Indonesia’s 69th Independence Day from the Netherlands

Indonesia’s 69th Independence Day
Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands in 1945

Channel News Asia

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Boediono led Indonesia’s 69th Independence Day celebrations in Jakarta on Sunday (Aug 17).

For Dr Yudhoyono, the celebrations hold a special sentimental meaning. It was Dr Yudhoyono’s last time leading the Independence Day celebrations after a decade in office. The outgoing president has slightly over two months before the end of his term in office.

The celebrations at Istana Negara had the usual festive routine – the color guard parade, the 17-canon salute and the hoisting of the national flag by a group of young honour guards. The celebrations came two days after Dr Yudhoyono delivered a final State of the Nation address in Parliament.

Attendees of the celebrations at the palace come from all walks of life and from all corners of the Indonesian archipelago. For them, the president’s leadership has been marked by good and bad moments.

President Yudhoyono’s term in office has seen numerous policy reforms that boosted Indonesia’s economic growth and infrastructure development as well as in combating terrorism. However his term has also been tarnished by a string of corruption cases implicating top-level leaders in his own Democrat party and a rise in the number of religious intolerance cases against minority religious groups.

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Video: Indonesia celebrates Independence Day

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Indonesia

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century. Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence shortly before Japan’s surrender, but it required four years of sometimes brutal fighting, intermittent negotiations, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949.

Population:
253,609,643 (July 2014 est.)

Religions:
Muslim 87.2%, Christian Protestant 7%, Christian Roman Catholic 2.9%, Hindu 1.7%, other 0.9% (includes Buddhist and Confucian), unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
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Video:Dutch East Indies in color 1938-1939

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Video: 2013 Netherlands sorry for Indonesia colonial killings

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