Yesterday, it was announced that a widow from kampong Skip (Sumatra, Indonesia) will be compensated for the death of her husband. The man was summarily executed by Dutch soldiers on 5 January 1949, within the context of a large-scale attack on the Rengat and surroundings, located just a stone's throw from Skip. The husband, who worked for the police at the time, was shot in his house. His widow is now 85 years old.

Click here for an article about this claim in de Telegraaf (in Dutch).

The claim for damages was submitted early December 2016, on the basis of a settlement scheme that the State of the Netherlands announced late 2013 (in Dutch: de Bekendmaking). According to that scheme, widows of men who were summarily executed during the postcolonial violence in the former Dutch East-Indies can claim damages from the State out-of-court. A compensation can be awarded of €20,000. Should the claim be rejected, the widows have to take the matter to court anyway.

The widow was represented by lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld and Brechtje Vossenberg. The lawyers are currently representing hundreds of surviving relatives of the violence that took place in the former Dutch East-Indies between 1945-1949, among which are several surviving relatives of the aforementioned attack on Rengat and surroundings.

Background (in Dutch)

• A.L. Hoek, 'Ook op Sumatra richtten de Nederlanders een bloedbad aan' | NRC Weekend, 13 February 2016
• ANP, 'Bloedbad Sumatra in 1949 kostte veel meer levens' | Het Parool, 13 February 2016

Previously

• Interview with Liesbeth Zegveld: 'Sympathetic' regulation provides old widows with nothing
• Extension of Civil Settlement Scheme for damages of Indonesian widows
• The Netherlands sued by dozens of children re: post-colonial violence in former Dutch East Indies (1945-1949)