Mohammad Hatta - Time in The Netherlands

Time in The Netherlands

In 1919, Hatta finally went to the HBS in Batavia. He completed his study with distinction in 1921, and was allowed to continue to study at the Rotterdam School of Commerce in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He took economics as his major and earned a doctorandus degree in 1932. The degree entitled him to follow a doctorate program. He then continued to pursue the doctorate degree, and completed all requirements to be awarded it, but he never finished his thesis. Politics had taken over Hatta's life.

In the Netherlands, Hatta joined the Indische Vereniging (or the Netherlands Indies Union). In 1922, the organization changed its name to Indonesische Vereniging and later to the Perhimpunan Indonesia (the same meaning but in Indonesian). Hatta was the treasurer (1922—1925), and then the chairman (1926—1930). On his inauguration, Hatta delivered a speech with the title of "The Structure of the Global Economy and the Conflict of Power", in which he supported the idea of Indonesian non-cooperation with the Dutch colonial government in order to gain its independence. Perhimpunan Indonesia then changed from being a from student organization into a political organization and had an unequivocal demand for Indonesia's independence. It expressed its voice through the a magazine called Indonesia Merdeka (or Free Indonesia) of which Hatta was the editor.

To gain more support from other nations, Hatta attended congresses all over Europe, always as the chairman of the Indonesian delegation. In 1926, Hatta and Perhimpunan Indonesia joined the International Democratic Congress for Peace in Bierville, France. In February 1927, Hatta went to Brussels to attend a congress held by the League Against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression. He met many other prominent nationalists there, including Jawaharlal Nehru from India, Hafiz Ramadan Bey from Egypt and Lamine Senghor from Africa. Later in the year, Hatta attended another congress held by the International Women's League for Peace and Freedom in Switzerland. On that occasion, Hatta delivered a speech with the title of "Indonesia and the Matter of Independence".

By the middle of 1927, Perhimpunan Indonesia's activities had alarmed the Dutch authorities. In June 1927, Dutch authorities raided the residence of the organization's leaders, searching through their rooms and putting Hatta and other four other Indonesian activists behind bars. After spending nearly six months in prison, they were taken to trial in the Hague. They were permitted to explain themselves during the hearing, and Hatta took to the opportunity to explain Indonesia's nationalist cause. He made a speech to the court explaining that Indonesia's interests were in conflict with those of the Dutch, and that was why they could not cooperate. Hatta advocated cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands, but only if Indonesia was independent and treated as an equal partner, not unequally because of its status as a colony. The speech became famous and it is known as the Indonesia Vrij or Free Indonesia speech.

In 1929, Hatta and other Perhimpunan Indonesia activists were released. They then joined forces with the Indonesian-based nationalist, Sukarno and his Indonesian National Party (PNI). Together, Hatta and Sukarno set up a cadre school to train people with nationalistic interests. In the school, potential cadres were trained in economics, the history of the nationalist movement and in the government administration. In July 1932, Hatta made his way home to Indonesia.