Portal:Indonesia/POTW/33, 2010



Sukarno reads the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on the morning of 17 August 1945, unilaterally declaring the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands. The event was triggered by Japan's surrender to Allied Forces two days earlier, ending World War II. Dutch forces returned to the region the following year in a fight to regain control of the archipelago before finally recognizing the nation's independence in 1949.

Photo credit: Frans Mendur