Abdication of Her Majesty the Queen of The Netherlands

30 April 2013

10.00-10.30
Abdication of Her Majesty the Queen in the Moseszaal of the Royal Palace Amsterdam. Those present will include the Presidents of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom and members of the Royal Family, the governors and prime-ministers of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

The Queen will give a short address. The Director of the Queen's Office will then read aloud the instrument of abdication to which the Queen will then give her assent by means of her signature. Finally the instrument of abdication will be signed by the witnesses.

Dutchman ‘Van Dis in Indonesië:’ A Critical & Personal View on Indonesia

By: Yvette Benningshof

The Dutch tv series Van Dis in Indonesië featured the well known writer Adriaan van Dis, traveling through Indonesië in search of his roots, traces of the Dutch and the shared history between Indonesia and the Netherlands. With his own complex family history as a leading thread, he travels through Java, Bali, Maluku and Sumatra. He talks with a colorful cast of people: writers, a bakso seller, a miljonair, a sultan and the son of Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia.

Best of all: All episodes are available online, so Indonesians and other international viewers can also watch this series!

R.I.P Andy Tielman…The Tielman Brothers: Rock n’ Roll Legends Lose a Brother

By: Patrick Durkan

Andy Tielman died this Thursday (10-11-2011) of gastric cancer. Andy formed a quarter of the legendary Indorock band the Tielman Brothers. Known more in Europe than their homeland of Indonesia, the Tielman Brothers were pioneers of rock n' roll as much as Elvis, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent were in America. Moving from Indonesia in the late 1950s along with other hopeful musicians they formed part of the Indorock explosion in Europe along with The Crazy Rockers, Oety & his Real Rockers, Electric Johnny & his Skyrockets and many more, but marked themselves out as a unique force with their highly developed stage tricks and inventive playing techniques.

SBY cancels trip to The Netherlands…much ado about nothing?

By: Willy van Rooijen ‘’A case of much ado about nothing.” This headline in the Jakarta Post reflects the opinion of most Indonesian critics on the canceled state visit of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). The trip to The Netherlands was canceled as a lawsuit was filed by activists of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) living in The Netherlands. They wanted to have SBY arrested on his arrival on charges of human rights violations against Moluccan separatists. They had raised the RMS flag when SBY visited the regional capital of Ambon. Under detention during that time, they had been tortured. Indonesian human rights groups strongly reacted to SBY’s surprise decision. Choirul Anam of the Indonesian Human Rights Working Group said that SBY ‘’blew things out of proportion” in canceling his trip. Haris Azhar from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras): “The government thinks the RMS movement is a threat. But there is a huge gap between what they are afraid of and reality. There is no need for law enforcement against them.’’ Haris said that charging people hoisting the RMS flag with treason was a ‘’kneejerk reaction’’. Critics also said that the cancellation actually achieved the opposite of what SBY might have wa