Recollections of Sukarno: Images of a national hero

Recollections of Sukarno: Images of a national hero

The following is the second of two articles on Sukarno by
Mochtar Buchori, an educator and also a legislator of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

JAKARTA (JP): I began to understand the difficult position
imposed upon Bung Karno and Bung Hatta; that Bung Karno could not
possibly tell the people the realities and the possibilities open
to the nation, as he knew it. I began to admire his skill in
maneuvering between the Japanese authorities and his political
supporters who advocated independence.

It really hurt to hear later that some nationalists accused
Bung Karno of being a collaborator with the Japanese regime, and
therefore a war criminal. I was still very immature politically,
but I was convinced that such an accusation could come only from
political rivals who were very envious of Bung Karno's huge
popularity.

After independence was proclaimed on Aug. 17, 1945, I had more
opportunity to listen to Bung Karno's speeches. His speeches
during the physical revolution (1945-1948) were more appealing
and sounded more genuine than those during the Japanese
occupation. I felt that his speeches then truly reflected our
burning desire for a national existence with dignity. I felt very
proud to be Indonesian and to have Bung Karno as our leader.

I could not yet grasp the political rivalries between Bung
Karno and other national leaders, but I always sided with Bung
Karno. I did not care whether my stance was justified or not. I
was simply a fanatical follower.

During the 1948 communist rebellion I felt very strongly Bung
Karno's steadfastness in defending the basic principles of the
young republic and I increasingly admired him. And when the
danger of Dutch invasion into Indonesian territory became more
and more imminent, I was still able to restore confidence in the
future simply by listening intently to Bung Karno's speeches. His
promise to lead the guerrilla warfare against the Dutch colonial
army himself was a very powerful influence in restoring my
sagging confidence in our ability to defend ourselves against the
Dutch.

Thus, for the second time, I was deeply disappointed with Bung
Karno, when he decided to surrender to the Dutch. There was no
other choice except to join my friends to do whatever we could to
resist the return of a Dutch colonial regime. But there were
moments during those difficult months when I asked myself whether
it was really wrong of Bung Karno to surrender to the invading
Dutch military, amid the impression that he managed to get the
international world involved in the political chess game in
Indonesia.

I remember feeling proud of Bung Karno when I saw a photo of
him being escorted by a Dutch colonel to leave the presidential
palace in Yogyakarta. He looked so proud and dignified as a
political prisoner, showing not the slightest sign of fear and
inferiority. I saw in him a model of a new Indonesian.

After international opinion and guerrilla warfare finally
ended the battle between us and the Dutch military, and when Bung
Karno and Bung Hatta returned to Yogyakarta from their exile in
Bangka, I felt very relieved, and quickly joined friends to
prepare festivities to welcome their return.

The political developments after that were too rapid beyond
comprehension. I was too absorbed in studies in Bandung. My
political ideology was very simple: political independence and
nationalism. I welcomed any political ideology that could accept
these two premises. I just wanted the suffering during the
Japanese occupation to end so that we could start rebuilding
society.

I was impatient with the political bickering in Jakarta, and
sympathized with any idea to end political infighting, which in
my simple mind looked very selfish.

When the Army surrounded the presidential palace in October
1952 and requested that president Sukarno dissolve the
parliament, I was very disappointed that Bung Karno suppressed
this movement. I had not realized yet the significance of
preserving political freedom to build democracy.

I was disappointed yet again in Bung Karno when in 1959 he
decided to dissolve the constitutional assembly and the
parliament. I felt this decision would kill democracy.

From the onset of the Guided Democracy era in 1959 I was
critical of every speech Bung Karno made. His neglect of building
a clean and competent democracy and of building a renewed
Indonesian economic system meant a growing distance between him
and his close aides from the grass roots.

His slogans about the rise of New Emerging Forces (Nefos)
destined to defeat Old Established Forces (Oldefos) sounded too
far-fetched. He was drifting closer and closer toward an
authoritarian style of government.

Between 1961 to 1965, every time I heard him speak, I became
angry and frustrated. I asked myself, when will all this
political craziness come to an end?

The abortive coup of Sept. 30 was a great shock. By that time
my anti-communist political stance was already known. There were
communist-minded young people among my students. But I also had
ties with the military in Bandung following my participation in
academic exercises at the Army's Staff and Command School in
Bandung.

Like so many friends of mine, I was disappointed in Bung
Karno's hesitant attitude toward the attempted coup. I wanted to
see him take firm action to crush the coup attempt. This
disappointment and doubt continued until the day he was barred by
the military leadership from making public appearances and put
under virtual house arrest.

When I heard this news I felt very sad. Bung Karno must have
been suffering immensely. He, whose main activity had been to
communicate with his people, was suddenly gagged and silenced in
a forcible way. It was a very cruel act: an act of slowly
strangling him until he finally died in 1970.

The entire official ceremony of honoring him in grand style
during his funeral could not wash away the blood and traces of a
great national sin from the hands of the New Order characters.

On the day of his death I could only say Innalillaahi wa
roji'un (from God thou cometh, and to God thou shalt return). My
dislike and even hatred of his behavior during the last episode
of his leadership suddenly vanished. And I began to see him not
as a politician, but as a statesman.

My earlier pledge not to lower the national flag to half-mast
on the day he died, also vanished. Slowly my love and my
admiration for him returned. I was no longer haunted by political
anger. I began to live in political peace and foster new
political hope. I learned to be productive.

Now that we are in such great disarray, I feel again how much
we miss Bung Karno. But again, it might not be realistic to hope
for the arrival of a national leader of his equal.

We should look once again at his teachings and make a
resolution to sort out our very complex problem and search for
the wisest solution. What our political leaders must show
immediately is a willingness to learn to become statesmen and
women, who refuse to be trapped in a myopic political deadlock
which will only drag this nation into disaster.