15 Mar 2011
The establishing of the Indonesia Nederland Society is conceptualized and given birth in the board of the foundation ‘Friends of Linggajati’
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- Joty ter Kulve-Van Os
In 2001 Mrs. Joty ter Kulve-Van Os, together with her brother Willem van Os, who alas passed away in 2011, started the endeavor to transform the house of their youth in Linggarjati (formerly spelled as Linggajati) into a Lieu de Mémoire because it was there that in a sphere of mutual respect the ‘Linggadjati Agreement’ was negotiated. During these days of deliberation, the conditions were laid for reconciliation, friendship and future cooperation between the Netherlands and Indonesia in the long term.
Thanks to the accomplishment of Mrs. Joty ter Kulve-Van Os and Mr. Willem van Os this house and its lush gardens, once built by their father Koos van Os, now is a national museum of Indonesia that is broadly visited by both Indonesians and Dutch.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Linggajati, a little village at West-Java at the foot the Cerimai, was part of the Dutch-Indies under Netherlands colonial governance. After the war, in November 1946, a Dutch commission-general and an Indonesian delegation gathered at Linggarjati to negotiate independence and a relationship between both countries under international law. Bringing about the ‘Linggadjati Agreement’ was a key achievement for both delegations. See the documentary by Twan Spierts on Mrs. Joty ter Kulve visiting Linggarjati http://www.terugnaarlinggajati.nl
In December 2012 the first INS Linggadjati Award was granted to Joty ter Kulve-van Os.