Foreign vets join freedom fest<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Eighteen foreigners who took part in Indonesia's
\nindependence struggle were invited by the Armed Forces as special
\nguests of Indonesia to take part in the various events to
\ncelebrate the nation's golden anniversary.<\/p>\n
The eighteen were among guests of honor during the
\npresentation of the State of the Nation Address by President
\nSoeharto at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
One of them was Bijuyananda Patnaik, 77, an Indian pilot who
\nflew the nascent republican leaders Mohammad Hatta and Sutan
\nSjahrir in 1946 out of Indonesia to New Delhi for a meeting with
\nIndian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.<\/p>\n
That meeting led to India giving its full support to Indonesia
\nin the bitter struggle against the Netherlands, both on the
\nbattlefield and at the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Patnaik was assigned by Nehru to go to Indonesia to check on
\nthe allegations that Sukarno, the republic president, was a
\nJapanese puppet. \"When I went back, I told Nehru that Sukarno was
\nlike (Mahatma) Gandhi in Indonesia, so he changed his opinion,\"
\nhe said. \"I'm very pleased to see the development of your
\ncountry,\" Patnaik told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
There were Pakistanis who were members of the British Indian
\nArmy sent to fight against Indonesian freedom fighters.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Kasam Dad, 76, said he and a few others deserted
\ntheir corps on the first day of their arrival, after learning
\nthat the Indonesians they were fighting against were Moslems and
\nshared some of their own culture.<\/p>\n
He recalled sharing the good and bad times with Indonesian
\nfighters when they were fighting from within the forests.<\/p>\n
He stayed in Indonesia after the war was over, and married an
\nIndonesian women. He later returned to Pakistan and worked for
\nthe Indonesian embassy there.<\/p>\n
Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Basar, 75 years, is a Malaysian citizen
\nwho came to Indonesia in 1946 to join in the independence fight.
\nHe felt obliged, for his father was an Acehnese.<\/p>\n
Toshio Okihara, 73, was a Japanese naval officer stationed in
\nJakarta during World War II. He was one of the Japanese officers
\nwho were very supportive of Indonesians's desire for
\nindependence. \"I feel that I have been an Indonesian, even to
\nthis day,\" he said.<\/p>\n
On his return to Japan, he helped found the Jawa Society
\nNihhun Indonesia in Tokyo. (03\/05)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-vets-join-freedom-fest-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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