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.