Professor Wim Wertheim, a great friend of the Indonesian people, historian, anthropologist and a man of great humanity, passed away in his home town of Wageningen on the morning of 3 November 1998 after a brief illness. He was 90 years old. He will be buried on Saturday 7 November. All his children were with him at the time of his death.
We at TAPOL, Liem Soei Liong and Carmel Budiardjo, join with innumerable friends in Indonesia, the Netherlands and elsewhere, to mourn the passing of a great man.
The following is a message of condolence sent by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, novelist, and Joesoef Ishak, publisher:
We wish to express a fond farewell to a great citizen of the world, our dearly beloved Uncle Wim Wertheim, as he departs on his great historic voyage.
We express our deep gratitude and the gratitude of many Indonesians for his services to truth and justice which were trampled on by the New Order, as well as by the present regime.
He denounced the massacre of hundreds of thousands of defenceless and unarmed supporters of Sukarno who were slaughtered as if they were engaged in a rebellion, at a time when no war was raging. From afar, he did everything he possibly could to expose the perpetrators of this crime at a time when everything in Indonesia was shrouded in despair.
Our gratitude goes to our beloved Uncle for all his efforts to create a bright Indonesia, especially in social and political affairs We wish you well on your journey towards your place in eternal history!
Jakarta, 4 November 1998
Pram & Joesoef
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