Free the South Moluccas
The Federalism for Peace Foundation is a Dutch foundation with the objective to support states and peoples in processes of federal state formation. Federal state formation is a unique means of resolving conflicts and achieving lasting peace. It is also a contribution to the peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding of the United Nations. We intend to do this on April 12th, the day Dr. Soumokil was murdered.
This foundation is currently writing a report to bring the sovereignty and right to self-determination of the South Moluccas to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
The approach of the report is completely different from that of the past 70 years. Purpose: to make the United Nations legally recognise that the South Moluccas are an autonomous, independent people with their own sovereignty. The fact that they themselves feel that they are sovereign is not enough. They will only be sovereign if this is legally recognised by the international legal community through the UN.
The report of over 200 pages contains a detailed analysis of the legal errors, procedural shortcomings and political manipulations of the transfer of sovereignty 1949-1950. These events led to the wrongful liquidation of the Federal Republic of the United States of Indonesia. And thus, to the equally unlawful occupation, oppression and exploitation of the South Moluccas.
The report focuses extensively on the failure of the United Nations Commission for Indonesia (UNCI). Its task was to ensure the transfer of sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia. It failed to see how faulty the constitution of the federation was and what room it offered President Sukarno to implement his political plans. At the expense of the freedom of the Moluccan people. The UNCI who was responsible on behalf of the United Nations could and should have prevented this.
The Netherlands had other interests than protecting the position of the South Moluccas and the unfair situation in which their inhabitants ended up. Resistance to the violation of the right to sovereignty of the South Moluccas has cost Dr. Chris Soumokil his life. And many other Moluccans.
The report describes the route to restore the sovereign freedom of the South Moluccas to the situation of April 1950. It contains a formal indictment with the demand that due to the illegal liquidation of the federation, justice must still be done to the free constitutional position of the South Moluccas and to the humanitarian rights of its population. On penalty of expulsion of Indonesia from the United Nations.
At the same time, the demand includes compensation by Indonesia and the Netherlands.
The South Moluccas must consider their future constitutional position. The report recommends striving for a federal connection with other sovereign states in Oceania. To this end, it contains a correct constitution that must be submitted to the people for approval.
Efforts to establish this report and the filing of the indictment should be compensated financially. That is what this crowdfunding action was started for, but not only that. It is of the utmost importance that the Moluccan people support this initiative. By means of this action we make that clear.
For more information about this project and the summary of the report, please visit www.federalismforpeace.org.