was besteht ist wert
dass es zu Gruende geht
(Mephistopheles)
Asia has awakened!.
Sooner or later, the enslaved nations of Asia will surely gain freedom and independence. But not a single person can say when or where the first flag of independence will fly. Whoever investigates deeply into the economies of the east, politics, and sociology will be able to point out the weakest link in the long chain that binds the east in slavery. Indonesia is that weakest link. In Indonesia, the first bastion of Western Imperialism can be fought successfully.
Dutch imperialism is older than British and American imperialism, divided by the great seas that could not be crossed from its colonies. The Netherlands, because it does not have resources for its industries, from the beginning only focused on agriculture and trade.
The spread of their capital from the beginning of the century to all of Indonesia are enormous.
The industrial centre of the Netherlands now is located in Indonesia, while the centre of trade and finance is in the Netherlands. Bankers, industrialists, and merchants live in The Netherlands, while the workers and peasants in Indonesia. If we pay attention to the 2 oceans that divide The Netherlands and Indonesia, while also not forgetting the differences of culture, religion, tradition, and language between the colonisers and the colonised, between the exploiters and the exploited, we see a remarkable comparison in the world of imperialism which we live in today. Remarkable, because the indigenous capital does not exist. So the bridge between The Netherlands and Indonesia breaks completely.
The lack of a national bourgeoisie that have the same characteristics as Dutch imperialism (both want to exploit the workers and peasants) caused Dutch imperialism to find it very difficult to resolve the economic crisis in Indonesia. Where in Indonesia, are the indigenous landlords like in Egypt, India, and The Philippines, that can support the imperialists for the sake of their economic interest? And where are the strong national bourgeoisie, that ask for more political and economic power like in India.
The lack of Indonesian capitalists means for long they have been slaves! Europeans, Chinese, and Arabs have controlled all big, middle, even small trades! The medium or small Indonesian producers have withered away from the Island of Java for the last few years from the introduction of European industrial products.
The case of education is intentionally ignored by the Dutch, the intellectual class became small. Even if the national bourgeoisie like in India wants to support them to establish an industry, it will not succeed.
The lack of a national bourgeoisie makes all parliamentary actions from a national party useless.
How will the “sugar daddies” in The Netherlands be able to give the Indonesian people the right to vote? Or in other words: entrusting political power to the poor workers and peasant supposed representatives? If behind the intellectuals, stand the landlords and the national bourgeoisie whom they would represent in parliament, of course, the situation will be different. And rumours about “changes in the government in Indonesia” do have some merit. The Dutch imperialist gradually, but slowly will hand over governmental authority to the Indonesian people that are honest and competent. Isn't protecting the national bourgeoisie, also means protecting foreign capital? Under the current situation, every type of government in Indonesia has to be subjected to the whims of foreign capital. And a government like that will never be recognized as, from the people and by the people.
In short, Indonesia has no economic, social, or intellectual factors to liberate itself from economic and political slavery as long as they are within the sphere of Dutch imperialism. At the same time, the chances of achieving independence in the fullest sense by controlling half, three-quarters, or seven-eight of parliament is impossible. The dream of Noto Suroto[1] and the likes that dream of “The Great Netherland” will remain the daydreams of the wicked
Indonesia can only raise its economy if political power lies in the hands of the people. And Indonesia will only gain political power only through well-organised revolutionaries, who does not seek compromises.
The People's Council can sometimes be entered! But it is not to be used as a legitimate weapon to obtain a fully responsible national government by means of the People's Council in co-operation with the Dutch imperialists. But to extend the revolutionary effort into the chambers obtained by means of parliamentary actions is akin to someone in the Sahara Desert chasing apparitions. But whoever puts all his knowledge to use in organised mass action will win the victory like a "chicken coming home to roost".
The matter of independence is not limited to just Indonesia, which can be solved through congressional meetings in the people's council, not to mention the discussions of economic and cultural jokes in the coffee shops. Such matters are closely interlinked with western hegemony towards the people of colour in Asia.
One of the reasons - and this is not the least of the problems - why the United States has not also granted independence to the Northern Indonesians (the Philippines) who, according to the words of friends and foes, have long been ripe (as the American Imperialist newspapers in Manila say) is that Philippine independence would mean a general revolt and slaughter in Asia against white authority (a general revolt in Asiatic countries against white authority, the uprising being attended by slaughter). The independence of Indonesia (the centre of Asian geography and warfare, five times more populous than the Philippines and with international trade) could only mean like a pistol aimed at the heads of western, especially British, power in Asia.
Not long ago the former crown prince Willhelm explained to a representative from the United press in Locarno which announced by radio to the world, that if the millions of people in Asia one day beat the Anglo-Saxon (British, French, and Dutch) surely it would be the nations of Malaya who first caused it. What kind of imperialist expectation and insinuation were meant by the irritating crown prince, for us it remains to mean: that Indonesia now is not Indonesia from a few years ago. Indonesia has taken a special position in the ranks of millions of people in Asia.
Therefore, the victory obtained by peaceful and parliamentary means should not be thought of at all. Wouldn't such a thing not exactly disturb the capitalist tranquillity in the East? If Indonesia one day breaks free and defends its independence from its domestic and foreign enemies, it will be determined by its revolutionary nature, that is, by mass action: from the masses and for the masses.
If the 300 years of Dutch colonialism were not in the form of robbery (killing indigenous industry) surely the degree of intellectuals would be far different from where we are today! And we would of course have the intellectual fervour (intelligentsia) in accordance to our origins, education, and loyalty to the leaders of the national bourgeoisie, industry, merchants, and indigenous officials. There will also be a movement for democracy and national liberation that is cooperative (compromising) with The Netherlands with the help of workers and peasants as in India, Egypt, and in some ways The Philippines.
The lack of national bourgeoisie makes the intelligentsia weak. They hover between the people with the government. They don't have a sense of self-sacrifice like other nationalists have shown in other countries. They don't have the necessary connection, way of thought to bring themselves closer to the masses. Caused by imperialists, they made our class of intellectuals disconnected from the masses.
They do not have the necessary power to influence and attract the hearts of the people. Our intellectual class doesn't have the trust and sympathy from the masses to mobilise them, organise actions, and lead them. In addition, due to the small number of intellectuals, they still live in their own isolated classrooms and have not become educated workers.
For the time being, they can watch from afar. If, on the other hand, there were many of them, they would be going around the people and experiencing the misery of industrial labour with the "joy" of the struggle.
The speed in which the intellectual class emerged, the disillusionment of Budi Utomo (BU)[2] and the National Indische Party (NIP)[3] and the brutality of reaction, have clawed away their sights to another direction. Although now still stands a few miles apart from the masses and political participation, politics is very much backward compared to comparable colonies of other nations, but they have surely awakened from their slumber. “The cloak of an angel” from Noto Suroto has been tossed away by them and starts to go in the path of revolutionary actions. Now from several universities in the distant Netherlands, their voices echoed all the way to the intellectuals in Indonesia.
But the hope of the workers and peasants of Indonesia does not just stop at agreements in words from the intellectuals. They demand actions and evidence.
As long as our intellectual class still sees our struggle for independence as nothing more than an academic matter, such promises and demands for action are nothing more than empty promises. Let them step out of their study rooms and immerse themselves in active revolutionary politics.
The wave of strikes, boycotts, and demonstrations grow larger and larger every year, through national congresses, towards the Federation of the Republic of Indonesia, this is their way, nothing else!.
Tan Malaka