Indonesia Vrij, Indonesia Merdeka (Indonesia Free, Indonesia is Independent)
Description
Author: Mohammad Hatta
Published: Bulan Bintang
Year Published: 1976
Category: Non-Fiction
While Bung Hatta was studying in the Netherlands, together with other Indonesian students, he founded the Indonesian Association. Perhimpunan Indonesia (Indonesian Association) is an association of Indonesian students in the Netherlands and they also fought against Dutch colonialism in a direct colonial country. The Indonesian Association became the first organization to use the name Indonesia in the world. The struggle of the Indonesian Association to promote Indonesian independence received world attention with the invitation of the Indonesian Association to take part in the Congress Against Colonial Oppression and Imperialism in Brussels, from 10 to 15 February 1927. This event was the first international congress against colonialism and imperialism which involving Asian and African anti-colonial figures, such as Jawaharlal Nehru (India), Hafiz Ramadhan Bey (Egypt), Messali Hadj (Algeria), Hansin Liu (China), and Lamine Senghor (Senegal).
After returning from this congress, Bung Hatta was arrested and put on trial he was accused by the Dutch government of being a communist propagandist. Bung Hatta wrote his defense speech in a Dutch court, entitled Indonesia Vrij! Indonesian Merdeka! Which he wrote in 1928. Indonesia Vrij! Indonesia Merdeka! then recorded and became this book. The book is often juxtaposed with Bung Karno's defense speech: Indonesia Sues, at the Bandung Court in 1930. Bung Hatta's involvement in the event facilitated Indonesia's struggle to defend Indonesia's independence. When Indonesia involved in diplomatic struggles after 1945, many of the former participants in this congress had become heads of state or heads of government, so many of them supported Indonesian independence.