. As well, we seek to expand the attributes of human liberty and responsibility.

We know Indonesia and Holland still cope with the remnants of de-colonisation. We cannot change the past, but we can learn the past’s lessons. In this respect, the incident that caused your visit to be cancelled did a great disservice to our two countries.

The world continues to face the multiple challenges of both democracy and the arrival of a new stage of history. For all our nations, this requires character, wisdom, and putting oneself in the place of the other person, the other nation. It requires treating another person as one would like to be treated. Gradually, Europe and the world are learning that respect for other cultures, as well as freedom of religion, comprise the essential ingredients of democracy.

Mr. President, the home my father built in Linggajati in the 1930s, where I was born and lived, has been designated by the Indonesian government to be a national museum, a symbol of Indonesia’s fight for Freedom. As you know, this home was the site of the agreement of Linggajati .Here the Dutch government recognized de facto the independence of Indonesia . A new spirit of understanding and statesmanship was born there. And speaking personally, it was a great honour that you and Mrs Ani Yudhoyono  visited the Gedung  Perundingan .

The new spirit and statesmanship represented by the Gedung Perundingan are essential for the world today. Indonesia has travelled a long and, at times, difficult road to attain its present world stature and respect. As the Indonesian government has shown courageous statesmanship, the world has much to learn from Indonesia and the road she has travelled.

May God bless Indonesia and honour your courageous leadership.

Joty ter Kulve-van Os
Foundation  Friends of Linggajati
Wassenaar

7-10-2010