Kawilarang dies of cancer

One of the Indonesian military's founding fathers Col. (ret) Alex Evert Kawilarang died on Tuesday at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital after being treated for prostate cancer for six weeks.

He was 80, and is survived by his wife Henny Olga Pondaag and three children.

After being laid overnight at his residence on Jl. Situbondo No. 8, Central Jakarta, Kawilarang's body will be flown to Bandung on Thursday morning for burial at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery.

Born in Jakarta, on Feb. 23, 1920, Kawilarang dedicated his life to the military. He formed an elite force while serving as the chief of Bandung-based Siliwangi Military Command overseeing West Java in 1951.

Under its chief Gen. A.H. Nasution, the Army took over the elite force six months after its establishment and expanded it into a special force unit.

Kawilarang also held other key posts, including chief of Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing North Sumatra in 1949, chief of Wirabuana Military Command overseeing eastern Indonesia and a military attache at the Indonesian embassy in the United States between 1956 and 1958.

While undertaking diplomatic jobs he resigned from the military out of protest at the way the government handled a military-backed rebel movement in Sumatra, better known as PRRI/Permesta. He was named the chief of staff of the PRRI/Permesta Armed Forces in 1959. (dja/bby)