The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday offered a full apology to Indonesia after a historical review found the Dutch had used "excessive violence" in a vain attempt to regain control of their former colony after World War II.

Rutte (above) was addressing the study's findings, which said the Dutch military had engaged in systematic, excessive and unethical violence during Indonesia's 1945-1949 struggle for independence, and this had been condoned by the Dutch government and society at the time...