Comparative Decolonization

Abstract

In March 1996, as the headlines announced to all, Europe met Asia in Bangkok. The first summit between the European Union and the ASEAN countries, Japan, China, and South Korea was more important for its symbolic meaning than for its substance. Nothing concrete was achieved, nor had this been the intention. It was all fairly informal, with heads of state and government showing to the world that the age of decolonization was now really over: European and Asian leaders communicating as equals, on terms the ASEAN host had set. 1 This seemed to be a new departure, though it had been foreshadowed for years. Given the fact that Pacific Asia is the growth engine of the world economy, European business and political leaders felt they were missing out on something. The ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting) was designed to show all this. With the handover of Hong Kong (and Macao) approaching, decolonization in Asia really seems to be over. But is it really true? It can hardly be denied that in Europe it is Germany which takes the initiative in forging a new European-Asian relationship, not the former colonial powers themselves. Turning to the Netherlands, for a moment, it is easy to see why. In August 1995, Queen Beatrix paid a state visit to Indonesia, the former Dutch colony that had proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945, fifty years earlier. The state visit was exceptional for two reasons: it almost, but not completely, coincided with the independence celebrations, and it almost, but not completely, coincided with the presence of a huge Dutch economic delegation, headed by the minister of Economic Affairs, Hans Wijers. The delegation was successful, but what about the state visit? Crucial to its success, at least on the Dutch side, was the speech the Queen was to give during the banquet on 21 August, the day of her arrival. During her speech, she expressed her deep regret for the pain inflicted during the decolonization struggle of 1945-1949, but stopped short of apologizing for Dutch atrocities committed during those years. 2 Her speech turned out to be a typically Dutch compromise, reflecting all for which the Government was willing to be held accountable for and thus a little disappointing to many people who had expected something terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.