Genocidal Practices in Aceh? A Critical Analysis of the Netherlands East Indies Army's Conduct of the War Against Acehnese Civilians During the Aceh War of 1873-1914.

Abstract

Writing history is a political activity. It is told from the perspective of the author and often reflects a certain national historical framework. In the case of Dutch colonial historiography, which shall be discussed here, a similar pattern is to be seen. In the years following decolonization, the aftermath of Dutch military defeat in 1945-1949 and the loss of colonial prestige set a motion in progress which ultimately led to a certain marginalisation of the Dutch East Indies’ historical significance within Dutch historiography. The ties between the Netherlands and its former colonies became severely strained, and, as a result, the Dutch no longer regarded the latter as an integral part of its national destiny and history. According to a number of scholars, the Aceh War of 1873-1914 is a prime example of how politics has influenced Dutch colonial historiography. Certain aspects of the war, they argue, have been wilfully neglected in order to suit the Dutch national historical framework. During the war, which was fought between the Netherlands and the Sultanate of Aceh, the NIL regularly conducted military tactics that today would be regarded as inhumane. The absence of a clear distinction between native combatants and native civilians led to Dutch assaults on the population itself. Some scholars suggest that these events had strong genocidal overtones. Whatever the case, the events contradict traditional views on Dutch colonial history, which is generally regarded as rather peaceful when compared to that of other European colonial histories. This raises the following questions. What is a civilian and what is a combatant? To what extent can the NIL’s conduct of the war against Acehnese civilians be regarded as acts of genocide? If acts of genocide did indeed take place, why have these events been largely ignored in Dutch colonial historiography? And how should the war be properly remembered? This research seeks to examine if the Netherlands East Indies Army (NIL) conducted acts of genocide against Acehnese civilians during the war. In the following chapters, I shall discuss the definition of genocide, the NIL’s actions in Aceh and whether or not those actions can be regarded as acts of genocide. For this research, I have chosen the timeframe 1873-1914, which has proven to be vital in identifying and understanding the dynamics and evolution of the NIL’s conduct of the war in Aceh. It took the Dutch forty years to conquer Aceh, hence the chosen timeframe. Following this examination, I will conclude by making recommendations on the remembrance of the war.