President Jokowi Consults With Foreign Minister On Dutch PM Admits August 17, 1945 Indonesian Independence

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo said he would consult with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi before responding further to the statement of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who recognized August 17, 1945 as the date of independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

The reason is, the President believes the statement will have a fairly broad impact.

"Yes, it's good, but we'll see later. I ask for input from the Foreign Minister first because the impact is everywhere," said Jokowi, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, June 15.

The statement regarding the recognition of August 17, 1945 as the Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia was made by Prime Minister Rutte in a debate on the results of research on decolonization in the Dutch Parliament on Wednesday (14/6) local time.

Quoted from a transcript of the debate that can be accessed on the official website of the Dutch Parliament, Sweepe Kamer, Rutte stated that the Netherlands recognized August 17 as the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence unconditionally.

Rutte said this in response to a lawmaker from the GroenLinks Party, Corinne Ellemeet, who asked the Prime Minister to convey the importance of August 17, 1945 and the willingness to consult with the President of Indonesia.

"The answer is yes. I will give you a little background on that. The Netherlands recognizes August 17 completely and unconditionally," said Rutter.

Rutte also explained that in recent years, the Netherlands has always been involved and/or attended all celebrations of the Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17.

The chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) added that in 2022, he will be a guest at the Indonesian Ambassador in the Netherlands to deliver a speech.

In addition, Rutte emphasized that the Dutch King Willem-Alexander always sends congratulations to Indonesia on August 17 every year.

Rutte's statement is clearly a novelty in the Dutch position which has been known to include December 27, 1949 as the date of recognition of Indonesia's sovereignty as a result of the Round Table Conference in The Hague.