Indonesia and South Africa share an unshakeable bond forged on the battlefield of the struggle against oppression. We are proud of a partnership that fought the viciousness of slavery, colonialism and apartheid. Our histories became entwined when Dutch invaders seized both our lands and subjugated our peoples. At the time our independent entities in south-east Asia came to be named by the colonial power and its private companies as the Dutch East Indies centred around Batavia.

The Dutch, of course, bizarrely named the land at the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. Both our peoples put up fierce resistance. That resistance was, however, stymied by superior European armaments. The flame of resistance continued to burn in the hearts of our people resulting in ongoing revolts in both our lands. Since the mid-17th century, Indonesian slaves at the Cape fought shoulder-to-shoulder with other Asian and African slaves as well as the indigenous Khoi and San peoples.

We remain grateful to the indigenous people of South Africa who embraced our brothers and sisters as their own, granting them succour in times of strife. Not only do we have a shared history of political struggle, but our bloodlines also merged with the rich diversity of the South African people, notably the community that has come to be known as Malay, in the Cape.

Out of the adversity of slavery and colonialism came unintended yet positive consequences. Indonesian scholars, religious leaders, artists and royalty enslaved or imprisoned by the Dutch carried with them to the Cape the rich traditions of learning as well as the Islamic faith.

Our history books record that in 1693 Sheikh Yusuf, from Makassar, was exiled to the Cape for his part in Banten Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa’s resistance to the Dutch invasion. A township of that name on the Cape Flats remains as homage to Sheikh Yusuf.

The long-standing penal colony of Robben Island, as well as the mainland, are dotted with kramats that are a homage to this indelible shared history. Over the past century, scholars from both our countries and further abroad have demonstrated that the Afrikaans language is a product not of the Dutch colonisers, but the oppressed black peoples. We also take pride in the record of the Holy Qur’an having been written in Afrikaans long before it became an official language of South Africa.

When the flames of anti-colonial resistance started to burn again in the early 20th century, Indonesian and South African revolutionaries were to again act in solidarity in the quest for our mutual freedoms. We participated in anti-imperialist conferences of various sorts in different parts of the world.

The best-known of these in South Africa’s liberation history is, of course, the 1955 Bandung Conference hosted by President Sukarno. The 29 African and Asian countries, some of which had become independent by this time, represented 1.5 billion people or 54% of the world’s population at the time. While the conference was organised in partnership with fraternal nations, it was a deep honour and privilege for Indonesia to be the host. The Bandung Conference added fuel to the flame of revived resistance to colonial rule. Most of the countries represented in Bandung were soon to win their independence. The last of those was, of course, South Africa, which made the defeat of apartheid a bittersweet victory.

As South Africa celebrates the silver jubilee of its freedom, Indonesia is delighted that this month also marks 25 years since we opened our embassy in the country. South Africa opened its embassy in Jakarta in 1995 and we were pleased to receive Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo for the official inauguration of the mission there in 1997.

No tribute to our firm diplomatic relations can go without reference to President Nelson Mandela. Our then president was pleasantly surprised when Madiba arrived in Jakarta in 1997 wearing a batik shirt. That came to be known as his signature garment, breaking with the colonial hangover of jackets and ties. We have reliably learnt from media reports that it was the South African designer Desré Buirski who was responsible for Madiba’s iconic silk batik apparel clothing which has come to be known universally as the Madiba shirt. It is also understood that the late Indonesian designer Iwan Tirta also designed shirts for Madiba.

As Indonesians, we can only be proud that one of our national dresses has come to be so closely identified with one of our closest partners in the world community of nations. Bilateral relations between Indonesia and South Africa are on firm foundations and we co-operate in a large number of international treaties and councils.

South Africa is Indonesia’s largest trading partner in Africa. We are especially keen for this relationship to grow. The spirit of Bandung was essentially about South-South partnership and trade. We believe there to be great complementarities in our economies. We remain keen to share scientific expertise and are encouraged by scholarly exchanges that have been taking place largely unprompted by our governments. While manufacturing is a large part of both our economies, we are keen to grow other sectors such as tourism, beneficiation of raw materials and green technologies.

In this regard, it’s worth mentioning that we also have a comprehensive strategic partnership between Indonesia and South Africa. This was signed on 17 March 2008 by then president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and former president Thabo Mbeki.

We are confident going forward into the next 25 years, that our political, trade and people-to-people diplomacy will serve to strengthen our formidable shared history and contribute to mutual prosperity. We congratulate the South African government and people on celebrating 25 years of freedom and democracy as well as the opportunity to be hosted in this remarkable country during the past quarter-century. DM