Government Investigating Foreign 'Treasure Hunter' After New Discovery

Jakarta Globe, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, April 28, 2010

A piece of porcelain from the Tek Sing shipwreck dating from 1822. Michael Hatcher, who discovered the historically important wreck, is again drawing the attention of government officials after a new discovery. (Photo courtesy of Artancient.com)

The government said on Wednesday that it had launched an investigation into the activities of alleged treasure hunter Michael Hatcher, who has a lengthy history with Indonesia and is believed to again be operating on a new discovery.

Aji Sularso, an official with the National Committee for Salvage and Utilization of Valuable Objects from Sunken Ships (Pannas BMKT), said it had established a joint investigation team comprising related government institutions.

“We are investigating the case,” Aji said.

Aji was responding to complaints by the Consortium for Rescuing National Assets (KPAB), which alleged the ministry had not responded to its report regarding Hatcher, who may hold both British and Australian passports.

Speaking during a news conference in Jakarta, Endro Soebekti Sadjiman, a member of the consortium of nongovernmental organizations, said they believed Hatcher and his associates had been operating in Indonesia since 1986 and had surfaced in a “secret mission in Blanakan waters” near Pamanukan, Subang, West Java.

“The government must arrest him,” Endro said.

Daniel Nafis from Inside Indonesia, another member of the coalition, said Hatcher began operating in Indonesia salvaging the Vec De Geldermalsen shipwreck in East Bintan waters, Riau Islands province.

Items from the ship reaped $15 million during auction at Christie’s Amsterdam, he said.

It was this incident that led the government to establish Pannas BMKT to supervise any further salvage missions, Daniel said.

In 1999, Hatcher allegedly discovered the Tek Sing shipwreck near South Sumtra waters. According to some Internet accounts, the vessel is described as the “Titanic of the East,” given the loss of life associated with the sinking in 1822.

It has been described as one of the most important antique shipwrecks ever discovered.

Along with local company PT. Pratama Cakra Dirga, Hatcher was able to salvage Rp 500 billion ($55 million) worth of treasure, mainly Chinese porcelain, he said.

“The government found out about this illegal operation only after Australian customs officials contacted Indonesian officials,” Nafis said. “They said 43 containers full of porcelain were ready to leave for Germany,” Nafis said.

He said Hatcher had been working with officials from local company PT. Comexindo Usaha Mandiri in Blanakan since 2008.

Nafis said they had already confirmed that the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) had not issued authorization for Hatcher to be operating in the area.

Pannas BMKT, meanwhile, said it had issued permit for Comexindo, but Nafis said it was issued on August 11, 2009, which he alleged meant activities prior to 2009 were illegal.

“We have a copy of a letter from the local Navy commander that Hatcher was allegedly involved in the illegal salvage by Commexindo,” Nafis said.

“It’s clearly legal violation. We had submitted this complaint to the Marine and Fishery Ministry since April 14, but until now the government do nothing,” he said referring to the complaint that Pannas BMKT now said it was acting on.

Nafis said the activity violated Article 27 of Law No. 5/2002 on Cultural and Heritage Objects, which carries a maximum jail term of five years in prison and or a fine of Rp 50 million.

The latest find in Blanakan is also understood to be a shipwreck, though no other information was available.

Treasure hunter Michael Hatcher is said to be operating on a new discovery in Subang, West Java.

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The Moluccan dream – still alive at 60

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 26 April 2010 - 4:04pm | By Marina Brouwer

After 60 years, many Moluccans living in the Netherlands still hope their islands – now part of Indonesia – will be independent one day.

How long can you go on believing in a dream? The Moluccans in the Netherlands have been clinging to the dream of an independent homeland for 60 years, although many might deny that. Younger Moluccans, born and raised here in the Netherlands, seem to have other things on their mind.

The Moluccan community in the Netherlands hails from an archipelago that is now part of Indonesia, but just over 60 years ago still formed part of Holland’s colonial empire, the Dutch East Indies.

Once a year, the Moluccans hold a ritual flag-raising ceremony, commemorating the declaration of independence from Indonesia by their islands, the South Moluccas (known within Indonesia as the Province of Maluku), on 25 April 1950 – 60 years ago this month.

This independence - officially recognised by one country only - was to be short-lived. Just four months later, Indonesian troops put a violent end to the largely Christian Republic of South Molucca (RMS). A flow of refugees to the Netherlands resulted.

Betrayal

The Moluccan community in the Netherlands numbers some 50,000 people and is ‘led’ by a government in exile. The aspiration for an independent homeland is still passed on from father to son, mother to daughter. Any expression of doubt about the ideal of the RMS is almost regarded as an act of treason by the older generation. Nonetheless, many young people have dropped the whole notion, says Chris Soukotta (37).

“There are more and more young people who don’t care much about it. It seems to me that they’ve become Westernised. The ‘French Fries’ generation - that’s what we call them”.

Powerless

The feeling that they were betrayed by the Dutch unites the Moluccan community almost as much as the struggle for an independent country. After Indonesia won its independence in 1949, many Moluccan soldiers who had fought on the side of the Dutch were sent to the Netherlands for demobilisation, with the promise that they would return very shortly.

The Dutch authorities housed them and their families in camps. They believed their stay in the Netherlands would indeed be short, and that they would soon be able to go back home. But Indonesia’s rule took a firm hold, and the Dutch failed to do anything to bring about Moluccan independence or the safe return of its former soldiers. Most South Moluccans were Christian, part of the Dutch-speaking colonial elite who had fought on the losing side. Their islands were subsequently absorbed – although not totally - into a predominantly Muslim Indonesia and the world they had known started to disappear.

The powerlessness of the Moluccan community led to a radicalisation of their young people in the 1970s. The result was a number of terrorist incidents, including the occupation of and taking of hostages at the Indonesian embassy in The Hague.

The independence cause made international headlines again when, in December 1975, a group of determined Dutch Moluccan youths seized a train, taking 50 passengers hostage, two of whom were shot and killed in front of television cameras. The Netherlands was thrown into a state of shock by the hijacking. Another train hijack took place in 1977, along with the seizure of toddlers and teachers at a primary school, again causing a wave of disbelief in the country.

Since then there have been no more terrorist incidents. As John Wattilete, the newly-appointed president-in-exile of the RMS, points out, violence doesn’t advance your cause at all.

“We’re living in different times now. We believe that to achieve our aim – the establishment of an independent state – we don’t need to use violence. It’s better to choose the path of dialogue, lobbying, and all that. That way we’ll actually achieve more”.

Mr Wattilete, a busy lawyer here in the Netherlands, has a more pragmatic approach than his predecessors. While he advocates an independent RMS as his ideal, he hints at a more realistic solution – some degree of autonomy from Indonesia. And he has demonstrated a willingness to talk to the old adversary, unlike the old diehards within the Moluccan community who cling to the image of Indonesia as the bitter enemy.

Fear

Josina Soumokil, the widow of one of the men who read out the RMS’ declaration of independence 60 years ago, is part of the old guard. Her husband, Chris Soumokil, died at the hands of Indonesian military forces in 1966. Chris had urged his wife to continue the struggle in the Netherlands.

“The way I see it, if the RMS is only a dream, why is the Indonesian government frightened of us? A dream is what you have in the evening, at night, while you’re asleep in your bed. When you wake up in the morning, it’s gone, forgotten. But if you look at what happened on the island of Ambon - why does the army arrest peaceful people who raise the RMS flag? Why are they thrown into prison if the RMS is only a dream in the eyes of the Indonesian government?”

It’s not yet known how the Moluccans plan to commemorate this special 60th anniversary of the short-lived independence of their republic.

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Book offers new hope for rights violations victims

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 04/16/2010 8:53 AM

Running things: Saskia E. Wieringa (second right) poses with former Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerwani) activists (from left) Pudjiati, 84, Lestari, 79, and Sri Sulistiawati, 70, at the launch of her book in Jakarta on Thursday about the destruction of the women’s movement following the anti-communist purge. JP/Nurhayati

For decades, the song Genjer-genjer sent shivers down the spines of those who heard it, especially listeners born in the 1980s.

The song, which told the story of the genjer (lettuce) plant that gained popularity during times of extreme poverty due to its abundance amid high food prices, is for many synonymous with memories of generals slain during a political tragedy in 1965 and depicted in a propaganda film, Pemberontakan G30S PKI (September 30 Coup by the Indonesian Communist Party).

Genjer-genjer was said to have been one of the party’s propaganda songs and was played in the film, which graphically detailed scenes of torture allegedly committed by PKI members.

However, on Thursday, cheers accompanied the song, which was belted out by four women, the oldest more than 80 years old.

They were singing at the launch of a book titled Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan: Politik Seksual di Indonesia Pascakejatuhan PKI (The Destruction of the Women’s Movement: Sexual Politics in Indonesia after the Indonesian Communist Party Downfall), penned by Saskia E. Wieringa.

Two of the women have been arrested and held in isolation in various locations as political prisoners because they were accused of being affiliated with Gerwani, the 1960s women’s organization, and the murder of six generals between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 1965. The two accusations were closely linked with the communist party.

“I was a reporter. I supported [then president] Sukarno. I wasn’t even in town when [the murders and alleged coup attempt] happened,” Sri Sulistiawati, one of the singers, said.

Nevertheless, she was captured, tortured with electrocution and held in a prison in Bukit Duri, Jakarta, for years.

The four women, along with perhaps thousands of others, continue to seek justice in the form of a state apology and clearing their names, along with that of their family’s.

Yoseph Adi Prasetyo from the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said that these people were victim of crimes against humanity.

To this day, the victims, along with their families, still experience discrimination and claim they are denied their civil rights.

The nation should reinstate their rights, apologize and make sure that this does not happen again, he said at the event.

Yoseph added that some of the victims had been denied ID cards and were ousted from their posts as civil servants.

There are no official reports on the number of people murdered during the consequent government uprising against alleged communists, but estimates range from 500,000 to 2 million.

Komnas HAM established an ad hoc team to investigate the crimes and has worked on the task for two years.

“We have questioned at least 350 people. We are in the final stages of the draft report,” team leader Nur Kholis said. He added that the report would be sent to the Attorney General’s Office.

The book, which contains the stories of the women in Gerwani and others who were tortured due to alleged affiliations with the 1965 incident, will play a large role in the fight. “We will use it as one of our sources in the report,” Nur Kholis said.

Wieringa, a scholar at the University of Amsterdam, researched the women’s movement, the foundation for the book, from 1982 to 1985.(dis)

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