PROMOTION OF DOCUMENTS COLLECTION “YUGOSLAVIA – INDONESIA 1945-1967 RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTS”
In the presence of numerous guests, representatives of the diplomatic corps in the Republic of Serbia, representatives of the scientific and cultural life, a large number of members and friends of the Serbian-Indonesian Friendship Association “Nusantara”, documents collection “Yugoslavia –Indonesia 1945 – 1967 research and documents” has its formal promotion at the Archives of Yugoslavia, on September 19 2014.
The guests were firstly greeted by Ivan Tasovac, Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia and Miladin Milosević, acting Director of the Archives of Yugoslavia, then H. E. Samuel Samson, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Serbia, H.E. Milisav Paić, ambassador, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Raković from the Institute for Recent History of Serbia and the President of the Serbian-Indonesian Friendship Nusantara and prof. Dr. Ljubomir Dimic Serbian historian, corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts (SANU).
It is emphasized that this publication sheds light on the development of Indonesian-Yugoslav relations, starting with the first Yugoslav diplomatic documents on Indonesia (1947), through President of Indonesia, Ahmed Sukarno ‘s visit to Yugoslavia in 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 and the President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito’s visit to Indonesia in 1958, the first contact of President Suharto with President Tito (1967). Mutual visits and interviews contributed to the strengthening of relations and cooperation in the political, diplomatic, economic and other spheres, towards a consensus on certain important issues of bilateral and international relations, and, in a special way, testified by the personal messages that are exchanged between the presidents of two states.
Ivan Tasovac, Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, said that many things have changed in Serbia and Indonesia in recent decades, but the mutual understanding and respect for other permanent value in relations between the two countries and the globalization of business activity suggests that interconnections may once again be much more intense and meaningful, and in culture it could be quickly achievable.
Tasovac pointed out that the idea that 60 years ago made Yugoslavia and Indonesia become friends, was a Non-Aligned Movement, the desire to establish a more balanced system of international political relations in which there is room for the voice of the countries that are among the largest and richest.
According to the Minister an important event, the publication of the book “Yugoslavia – Indonesia 1945-1967” shows at least three things:
– It is possible to establish a meaningful and mutually significant cultural cooperation between the two geographically distant countries;
– The systematic work of cultural institutions always give high quality results, and
– To respect the positive historical legacy of open possibilities for improving the current intergovernmental cooperation in many other areas.
Tasovac expressed hope that this example of good practice in the field of archival institutional cooperation will be an encouragement for other local institutions to make Indonesian culture closer to Serbia, and Serbian culture more apparent in that country.
Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Serbia Semuel Samson said that this book with over 500 pages, was the result of the efforts of three authors during two and a half years of work. Among important parts Samson singled an article published in the Belgrade daily “Politika” on November 15, 1945, regarding the Indonesians conflicts with the Dutch and the British, saying that Indonesia country has “enormous natural wealth,” and the Liberation Movement in this country has “sympathies among other colonized nations and peoples of Southeast Asia.”
Less than five years after, on February 1, 1950, vice-president of Yugoslavia Edvard Kardelj sent a telegram to the Vice President of Indonesia Muhammad Hatta stating that Yugoslavia recognized Indonesia as an independent and sovereign state, and proposed the establishment of diplomatic relations between two countries.
Thereafter, on August 24, 1954, the Yugoslav Embassy in Rangoon has sent a diplomatic note to the Indonesian Embassy in the capital of Myanmar (then Burma), on the occasion of the establishment of diplomatic relations and exchange diplomatic representatives with Indonesia. Response to the proposal was received on 14 October 1954, the Indonesian government made a decision with the respect to such issue. According to official announcement on November 4, 1954, diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Serbia was established in Belgrade and in Jakarta, “whose 60th anniversary we celebrate in 2014”, said Ambassador Samson.
“I quote what President Sukarno said that “he feels as at home in the great country Yugoslavia” which is proved with his six visits to Yugoslavia …. So I’m not surprised with the closeness of two of them, as we have seen, in mutual greetings with “my dear friend Tito” and “dear friend Karno,” said the ambassador.
Samson said that the friendship evolved over many years, as well as during the leadership of President Suharto, who sent Muhammad Yusuf on October 7, 1967, to convey a message to President Tito that Indonesia maintains its trajectory within the Non-Aligned Movement.
According to Ambassador, the book also contains very valuable information and references for each diplomat, and for other officials and scientists who are interested to acquire new knowledge, not only about the exceptional long friendship between Yugoslavia and Indonesia in that period, but also about such relationships that can revive bilateral and multilateral relations among other countries.
The authors concluded in the preface of the collection that much of the inter-state relations between Yugoslavia and Indonesia have been handed over to oblivion. “It’s history, the experience worth to be re-examined. We believe that this is a way to reach out a secure foundation and instructive signposts that ‘open perspective’ of the cooperation between our countries in the future.”
The collection is the joint project of the Archives of Yugoslavia, the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Serbia and the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia, reviewed by prof. Dr. Ljubodrag Dimić, Dr. Aleksandar Raković and Miladin Milosević. The preface and introductory study of Yugoslavia and Indonesia, Tito and Sukarno 1945-1967 – contribution to the history of non-alignment was written by Ljubodrag Dimić, Aleksandar Raković and Miladin Milosević.
227 documents from the Archives of Yugoslavia (Fund AJ-837 Office of the President of the Republic), archival material from the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia (MFA RS, AD), other documents, newspapers, foreign and domestic scientific literature were published. The book was complemented with selected articles from the daily “Politika” on Indonesia from 1945 to 1947, then short biographies of important personalities of Yugoslavia and Indonesia, and the register of personal names.
The Promotion of the Documents Collection was an opportunity for the members of the Serbian-Indonesian Friendship Association “Nusantara” to officially bid farewell to Ambassador Samson, who is approaching the end of the mandate in Serbia. As a sign of friendly cooperation during his four-year tenure, Dr. Aleksandar Raković, president of the Association delivered to Ambassador Samson a painting, work of the member of Nusantara, artist Ljiljana Nedeljković.
