Minister Yeşilgöz honors Moluccan veterans at Indies Remembrance Day

During the 39th National Indies Remembrance Day in Roermond, Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz honored Moluccan veterans and addressed the historical mistreatment of the community.

Yeşilgöz acknowledged the deep scars left by the discharge from military service, inadequate housing, and failed expectations faced by Moluccan migrants following the Indonesian War of Independence. This follows a formal apology issued in June by Prime Minister Rob Jetten on behalf of the government regarding the treatment of Moluccan migrants 75 years ago.

The ceremony at the National Indies Monument commemorated more than 6,400 Dutch and KNIL soldiers who died in the former Dutch East Indies and Netherlands New Guinea between 1945 and 1962, as well as 161 soldiers lost in international missions since the Korean War.