Republik Indonesia

"Better to the hell than to be colonized again" was painted on a streetcar in Jakarta on 17 August 1945. This is the day of the Proclamasi, the day Sukarno plants the red and white flag in front of his home in Jakarta and proclaims the independent Republic of Indonesia. Two days after the surrender of Japan the situation is chaotic, and the Dutch government is not even inclined to consider acknowledging the republic. The Indonesians will have to endure two wars and wait for more than four years until sovereignty is officially granted, on 29 December 1949.