From: Alan and Carmel Brain <aebrain@w...>
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 13:50:10 +1000
Subject: Re: IC, Dutch
> RWHofrich@aol.com wrote: Here's a viewpoint from someone who's had to study the Indonesian armed forces in the past. Consider a suitable disclaimer about "No connection to ADFA or any official views of the Australian Government" said. (Current Day) The relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands is comparable to that of India and the UK. There are an awful lot of Dutch words in Bahasi Indonesian. The cultural influence is very striking. Less well known is the Indonesian influence on Holland, a decent Rijstafel (= Rice Table) is rare, but gettable there. And if you order Nasi Goreng, you might get something which resembles the original (as opposed to the German version, which is unspeakable...). Similarly I got a very good Tandoori Chicken in Derby, at least the equal of anything from Singapore or parts east. What this means is that there's a bit of a "Love/Hate" relationship. The Dutch feel a national guilt complex for colonising the joint. The Indonesians, while celebrating their independence from Holland and all things Dutch, often come to rely on Dutch methods or Dutch Companies (Shell in particular) in difficult times. There is one more complicating factor: When the Japanese conquered the Dutch East Indies in 1942, they actually tried to implement some of their own propaganda about the "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere." In other areas they paid lip-service to it, in most areas they didn't even bother doing that, but here they tried to integrate the locals (now freed from the White Mans's Yoke) into the Empire. It sort of worked. The Indonesian armed forces are the direct descendent of the Imperial Japanese Army. Which is why the Army has a statutory 30% of the votes in Parliament, and why there is a Civil and a Military gubernatorial duo right down to the city /county government level. Anyone who'd looked at the various factions of the Japanese military taking independent actions from Government policy in the 30s (and even 40s) will see exact parallels with what's happening in Indonesia today. The Indonesian PM can say to the head of the Armed Forces "You must resign", and said head can just ignore him. [Future History] I see much the same, with even greater power to the IC Military (given that they now own SE Asia in toto, a "Lesser SE Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" if you like. Having IC mercenaries, sometimes on opposing sides, is perfectly in character. These aren't usually paid mercenaries as such, they are regular troops whose commander is being paid to lend them to whoever. Or whose commander sees some advantage in it, anyway. As for the Dutch - I see them as treading a tightrope, avoiding being integrated with the FSE. Having Powerful Friends like the IC would help. As would playing off FSE-NAC against each other.