Late Roesmin's biography launched
A. Junaidi Jakarta
The biography of a former Air Force commander, the late Marshall Roesmin Nurjadin, was launched here on Saturday, telling his version of what happened around the time of the 1965 alleged coup that has since been blamed on the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
The 437-page biography says Roesmin was appointed as the new Air Force chief at 36 years of age to replace Rear Marshal Sri Moeljono Herlambang amid suspicions that officers from the Air Force had played a role in the coup attempt.
Rusmin's appointment was due to what the book said was his position as a "neutral" young officer who could be accepted by the military forces, particularly the Army.
The biography said Roesmin had close relationships with some high-ranking Army officers, including Gen. A.H. Nasution and Maj. Gen. Soeharto.
Soeharto, who replaced President Sukarno in 1966, installed Roesmin as the Indonesian ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1970 and to the United States in 1974, owing to his "achievements" in reorganizing the Air Force.
The Soeharto government blamed the alleged coup attempt on the outlawed PKI. It was one of the bloodiest tragedies in Indonesia's long history of tragedies. Hundreds of thousands of suspected PKI supporters were slaughtered or tortured to death without any form of due process in court.
Known as Indonesia's first jet fighter pilot, Roesmin later served as minister of transportation for two-five-year terms from 1978 to 1988 in the Soeharto Cabinet.
Having been a jet fighter pilot, Roesmin was involved in several operations against separatist movements, including the Indonesian Republic Revolutionary Administration (PRRI) in many areas across Sumatra in 1958.
The book was ghost-written by a team led by senior journalist Imran Hasibuan on the basis of interviews with Roesmin's wife, Soejati, and close friends, as well as material from other books.
Roesmin was born on May 31, 1930, and is survived by his wife, two sons and one daughter. He died on Sept. 8, 1994 while playing golf in Bandung, West Java.