Undefeated in Exile
Together with Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo and Suwardi Suryaningrat, Ernest Douwes Dekker was exiled to the Netherlands where the trio carried on Indische Partij's fight for Indonesian independence. With failing eyesight, Dekker suffered most when he was re-exiled and thrown into a dark detention cell in Suriname. Self-styling himself as a Jopie Radjiman, he returned to Indonesia to continue the struggle.
August 18, 2012
Spared From Execution
Accused of smuggling guns into Hong Kong, execution was mere days away. His testimony in a San Francisco court might have saved him.
The verdict was a death sentence. The firing squad had been notified. Once the date was set, he would be executed. But fate decided differently. The execution never came to pass. Ernest Douwes Dekker's journey did not end before a firing squad.
The reason was never clear. Dekker believed that
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