CHAPTER XII T.HE SOUTH MOLUCCAS: inside or outside N egara Timoer

The second phase of the implementation of the Dutch federal strategy was the creation of the (Negara Indonesia Timoer or NIT). In a formal sense this occurred at the conference of Denpasar, 7-24 December 1946, where representatives, some elected by regional bodies like the DMS, others appointed by the Dutch, discussed and on the whole approved proposals put to them by the Indies government. The conference created government structures with a head of state elected by the conference, a provisional parliament consisting of the delegates themselves together with a provisional constitution approved by them. The administration in East Indonesia remained in the hands of colonial officials. From Denpasar onwards the question of the constitutional position of the South Moluccas in or separate from (East) Indonesia took on a more con• crete and institutional form. In Denpasar the South Moluccas became part of NIT. The struggle to determine the region's final resting place occurred to a large extent within the federal institutions, and on two levels. Firstly, in Ambon itself the conflict between the pro-Indonesia forces organized in PIM and the old colonial establishment recently organized in the Gaboengan Sembilan Serangkai was fought inside and outside the DMS and continued to be closely intertwined with the struggle for control of Ambonese society. Partly through the inability of the GSS to secure political domination in Ambon, they expanded their campaign with the help and leadership of • based Ambonese organized in the PTB, to a second level beyond Ambon in which the principal actors were the Indies government, the KNIL, the navy and the government of East Indonesia. At this second level, the issue of Ambon's constitutional position became involved with questions of the development and viability of the federal system, particularly of NIT. From the Indies government's point of view the state of political play in Ambon was only one of a number of factors to be taken into consideration in deter• mining Ambon's political future. The other factors extended from domestic political interests in the and the KNIL's dependence on Ambonese soldiers to the need to develop a strong yet pliant government in . 234 Nationalists, soldiers and separatists

At the conference itself the South Moluccas was represented by the three elected delegates, Tahya, Tahitu and Pupella. In response to pressure from the GSS and military in Ambon, the government appointed R.J. Metekohy as an additional member of the delegation as well as appointing Vigeleyn Nikijuluw as a 'commissioner' in its own delegation. Vigeleyn Nikijuluw was an observer rather than a participant at the conference. The four del• egates overcame the political differences between them by allocating dif• ferent subjects to each. Tahya, who had been a member of the seven-man advisory committee established at Malino to prepare for the Denpasar gathering, gave the keynote political speech, in which he advocated a corporate or functional group system of representation for an authoritarian and technocratic state instead of a party-based parliamentary system. Tahya's speech foreshadowed criticism of western-style democracy and posed an alternative remarkably similar to that being implemented under the government of General , but it did not discuss ques• tions particular to the South Moluccas and East Indonesia. It showed that even at this early stage of Tahya's career his concerns had extended beyond those of his homeland. Metekohy's contributions to the conference, in the light of the pressure exerted for his appointment, were minimal; he was silent on the very issues which concerned his supporters. The only delegate to discuss the right of self-determination was a pro-Republican Balinese who wanted associated with the Republic in Java rather than with NIT. In stark contrast to his campaigning in Ambon during the months following Denpasar, there was nothing in Metekohy's conduct at the conference that suggested other than his support for NIT and Ambon's place in it. Pupella's contribution was in keeping with his nationalist commitment. He supported the candidature of against the Dutch-supported Soekawati for the presidency of NIT. The other South Moluccan delegates supported Soekawati. At the final meeting Pupella spoke on behalf of the South Moluccan delegation. He welcomed the creation of NIT in the context of the struggle of the whole Indonesian people, and with the co-operation of all concerned he hoped that struggle would succeed (Conferentie Denpasar 1947:21, 110) The and the OMS elections set the scene for an intense period of political activity in Ambon. It is doubtful whether in any period prior to the proclamation of the RMS Ambon and its political whims had attracted so many distinguished visitors. Between January and March 1947- thus between the end of Denpasar and the decision of the OMS on whether to remain in NIT- President Soekawati's 'state' visit was followed by Tahya and government commissioner W. Hoven. All three proclaimed the virtues of the new federal state. Another group visiting Ambon at government expense was Luitenant-ter-zee Vigeleyn Nikijuluw, KNIL