For years, Joop Hueting had saved a cardboard cut-out with a red-and-white flag and the words “50 Tahun Indonesia Merdeka” (50 years of Indonesian independence) written on it. “A souvenir from a trip to Indonesia,” he said when speaking with Tempo English  two years ago.

Since returning from his compulsory military service in Java in 1950, Hueting, who passed away in Amsterdam on November 11, had always maintained th