Chapter 1262 Instigation
Frere's words were naturally prompted by Ernst. East Africa does not want a regional superpower like Indonesia in the past life to appear in the South Seas in the future.
In the past, Indonesia had a land area of nearly two million and a population of nearly 300 million. It also controlled or influenced many important straits and routes in the world, including the Strait of Malacca. There was almost no shortcoming in resources. Oil, coal, iron ore, copper ore, bauxite, etc. were all available and rich in reserves.
If such a country with great power potential appeared, it would be very unfavorable for East Africa's control over the South Seas in the future.
Although East Africa cut off the land of Indonesia in the past life on the island of Kalimantan, it was obviously not safe, so Freere proposed to Prime Minister Kuyper to separate the two sides of the Sunda Strait from the East Indies colony.
Freer said: "Your country can set up a special zone in the Sunda Strait and return the local financial, military and other powers to the Dutch government."
"We in East Africa are also happy for your country to strengthen its differentiated rule over the East Indies, but we are not optimistic about the current Dutch colonial policies in the East Indies."
"The construction of the Sunda Strait Special Zone is a good opportunity. While the two sides have not yet been developed, if your country separates this area from the East Indies colony, it will not be resisted too much by the locals."
"At the same time, introduce foreign populations such as the Far East Empire, Siamese, and Vietnamese to completely isolate this place from the widely distributed Arab population in the East Indies..."
Prime Minister Kuyper listened carefully to Freer's series of suggestions.
After all, for Prime Minister Kuyper, although East Africa has a short colonial history, its capabilities are definitely not bad, otherwise it would not be possible to become one of the few colonial powers in the world in just a few decades.
Although the value of East Africa's overseas colonies is not high, such a large area also shows that East Africa has mastered some unique secrets.
Freer continued, "I think your Excellency should have noticed that since the end of the last century, there has been a wave of national consciousness awakening in backward regions and countries around the world."
"The independence consciousness of these regions is awakening and erupting. Unless extreme measures are taken, this situation will only intensify. The East Indies is too far away from your country, so you'd better make plans early."
"At present, the major European countries are busy with wars, which has provided an opportunity for the Netherlands to regulate the East Indies colony, which also means that external interference factors are greatly reduced."
"And we in East Africa do not want a regional powerful regime to rise in the South Pacific, so we hope that the Netherlands can complete the reorganization of the East Indies during this period."
Prime Minister Kuyper was not disgusted by Freer's straightforward words. After all, a unified East Indies was not what he wanted to see.
He said: "In fact, our government has similar ideas, but it is not easy to implement. The situation in the East Indies is too complicated, and our strength is not as strong as yours. It is difficult to force various policies there."
Frere disagreed with Kuyper's view. He said: "We all know the history of the East Indies colonies. Originally, this region was forcibly integrated by colonial activities."
"You must know that before your country colonized the East Indies, the entire East Indies was not a monolithic entity, but rather a collection of many countries."
"But your colonial activities have promoted the integration of local ethnic groups, such as a unified army, a unified administrative agency, and a unified law..."
"Although these have facilitated your country's rule in the Dutch East Indies, they have also laid the foundation for future troubles. In the East Indies, there is even a unified national concept of Indonesians."
"This is very dangerous. They use the East Indies as their identity, and the local Arab forces are dominant. At the same time, the mixed residence of various ethnic groups has also promoted the formation of this unified national consciousness."
As Freer criticized, Kuyper's face became ugly.
"Mr. Freer, from what you said, it seems that a series of policies of our Dutch government have led to the collusion of the people of the East Indies, but as far as I know, the policies implemented by your colonies should be similar to ours!"
Freer did not deny it. He said to Prime Minister Kuyper: "That's right, but our East African positioning of overseas colonies is completely different from your country."
"We treat the people of overseas colonies as our own people and can give them corresponding respect. Can your country not have such prejudice against Indonesians and mix with such a large number of pagans?"
Kuyper asked with a strange look: "Mr. Freer, you must know what you did in East Kalimantan! Not only East Kalimantan, but also your country's Lan Fang Overseas Province and Mindanao, your series of policies, we are very clear."
Then, he lowered his voice and said to Freer sideways: "That kind of simple and crude massacre is also regarded as treating the locals as equals?"
No one knows better than the Dutch what East Africa is, especially what East Africa has done in the Nanyang region, that is, planned "genocide" activities.
In other words, East Africa is a world power, so generally no country dares to directly accuse East Africa.
So what Freer said about "our own people" was extremely ironic in the eyes of Prime Minister Kuyper. If the massacre of indigenous peoples was considered "our own people", then the Indonesians and the Dutch under Dutch rule were simply "relatives".
After all, the Dutch did not carry out genocide in the East Indies as blatantly as in East Africa.
Freer said calmly: "The people we are talking about naturally do not include those stubborn elements and pagans, but new immigrants who are willing to coexist peacefully with East Africa."
"These new immigrants are composed of people who are willing to accept Germanization and receive a full set of German education. In the future, they will be almost the same as the East African people."
"And your country is still not decisive enough in the East Indies. If I were you, I would either actively suppress the indigenous and religious forces and promote my own culture, or simply make it impossible for them to become a country forever. In the end, even if they become independent, they will not pose a threat to the mother country."
"East Indies "A large area of islands in the Indian archipelago would be beneficial to your country's operations, but you have forcibly integrated them into a whole, which is tantamount to digging your own grave."
"So unlike our East Africa, your country should implement a colonial strategy in the colonies that is completely different from our East Africa, so as to continue your country's colonial activities in the local area."
"Especially separate some special areas in the local area, so as to ensure that even after the independence of the East Indies, more interests can be retained."
Frere did not hide the "crimes" of East Africa, and was not ashamed of such crimes, and persuaded Prime Minister Kuyper in turn.
This made Prime Minister Kuyper admire the shamelessness of the East Africans, but Freer's words also gave Kuyper a lot of inspiration.
Nowadays, European countries are busy with wars, and East Africa supports the Netherlands in taking some extreme measures in the East Indies. Splitting the East Indies is indeed an opportunity for the Netherlands.
And Kuyper is not worried that East Africa has ulterior motives, or even if the East Africans really have evil intentions, the Netherlands cannot stop any actions of East Africa.
After all, if East Africa really wanted to take over the entire East Indies, it would be easy. If the East Africans really intended to do so, the Dutch East Indies colony would have changed its flag long ago.
Therefore, Prime Minister Kuyper did not think that East Africa had any intentions towards the Dutch East Indies, at least at this stage, East Africa certainly did not have such an intention.
So Prime Minister Kuyper thought for a moment and said to Freer: "I will seriously consider your suggestion, and after a while, our two governments will find an opportunity to discuss in detail."