Dutch PM Apologizes to Moluccan Community for Colonial-Era Betrayal

Rob Jetten issued the formal apology on June 21, 2026, at Rotterdam's National Monument Ulu Kora. The Dutch state had repatriated 12,500 Moluccan soldiers and families in 1951, promising an independent state that never materialized—instead confining them to camps with restricted movement and employment. The apology follows a Dutch template: formal acknowledgment and commemoration, but no financial reparations announced so far.