THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch troops used “extreme violence” — often deliberately — during Indonesia’s War of Independence in the 1940s, and Dutch military leaders and politicians have largely ignored the excesses, a long-running research project concluded in findings released Thursday.

The 4.5-year-long investigation by experts from three historical research institutes contradicts the Dutch government’s long-standing view that the country’s troops only engaged in extreme violence sporadically as they fought the pro-independence forces in what became Indonesia.

In a statement, the researchers said the sources they consulted “show that the use of extreme violence by the Dutch armed forces was not only widespread, but also often deliberate. This was tolerated at all levels: political, military and legal.

The researchers said it was not impossible to give the exact number of crimes and victims.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was due to comment on the findings later on Thursday.

In 2013, the Dutch government apologized for some atrocities committed by its forces between 1945, when Indonesia declared independence from Dutch colonial rule, and 1949, when the Netherlands finally recognized the independence of the ‘Indonesia.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander formally apologized during a state visit to Indonesia in 2020 for his country’s past aggression.

Lawsuits by relatives and survivors of Dutch military atrocities have also pressured the government in recent years to reassess military actions during the independence conflict.

An earlier Dutch report, from 1969, acknowledged “violent excesses” in Indonesia, but argued that Dutch troops were carrying out “police action” often instigated by guerrilla and terrorist attacks targeting suspected independence opponents.

Findings released on Thursday painted a much bleaker picture of the actions of Dutch troops.

“During the war, the Dutch armed forces resorted to extreme violence on a frequent and structural basis, in the form of extrajudicial executions, ill-treatment and torture, detention in inhumane conditions, burning of houses and of villages, theft and destruction of property and food supplies, disproportionate air raids and artillery bombardments, and what was often random mass arrests and internments,” the research project said in a statement. communicated.

It also involved the military’s political paymasters.

“The Dutch armed forces as an institution were responsible for the violence used, including extreme violence. However, they operated in close consultation with and under the responsibility of the Dutch government,” the researchers found.

A representative of the Dutch Veterans Institute criticized the findings.

“The results of the investigation evoke in me a sense of unease and concern, as veterans who served in the former Dutch East Indies are collectively placed in the dock through unsubstantiated findings,” said institute director Paul Hoefsloot in a written statement. declaration.

Hans van Griensven, president of another Dutch veterans’ organisation, told national broadcaster NOS that the violence was “not as widespread as it is made out to be”.

“Of course things went wrong, like in all wars,” added Van Griensven. “But, in general, there was also humanitarian aid, food was distributed, infrastructure was built. This is not discussed” in the conclusions.

The research project, partially funded by the Dutch government, is part of a broader reflection on the colonial past of the Netherlands. Last year, the mayor of Amsterdam apologized for the city’s involvement in the slave trade.

The Rijks National Museum opened an exhibition on Indonesia’s War of Independence last week.

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