International News

JAKARTA, (MILLAT+APP/AFP): Indonesia refused to take
the blame Thursday for the disappearance of at least six British and Dutch World War II shipwrecks — considered war graves — that investigators believe could have been salvaged for scrap.
Former colonial ruler The Netherlands has launched a probe into how
three Dutch navy ships seemingly vanished from the bed of the Java Sea, while Britain has urged Indonesia to investigate the disappearance of three of its vessels.
It is believed the military wrecks — lost in 1942 during the Battle
of the Java Sea — were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap metal.
More than 900 Dutch and 250 Indo-Dutch sailors died during the battle
in which the Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat by the hand of the
Imperial Japanese Navy.
Indonesian authorities have sought to distance themselves from the
mystery, saying they could not be expected to protect the sites without assistance.
“The Dutch government cannot blame the Indonesian government because
they never asked us to protect those ships,” said Bambang Budi Utomo, head of the National Archeological Centre under the Ministry of Education and Culture.