While many rejected the IEV’s demands, quite a number of Indonesians
expressed a more nuanced albeit still rhetorical stance. An essay published in a
North Sumatra newspaper, Lentera, empathised with the Indo-Europeans’ plight. It
claimed it could understand Indo-Europeans’ need for the right to own land, but
vehemently identifying with the Dutch while doing so was offensive. The author
invited Indo-Europeans to identify themselves as one of many Indies ethnic groups
and to become an official part of ‘Indonesia’ if they wanted legitimacy. Another
Indonesian writing in Swara Katholiek insisted he had no objection if
Indo-Europeans gained some form of land rights if they equated themselves with
Indonesians in their legal status and if they cooperated with the nationalist front
for Indonesian independence. Yet another in the same newspaper emphasised the
importance of the land question in the context of race relations. Because
Indo-Europeans identified themselves with the ‘masters’ (overheerschers), they must
bear the consequences of their decision. An article in Pewarta Deli, a newspaper
published in North Sumatra, echoed this position. The author would approve
Indo-Europeans’ demands if they shared the same obligations imposed on
Indonesians. The author urged the ‘genuine landskinderen’ to defend their rights,
which the law had already acknowledged.