The South Moluccas consists of about 150 islands in the Banda Sea. The main islands are Ceram, Ambon, and Buru. The people of the South Moluccas are mainly Melanesians, numbering about one million. The islands are a part of the Republic of Indonesia.

South Moluccas Republic

The Republic of the South Moluccas, or Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS), was a self-proclaimed republic in the Maluku Islands, founded April 25, 1950.

RMS history

The Moluccas were part of the Dutch East Indies, a colony of the Netherlands, since its conception in the 18th century. When Indonesian revolutionary leaders declared the independent Republic of Indonesia, the south Moluccas were the part of that country, declared by its freedom fighters. Indonesia's struggle for independence recognition lasted from 1945 until December 27, 1949 when, the Dutch East Indies ceased to exist under heavy international pressure, especially from the United States, which threatened to cut off Marshall Plan funds to the Netherlands.

In first instance the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia as a federation of autonomous states, of which one was the South Moluccas. On April 25, 1950 demobilized ex-colonial KNIL army men who remained loyal to the Dutch crown, staged a revolt and proclaimed what they called the "Republic of the South Moluccas". They wanted a totally independent country, so even more than just a federal state. On August 17, 1950, the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, as originally proclaimed, was restored by the initiative of the president. The liberal democratic system of government, whereby the cabinet would be accountable to the House of Representatives was retained. This was a source of political instability in the young Republic with frequent changes in government until the rise of the so called New Order. Still from within Indonesia the call for an independent Republic of the South Moluccas was never again heard as loudly as in 1950.

RMS in exile

The rebellious RMS group was defeated by Indonesian forces in November 1950. The defeat resulted in the flight of the self-declared RMS government from the islands, and the formation of a government in exile in the Netherlands. The following year some 12,000 Moluccan soldiers accompanied by their families went to the Netherlands, where they established a "Republic of the South Moluccas" government-in-exile.

During their exile parts of the RMS movement have committed terror attacks. Some say this caused the Dutch government to withdraw their support for the RMS. Others argue that the attacks were caused by frustration of the non support of the Dutch government in the first place. One confirmed attack, was in 1978, when the group took 70 civilians hostage inside a Dutch government building in Assen.

During the 70's, other similar attacks in the Netherlands by Moluccan secessionist groups, lent credence to the idea that perhaps the South Moluccan Suicide Commando group was an alias (or at least a close ally) of other groups such as the Free South Moluccan Youths, who seized control of a train and took 38 hostages in 1975, or an unidentified Moluccan secessionist group that simultaneously took 100 hostages at a school and 50 more on a train in 1977.

From the 80s to the present day no such actions re-occurred.

RMS Presidents

The first president in exile was Prof. Johan Manusama.

Dr. Chr. R. S. Soumokil was the RMS president in 1954 who went into hiding on Ceram island. He was only captured by the Indonesian Army in Ceram on December 2, 1962. Brought to trial before a military tribunal in Jakarta, he was sentenced to death and executed under President Suharto's rule on April 12, 1966.

The government-in-exile continues to exist, with Frans Tutuhatunewa as head of state. However does not proclaim any violent action towards either the Netherlands or Indonesia. The president in exile has said that the young generations should focus on their education and development opportunities in the Netherlands if they want to potentially support and develop the South Moluccas.

The current Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands Junus Effendi Habibie, brother to the third president of Indonesia, has said that he would do all he can to facilitate the repatriation of first generation Moluccans to their beloved homeland.

Maluku Sovereignty Front

Since 1999, a new organization known as the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM) has operated in Ambon, stockpiling weapons and flying the separatist flag in public places.

The people

The South Moluccan people are predominantly Christian, unlike most regions in Indonesia which is overwhelmingly Muslim. The South Moluccan Republic, however, was also supported by some Moluccan Muslims in the region at that time.

Today, while the majority of Christians on the Moluccas do not support separatism, the memory of the RMS and its separatist objectives still resonates in Indonesia, and Moluccan Christians, lately during the chaos in Moluccas, are accused by Muslim groups of having independence as their goal. This accusation has been useful in galvanizing Muslims to fight (Jihad), and the situation has not been aided by the fact that some diaspora Moluccan Christian groups have taken up the RMS banner.

In the Moluccas agreement in Malino (Malino II), signed to end conflict and create peace in the Moluccas, Moluccans claimed "to reject and oppose all kinds of separatist movements, among others the Republic of South Moluccas (RMS), that threaten the unity and sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia".

External links

• History of South Moluccas
• Briefing Paper Presented to The United Nations Commission on Human Rights 1996 Session March at Geneva by Karen Parker, J.D.
• RMS Terror Activities in The Netherlands
• Moluccans reject RMS
• History of RMS
• Territorial Disputes: South Moluccas at the Open Directory Project