Monuments tell own version of history of 'General Attack'

Monuments tell own version of history of 'General Attack'

Text and photo by Asip A. Hasani

YOGYAKARTA (JP): As he looked across at the imposing stone
monument before him, Burhanuddin was puzzled.

On a field trip to the city, the high school student from East
Java found there were no less than three monuments marking the
same event, popularly known as the "March 1, 1949, General
Attack", an offensive by Indonesian troops and civilians against
the occupying force of Dutch soldiers in Yogyakarta.

"How can three monuments be put up in this city just to
commemorate one event?" Burhanuddin, from Blitar regency, East
Java, said to The Jakarta Post after a visit to Yogyakarta
Palace.

Most confusing of all is the Stone of Remembrance, installed
in the Yogyakarta Palace compound last year.

The inscription states it was Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX,
under Gen. Soedirman, who designed the plan of the attack.

School textbooks, however, have always told Burhanuddin it was
Soeharto, later to be the country's president, who was the one
who initiated and led the sudden attack.

Earlier on the same day, Burhanuddin and his friends visited
the well-known Monument Yogyakarta Kembali (Monjali) on the
northern outskirts of city. It was built to commemorate the
freeing of Yogyakarta from Dutch rule.

On the way, they noticed another monument at the other end of
Jl. Malioboro, across from the Yogyakarta Post Office on Jl.
Ahmad Dahlan. Statues of soldiers holding guns and traditional
weapons of sharpened bamboo are seen on the top level of the
monument. The words on the bottom read: "The Monument of the
March 1 General Attack, 1949."

"I wish my history teacher was here with us to explain what we
found out today about the General Attack, the monuments and the
controversy of who actually had the original idea of the attack,"
Burhanuddin's friend, Rohim, said.

The attack is indeed a significant event in the country's
history. Although Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed
independence on Aug. 17, 1945, the Dutch continued to deny
Indonesia's sovereignty.

The six hours in which the people and soldiers were able to
overcome the might of the Dutch in what was then the interim
capital proved the sincerity of the Indonesian cause to the
international community.

It led to a series of cease-fires and agreements, with the
withdrawal of Dutch troops from Yogyakarta in June 1949.

Important it may have been, but does it justify the presence
of three monuments?

Perhaps their number -- and who put them there -- attest to
the controversy about who drew up the plan, although it is an
indisputable fact that Soeharto, then the commander of Brigade 10
Wehrkreise III which oversaw Yogyakarta and the surrounding
cities, led the attack.

Unspoken argument

The establishment of the Stone of Remembrance in 2000 by some
members of Wehrkreise III, with the support of the Yogyakarta
royal family, is tied to the unspoken argument between Soeharto
and the late Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX over who masterminded the
attack.

During the 1973 inauguration ceremony of the Monument of the
March 1 General Attack, Hamengkubuwono IX, who was then the
country's vice president, asserted in his address that he
initiated the attack. Soeharto, who was also present, did not
react.

But only a few months later, Soeharto began to attack
Hamengkubuwono IX's claim. His influence as president is seen in
the Soeharto-friendly version of events given in Sejarah Nasional
Indonesia (The National History of Indonesia) written by Prof.
Noegroho Notosusanto in 1974. It has been the textbook used in
all levels of school for years.

Time after time, Soeharto continued to proclaim his role as
the initiator of the attack, as Hamengkubuwono IX kept silent.

"I think that just after the inauguration of the Monument of
the March 1 General Attack, Soeharto began to realize the need to
build up the public image of the heroic role he played in
Indonesian history, including, among other things, by
manipulating the history of the General Attack," historian Prof.
P.J. Soewarno from Sanata Dharma University told the Post.

It was only after Soeharto resigned from the presidency in
1998 after 30 years in power that others began to speak up about
what happened in 1949.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Marsoedi, who was commander of sub-Wehrkreise
III overseeing Yogyakarta, came out in support of Hamengkubuwono
IX's version of the General Attack.

Marsoedi also said he witnessed Soeharto's arrival on Feb. 14,
1949, at Yogyakarta Palace to meet with Hamengkubuwono IX to
discuss the latter's plan to launch a surprise attack on Dutch
soldiers. Soeharto, however, has repeatedly denied the meeting
took place.

"From my studies, (I learned that) before inviting Soeharto,
Hamengkubuwono IX had sent a letter to TNI Commander General
Soedirman to let him know Hamengkubuwono's plan. General
Soedirman then replied to the letter, asking Hamengkubuwono to
discuss the plan with Soeharto," Soewarno explained.

According to Soewarno, the answer to who was the initiator of
the General Attack is not particularly important.

"The matter of the attack's initiator has become important
because of Soeharto's persistent claim to be the initiator. Here
a similar logic works on the establishment of the Stone of
Remembrance, which is important to the Indonesian people,
particularly the young generation, who have been told a false
history of the General Attack," he said.

The new stone, he added, was also a counterbalance to the
other two monuments, which emphasize the military's role in the
attack over the efforts of civilians.