Dutch State Conspiracy
Against the will of the Dutch government, Oltmans interviewed Indonesian president Sukarno in 1956. Once he became a confidant of Sukarno and part of his inner circle he took it upon himself to convince the broader public in the Netherlands of the legitimacy of Sukarno's viewpoints. In 1957 he pleaded for the transfer of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia while in Indonesia. He claimed to have prevented a Dutch war against Indonesia over New Guinea by sending a memo to US president Kennedy. Since then Joseph Luns, minister of foreign affairs covertly tried everything to sabotage Oltmans' career, with much success: for a long time, Oltmans was forced to live off welfare. Luns who now had become Oltmans' nemesis called him a 'one engine mosquito'. In 1995 Oltmans published his book 'My friend Sukarno'.
He fought a long law suit (1991–2000) against the Dutch state, which he eventually won. In 2000 a commission awarded him eight million guilders (four million dollars) in damages, after taxes. Having paid two million guilders in lawyer's fees, Oltmans bought a penthouse on a canal in Amsterdam and a Steinway piano.
Read more about this topic: Willem Oltmans
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