An Indonesian student receives a nationa

An Indonesian student receives a national flag to hoist from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (R) during a ceremony to celebrate the country's 63th Independence Day anniversary at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, 17 August 2008. Outside a house in central Jakarta on the morning of August 17, 1945, a small group of nationalists gathered for a simple ceremony to declare independence for the remains of the former Dutch East Indies empire and which resulted in the birth of Indonesia. After three centuries of Dutch colonial rule and three years of Japanese occupation, the world's largest archipelago had been declared one nation, although it was another four years before the Dutch abandoned their attempts to retake their former possession and recognised Indonesia. AFP PHOTO/Bay ISMOYO (Photo credit should read BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)