Prabowo in list of rising stars shot down in their prime

By Lela E. Madjiah

This is the first of two articles exploring the history of Indonesia's fallen officers.

JAKARTA (JP): Like a morning star that shines brightly for a brief moment before it is eclipsed by the rising sun and fades away, Prabowo Subianto's military career disappeared before his eyes.

Shortly after his promotion to the rank of three-star general, the pinnacle of his military career, Prabowo was discharged from a carefully planned career designed to fulfill his dream of becoming the number one man in the Indonesian military, possibly even in the republic itself.

Prabowo's fall from grace was far from unique. Indeed, the history of the Indonesian military is rife with stories of officers who lost their jobs for political and ideological reasons.

However, unlike Prabowo, who was honorably discharged for his role in the kidnapping and torture of political activists, most of his predecessors in the list of fallen generals were dismissed for their involvement in different, if not noble, causes.

Unlike Prabowo, whose involvement in the abduction and torture of political activists was considered to be a disgrace to the military, his predecessors, with a few exceptions, lost their jobs but never their dignity. Depending on one's point of view, one might agree that some of the rebellious officers' actions were justified.

Stories of these controversial officers abound in books and articles dedicated to discussing the many conflicts, uprisings and rebellions in the country which were either led or supported by military officers. Their stories reflect a restlessness on the part of the military that has claimed many good officers as its victims, some of them the best the country has ever had.

The Indonesian military and its tumultuous history has inspired local and foreign military analysts to write volumes on the subject. Darul Islam dan Kartosuwirjo: Angan-Angan Yang Gagal by Holk H. Dengel; Darul Islam: Sebuah Pemberontakan by C. Van Dijk; Permesta: Half a Rebellion by Barbara S. Harvey; Tradition, Islam and Rebellion: South Sulawesi 1950-1965, also by Harvey; PRRI Permesta: Strategi Membangun Indonesia Tanpa Komunis by R.Z. Leirissa; Pemberontakan Meniti Jalur Kanan by M. Bahar Mattalioe; Abdul Qahhar Mudzakkar: Dari Patriot Hingga Pemberontak by Anhar Gonggong; Rebels in Paradise by James Mossman and Birds' Nests in their Beards by William Stevenson, are just some of the titles that discuss the conflicts and rebellions in Indonesia from the early days of independence and throughout president Sukarno's rule.

The books and articles reveal the involvement of such highly respected officers as Col. A. E. Kawilarang, a former commander of the renowned Siliwangi Division who initiated the establishment of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) in the early 1950s; Col. Zulkifli Lubis, deputy chief of the Army and the father of Indonesia's intelligence organization; Col. Maludin Simbolon, who led the North Sumatra Military Command; Lt. Col. Qahhar Mudzakkar (also spelled Kahar Muzakkar), a former aide to President Sukarno and commander of South Sulawesi's People's Security Army; and Capt. Andi Azis, a former KNIL (Koninklijke Nederlands Indisch Leger) officer.

Kawilarang and Simbolon were caught in one of the bloodiest civil wars that followed the proclamation of the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia, PRRI) and the All-Out Struggle (Perjuangan Semesta, Permesta) rebellion of February 1958.

The PRRI/Permesta rebellion, which enjoyed the support of the Eisenhower administration in the United States, was provoked by the central government's failure to respond to demands for more autonomy for the regions.

The officers involved were disappointed with president Sukarno's decision to reappoint A.H. Nasution as Army chief of staff. Nasution, then a colonel, was dismissed from the military after the Oct. 17, 1952 incident, in which he led a movement to force Sukarno to disband the parliament.

Kahar Muzakkar raised arms against the government in protest at the government's refusal to accommodate former guerrilla fighters from South Sulawesi in the official Army. He joined the Darul Islam rebellion which was started in 1949 in West Java by Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwirjo. Kahar's death in 1965 marked the end of the Darul Islam rebellion. Andi Azis was declared a rebel in 1950 for refusing to carry out a government order to disband his former KNIL troops and join the Armed Forces of the United Republic of Indonesia (Angkatan Perang Republik Indonesia Serikat, APRIS).

Col. Zulkifli Lubis was accused of masterminding several coup attempts to topple Sukarno. His fate in the military was sealed after an attempt was made on Sukarno's life on Nov. 30, 1957. Sukarno escaped unharmed, but Lubis later confided in a journalist that had he planned the murder, Sukarno would not have lived to tell the tale.

Stories of officers discharged for rebellious but all too often justifiable acts also abound in texts on the Indonesian military that are not specifically dedicated to discussing the subject of rebellion. The Post-Revolutionary Transformation of the Indonesian Army by Ruth T. McVey; Gen. A.H. Nasution's famous series of Memenuhi Panggilan Tugas; Road to Power: Indonesian Military Politics by Ulf Sundhaussen; Dynamics of Guided Democracy by Herbert Feith; Subversion as Foreign Policy: The Secret Eisenhower and Dulles Debacle in Indonesia by Audrey R. Kahin and George McT. Kahin, are among the most comprehensive studies on the Indonesian military and provide readers with a clear picture of the attitude and conduct of Indonesia's men in uniform.

These books also reveal how members of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) have fallen victim to the power struggles that have been waged since the country gained independence.

Indonesians remember names such as Col. Sukanda Bratamanggala, the inspector general for training and education; Major R. Djaelani, commander of the Army's elite paratroop regiment; and Lt. Col. Kemal Idris and Maj. Suwarto, who were both infantry regiment commanders.

All were involved in a 1957 move to disband the cabinet which they thought to be highly inefficient, to eliminate corruption and to prevent Sukarno from including the PKI in his government. Kemal Idris and Suwarto survived the incident; Kemal retired in 1978 as a three-star general and Suwarto ended up as commander of the Army Staff and Command College in Bandung, where he died as a one-star general. Bratamanggala and Djaelani were both discharged from the military.

The bloodiest incident, the September 30, 1965 attempted coup which was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) but which is believed to have been the culmination of a power struggle within the Army and between the Army and the PKI, claimed the lives of six Army generals.

After the attempted coup, ABRI suffered from an identity crisis because of the involvement of many leading officers, including three-star Air Force Gen. Omar Dhani; Brig. Gen. Supardjo, who at the time commanded the Pontianak-based Combat Command II during the Confrontation with Malaysia; Col. A. Latief, commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade in the Jakarta Regional Military Command; and Lt. Col. Untung, a battalion commander in the Cakrabirawa Palace Guard and former commander of the 454th Battalion of the Diponegoro Division in Central Java.