Dave Armstrong – Today we may think of the Dutch as a race of benevolent liberals, many of whom sit in Amsterdam cafes smoking hash and listening to bad Eurojazz, but like all colonists, the Dutch engaged in their fair share of brutality and exploitation.

That's why Indonesian nationalist Sukarno sided with the Japanese after they invaded in 1942 and declared himself president of an independent republic after the Japanese were defeated in 1945.

This displeased the peace-loving Dutch who used military force to try and regain their former colony, against the wishes of most Indonesians. Of course, New Zealand did nothing.

At the time, my father, a committed Leftie, thought Indonesia should be for Indonesians, so went around Wellington writing 'Hands off Indonesia' on various walls.

As much as dad and his comrades believed in worldwide revolution and the abolition of private property, they respected the private property of Wellingtonians so much that they didn't want to ruin it with paint, so they used chalk to write their graffiti.

Unfortunately, dad's semi-literate comrades who worked in factories – he was at university – couldn't spell 'Indonesia' so dad suggested that chalking 'Hands off Java' would work just as well.

In the mid-1960s, President Sukarno was seen by many in the Indonesian military, and the US, as being too close to the communists, so the military unleashed a bloody coup.

Up to 500,000 Indonesian civilians were butchered. Their murderers not only went free but were rewarded by new president, General Suharto, a great friend of the United States.

In 1974, a bloodless military coup in Portugal ended 40 years of fascist dictatorship there. Portugal's new socialist leaders declared their former colonies independent, including East Timor.

Suharto informed his American mate Henry Kissinger of his intention to invade East Timor, received his tacit approval, and unleashed a bloody reign of terror in our Pacific backyard.

A New Zealand television journalist, along with some Australian colleagues, was murdered by the Indonesians in East Timor soon after the invasion. Of course, New Zealand did nothing.

By the 1990s, Suharto's genocidal behaviour towards the East Timorese had outraged the world. US President Clinton, during a visit to New Zealand, signalled that something would have to be done. My God, New Zealand did something.

Now that Uncle Sam officially disapproved of Indonesia, it was OK for New Zealand to say 'me too'.

Indonesia reluctantly withdrew from East Timor and our peacekeepers served with distinction to ensure that East Timor became independent and democratic. For the first time, I was proud of something the New Zealand military did in my lifetime.

The corrupt Suharto was eventually deposed, yet the military remains and thousands of Indonesians still belong to paramilitary organisations of the type that carried out the 1960s slaughter.

Currently, the indigenous people of West Papua are suffering the same brutal repression from Indonesia that was faced by their East Timorese cousins. Of course, New Zealand has done nothing.

With such a history of brutality, carried out with the tacit support of countries like ours, is it surprising that the Indonesian Government has draconian drug laws and cruelly executes people the way it did to eight people convicted of drug trafficking recently.

New Zealanders, most of whom can't tell their Suhartos from their Sukarnos and don't know where East Timor or West Papua are located on a map, were justifiably outraged by the executions, and called for action.

Our Government, instead of reverting to its default setting of silently condoning Indonesia's bad behaviour, actually condemned the executions. Could this be because two Australian citizens were among the eight executed.

Indonesia should be a good friend and neighbour. Yet it has often been led by corrupt and brutal politicians. Perhaps this is because countries like ours, with our 'me too' foreign policy, have condoned Indonesia's bad behaviour for over 50 years.

Maybe that simply encouraged their leaders to laugh in our face over our objections to their ghastly executions, knowing that as long as Indonesia toes the Western foreign policy line, there is little danger of retribution for any of their bestial acts.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/68193305/indonesias-history-of-brutality