The Struggle is Just and a Just Struggle will Surely be Victorious

Today the peoples of the whole world are watching Indonesia's heroic struggle for the recovery of West Irian with great interest.

What has inspired the people of Indonesia to wage such a determined struggle?

West Irian is not only an intrinsic part of Indonesia but it is 20 per cent of her total territory. It is only natural that the Indonesian people want to unite all their territories and to win a unified sovereign republic.

But the struggle for West Irian is not only a struggle to unite all Indonesian territories. The Dutch colonialists want to keep West Irian occupied in order to use it as a springboard to attack the Republic of Indonesia and to carry on their subversive activities against the young republic. The question of the recovery of West Irian therefore is one with Indonesia's struggle for complete independence and peace in the country.

The people of Indonesia cannot let the colonialist conspiracy succeed. Can they ever forget the cruel role of the Dutch colonialists? While ten years of independence in Indonesia (1945–1956) has brought down the number of illiterates to 50 per cent of the total population, 350 years of colonial rule kept the figure at 97 per cent. And this is only one of the numerous terrible experiences under Dutch rule.

The Indonesian government has tried to settle this question with the Netherlands through peaceful negotiations from the very outset. It brought the following resolution to the Political Committee of the United Nations in 1954: ""The Governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands to resume negotiations without delay, as provided for by the Round Table Conference Agreements, with a view to achieving an early agreement on the political status of West Irian.""

The Political Committee adopted the resolution. But due to the pressure of the colonialist powers of the world the resolution failed to secure the two-thirds majority necessary in the plenary session of the U.N. General Assembly. The Indonesian government has tried four times, through U.N.O. to settle this question. But in November this year they were again foiled in their attempt.

That is why all the forces in Indonesia have joined hands in the direct struggle for the recovery of West Irian.

A "Central Action Committee for Liberation of West Irian" has been formed comprising people of all political opinions and mass organisations of workers, peasants, students, youth and women, including the Gerwani (Indonesian Women's Movement).

Mr. Sudibjo, Minister of Information of the Government of Indonesia, is President of this committee. All sections of the population are represented on this committee, including national enterprises, the intelligentsia and all religious opinions, Muslim and Christian, and special committees have been formed for the co-operation between the military forces and the youth on the one hand and the military forces and labour on the other.

On November 18th, there was a mammoth rally of one million people in Jakarta which issued a clarion call to the entire nation to start direct action. Since then the people and the Government have taken up the struggle in various forms.

On November 25th, the entire nation observed ten minutes silence to express their determination to liberate West Irian. At 12 noon sharp all Muslim mosques in Jakarta sounded their drums and gongs, factories and locomotives let off their sirens and whistles, and all citizens remained silent.

On December 2nd, Indonesian workers in Dutch enterprises in all parts of the country staged a complete general strike.

On the preceeding day all Dutch daily newspapers had to stop publication as the result of an order from the government of Indonesia. From the 3rd December, the government refused to give licence to the Royal Dutch Airlines Company (KLM) to fly over Indonesia, and all their planes were ordered to leave Indonesia as quickly as possible.

On December 4th, the Indonesian National Reconstruction Conference, which includes all the important military and political figures of the central and local governments and economic experts and advisers, passed a resolution advocating the abrogation of economic relations with the Netherlands and the confiscation of all Dutch enterprises; these enterprises include plantations, mines, ships, factories and banks.

On December 5th, the Government ordered the diplomatic organisations of the Netherlands in Indonesia to suspend all activities of the consulates and to withdraw their staff from Indonesia. The government also ordered all unemployed Dutch nationals to gradually withdraw from Indonesia.

By December 13th, almost all Dutch enterprises in Indonesia, except shops, were brought under Indonesian government and military supervision according to Antara, the Indonesian News Agency.

The Ministry of Commerce is guarding against all possible adverse effects on the Indonesian market which may be caused by these changes. For example, commodities hitherto imported from the Netherlands will now be imported from other countries.

While the Indonesian people are busy taking all possible measures to liberate West Irian, the imperialist powers are trying to bring pressure on the Indonesian government to check these activities. The abortive attempt to assassinate President Sukarno was one of the heinous acts on the part of the interested forces. The Netherland's attempt to seek NATO help is another proof of the imperialist designs.

But the people and most of the governments of the Asian and African countries solidly support the struggle of the people of Indonesia. Premier Chou En-Lai of China, Prime Minister Nehru of India, and many other important statesmen, public figures and mass organisations of Asia and Africa have declared their full support with Indonesia's determination to liberate West Irian. Workers of Australia have also declared their support.

International organisations such as the Women's International Democratic Federation, the World Federation of Democratic Youth, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the League of Arab Workers, etc. have also declared their support for Indonesia's cause and have called upon their national organisations to act in solidarity with Indonesian people.

The Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference to be held in Cairo, will have this question as one of the most important items on the agenda.

Many European countries such as Poland, Yugoslavia, the German Democratic Republic and Greece have offered to assist Indonesia.

The Indonesian government has always kept open the door of peaceful negotiation with the Netherlands. But they have now made two things clear. Firstly that the initiative must now come from the Dutch, and secondly that the recognition of full sovereignty of Indonesia, including the territory of West Irian, must be the precondition to the opening of further negotiation.

Public opinion in the entire world was behind President Sukarno when he declared on December 11th, in Surabaya, that this struggle was a just one and that a just struggle will surely be victorious. His speech also pointed out the fact that although, in the United Nations, Indonesia had not gained two-thirds of the votes, it had won the support of 42 countries which made up half of the world's population, and to that was added the support of 600 million people of the Peoples' Republic of China which is not represented in the U.N.O.

The President's declaration to the effect that Washington was not the place to carry out Indonesia's struggle for the liberation of West Irian, but that its solution will depend upon the struggle and the strength of Indonesian people, will find an echo in the hearts of all freedom loving people.

Berlin, 20 December 1957.