Volkert van Leeuwen signaled his associate to commence filming the demonstrators gathered in Dam Square outside the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, chanting in opposition to the presence of an Indonesian general who stood accused of atrocities against humanity. Van Leeuwen’s team were members of the Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst or BVD, the Dutch Internal Security Service, charged with the responsibility for maintaining surveillance over members of the Dutch chapter of the Indonesian outlawed Southern Maluku Republic (RMS). As the BVD agent panned the five-hundred-strong throng, the high profile RMS leader in exile raised his arms, collapsing the crowd into silence.
‘The brutal reign of the so-called New Order in Indonesia is nearing collapse due to the undying resolve of those who continue to support the popular student-led movement to bring equality and justice to their country. I say ‘commenced its collapse’ because Suharto’s repressive, militaristic and anti-democracy regime remains desperately clinging to power. It is imperative that we are reminded of our Christian friends and relatives in the Moluccas who at this very time are being subjected to the …’
The speaker’s voice drifted as agent Rima Passelima lifted her head and squinted against the early summer, midday sun, her eyes roaming the buildings surrounding the square, alert to the possibility of this demonstration turning ugly. A Dutch Internal Security Service operative, Rima had successfully penetrated the RMS the year before and, with intelligence reports suggesting the possibility of confrontation with non-Christian Indonesian students studying in Holland, she remained vigilant.
Born to Evalina de Rooij and Johannes Passelima, Rima enjoyed the richness of the Dutch-Ambonese mix, her head-turning Eurasian features catching the eye of a BVD recruitment officer on campus during her final year at university. Although her parents had been enthusiastic at the time and supported Rima’s desire to join the government agency, Rima recalled that her father had expressed concern when learning that his daughter would be required to participate in field operations; somewhat troubled when she posed as an active member of the RMS in Amsterdam.
In 1950, her father had been amongst the many thousands of Ambonese who had been granted asylum in Holland, when a bloody attempt to secede from the fledgling Indonesian Republic failed. With the Japanese defeat in 1945, Indonesian nationalists had seized the opportunity to declare the country’s independence, sparking a war with their former colonial masters that would continue until 1949. The Dutch sponsored the formation of the Republic of the United States of Indonesia to counter the nationalist movement. As the southern Moluccans were predominantly loyal to the Dutch, many of whom having devoted their lives to their colonial masters and achieved both administrative and military skills, they were urged to declare their independence when the RUSI movement crumbled.
The Dutch manipulated the Moluccans to maintain a foothold in the archipelago, particularly during the period when Hol and and Indonesia fought over the sovereignty of Iryan Jaya, Indonesia’s unilaterally declared new province that included the Moluccas and West New Guinea. New Guinea did not come under Indonesian control until 1962; the Moluccas did earlier, in 1949. In the months that passed, tens of thousands (mostly Christian) Moluccans found refuge in the Netherlands, where they remained hostile to Jakarta and the Islamic community — never abandoning their dream of a free and independent Moluccan state.
Rima recognized Volkert van Leeuwen as he moved sur-reptitiously across her peripheral vision The senior agent’s presence comforted her. She scoured the curtained windows above again, curious that her section chief had taken an active role in the day’s operation. As the RMS leader appealed for support in the ongoing cause against the military suppression of Ambon, East Timor, Aceh and West Papua, Rima caught the momentary sparkle of the sun’s reflection from a second storey window. Alarmed, she turned to see if the other BVD agents had identified the imminent danger. Realizing they had not, she focused on the open window and knew, instinctively, there would be no opportunity to disarm the shooter. Without hesitation, she launched forward, elbowing her way to the front of the crowd, with the intent of pushing the RMS leader out of harm’s way. Her sudden appearance surprised the would-be assassin and broke his concentration enough to send the bullet off target. Instead of hitting the RMS leader, it creased Rima’s head and rendered her unconscious.
Concluding that she had slipped, a few demonstrators lifted the unconscious agent and carried her away from the crowd. One of them hailed a white-topped Yellow Cab, which transported her to the nearest hospital.
The demonstration then continued without further incident. None of those present — other than the Indonesian would-be assassin who had already left the scene — were aware of what had transpired.