Remembering the years around independence
JAKARTA (JP): The celebrations of the country's golden anniversary culminated on Thursday, Aug. 17, 1995, with the flag hoisting ceremony at the State Palace and various traditional games and contests held throughout the country. More commemorative events are on the way as the nation is still in a feverishly festive mood.
For many, especially those actually involved in the struggle for independence, Aug. 17, always brings certain memories and sentiments. This could be sadness, or pride, depending on the nature of the events they experienced just before and in the early years of independence.
A number of people share their independence memories with The Jakarta Post.
Painter Barli Sastrawinata:
Several years before independence, a number of artists in Bandung, West Java, established a special propaganda group to support TKR (the Indonesian Army) in the fight against the Dutch military.
"Our duty was to produce paintings, posters, pamphlets, graffiti and banners containing pictures and words to arouse the spirit of our freedom fighters and at the same time intimidate the Dutch troops," recalled Barli, one of the founding fathers of Indonesia's fine arts. Among the artists were Hendra Gunawan, Sudjana Kerton, Kustiwa and Suparto.
The colorful propaganda posters encouraged the freedom fighters with rousing slogans such as Ganyang Belanda (Beat the Dutch troops), Pertahankan Indonesia (Defend Indonesia), Merdeka atau Mati (Freedom or Death) and Hancurkan Kolonialisme (Destroy Colonialism), Barli reminisced.
"When we wanted to put up a poster or scratch revolutionary slogans on walls, we were protected by members of TRI and Tentara Pelajar (student corps) because we were worried that the Dutch troops could attack us at any moment," said Barli.
The painter's group was included in a special department called the Propaganda Unit chaired by Mashudi, now a retired army general and the chairman of the Indonesian Scout Movement.
The artists did not wear special uniforms or carry weapons. Instead they were equipped with paint, paper, cloth, pencils and sketch books, recalled Barli.
"Anytime we had a chance to make posters or graffiti we were ready. Often we didn't have any material to make the posters so we asked Bandung residents to provide bed sheets or curtains," said Barli with a grin.
"All the people, young and old, were so enthusiastic to fight side by side against the enemy," added the 74-year old painter, referring to both the Dutch and Japanese occupying forces.
"When Bandung was bombarded by the enemy, we had to evacuate our families to several villages outside the city."
Barli said that his wife had just delivered their first baby boy, Agung Wiweka Putra. The one-day-old baby and his weak mother had to be evacuated to Cisugih village in Tasikmalaya, West Java.
"I was so worried that something would happen to my son and my wife. Thank God they were safe. Now, my son is a famous painter," Barli said with pride bristling in his voice.
Barli said that he was ordered by Col. Abdul Haris Nasution, Military Commander of the Siliwangi Division, to design a special badge for the division members during the evacuation.
Nasution, now a retired army general was one of ABRI's founders.
"I created the famous logo portraying the head of a tiger for the Siliwangi Division. A tiger symbolizes courage. Since I did not have the materials to produce hundreds of badges, I asked my wife to give me her remaining bed sheet," Barli said.
Barli said he was proud when all members of the Siliwangi Division, including its commander Nasution, wore the badge during a special ceremony in Tasikmalaya.
Masli Arman, mining/exploration geologist, 61: As a junior high school student in Bukittingi, West Sumatra, I saw how the local people welcomed the news of the proclamation of independence on Aug. 17, 1945, with joy. At a big rally held a few days after the proclamation near the big clock tower or Jam Gadang, the famous landmark of Bukittingi, our national red and white flag was hoisted on top of the tower for the first time. Without a doubt it was a very exciting time politically. In fact, during the first 12 months of independence, the proclamation day was officially celebrated every month with fiery speeches and singing of the national anthem, starting from Sept. 17, 1945, until Aug. 17, 1946. Moreover, photographs of the nation's three leaders, namely President Sukarno, Vice-President Mohammad Hatta and Prime Minister Sutan Syahrir, were proudly and prominently displayed in many public spaces and private homes.
One obvious tactic undertaken by the Dutch during the years following the proclamation was the old colonial tactic of divide and rule. However, as the capital of the unified province of Sumatra and with the presence of so many republicans leaders there, Bukittingi soon became one of the most important political centers in Indonesia. It was therefore not surprising that when the Dutch occupied the republican capital of Yogyakarta and arrested the president and vice president on Dec. 19, 1948, Syafruddin Prawiranegara and other leaders in Bukittingi immediately took the initiative to set up the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia to carry on the fighting and the torch of the revolution.
To me, the few months following the Dutch aggression in December, 1948, was the bleakest and most difficult part of Indonesian history. There was an acute shortage of food and breakdown of normal communications everywhere. My family and I considered ourselves very lucky if we could find a mixture of maize and rice or even cassava to eat, as pure rice or meat was too expensive and virtually impossible to get. I also remember on the Sunday morning of Dec. 19, 1948, (the same morning the Dutch invaded Yogyakarta), several Dutch Mustang aircraft suddenly appeared in the sky and wantonly attacked Bukittingi, damaging the radio station, the army headquarters and a few other important objects in the process. As a result, thousands of people, including my family, evacuated from the city and moved to what was thought a safer place.
But the Dutch persistently followed up with large scale assaults on towns and villages around Bukittingi, starting from late December 1948 until February 1949. In the first such attack they relentlessly bombarded the towns for approximately three hours (from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.), using long range artillery like howitzers from their base in Bukittingi, almost 10 kilometers away. On another occasion, the Dutch would engage the Indonesian troops a whole day, killing dozens of people and burning many houses. Later I saw tanks and other military vehicles traveling through one of the towns, but eventually they had to return to Bukittingi because of the many road blocks put up by the local people.
In spite of the limited number of weapons available and other logistic problems, the Indonesian army succeeded in carrying out violent hit-and-run attacks against Dutch military targets in Bukittingi. Furthermore, the government from somewhere in West Sumatra (it had to move constantly from one place to another in order to avoid Dutch attacks) managed to maintain contact and coordinate with not only other political and military leaders in Java but also with Indonesia's diplomatic representatives abroad. As a matter of fact, mounting diplomatic pressure on the Dutch government as well as increasingly violent guerrilla resistance particularly in Java and Sumatra were ultimately responsible for the cessation of the war and transfer of sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Indonesia on Dec. 27, 1949.
Des Alwi, a former freedom fighter and now a politician turned film producer
"I served as a member of the Propaganda unit which functioned as an information and liaison section to facilitate members of TKR (the Indonesian Army), BKR (people's security boards), student corps and all related groups to fight against the Japanese and the allied forces.
"I was still 18 years old, but my subordinates were older than me. But I was one of the unit members who could speak Dutch and English fluently. Therefore, I was some kind of a public relations officer," Alwi said with a laugh.
Although Indonesia announced its freedom in August l945, the Indonesian Army and the city's youth groups continued to fight a series of battles in Surabaya against the Japanese military. In September l945, Surabaya's youth beat the Japanese.
Led by prominent youth leaders, including Bung Tomo, Surabayans burned with enthusiasm to drive the Japanese out of the new country.
"We got so many weapons and ammunition from the defeated Japanese troops. All this equipment was very useful to continue our struggle against the enemy because what we had at that time only bamboo spears and old-fashioned guns," recalled Alwi, who carefully recorded the events of the war.
"Before we took a breath, another threat came. This time, the threat came from the British corps led by Brig. Gen. A.W.S. Mallaby from the 28 Division in India. The troops arrived at Tanjung Perak harbor on Oct. 25, l945, and were coldly welcomed by East Java governor R.M.T.A. Suryo," he continued.
The agreement between the troop's commander and the East Java governor ensured that there would be no Dutch troops in the British corps. The British army would strip the Japanese military of their weapons and only safeguard the evacuation of Dutch residents outside Surabaya.
In reality, the British Army was followed by Dutch colonialists who wanted to return to Indonesia after they were defeated by the Japanese troops. The British army violated the agreement by attacking Tanjung Perak air base, Kalisosok jail, the post office, the Internatio Building and other vital sites, Alwi reminisced.
On Oct. 24, l945, the British planes dropped thousands of pamphlets requesting the Indonesian army and Surabayans to surrender. Angry, the Indonesian army and the citizens pledged to defend Indonesia's independence. "Nobody wanted to give up. Freedom or death, that was our commitment," said Alwi.
Even though, the British army was equipped with hi-tech weapons, Surabayans tried to survive. With limited equipment, the Indonesian Army and the Surabaya youth group successfully took over several vital places. In the battle, the British commander, Mallaby, was killed.
Being unable to control the situation in Surabaya, the British army summoned Indonesian President Sukarno, Vice President Moh. Hatta and Minister of Information Mr. Amir Syariffudin from Jakarta to sign a cease-fire agreement.
But on Nov. 9 l945, the British army, led by Maj. Gen E.C. Mansergh, gave a strict ultimatum forcing the East Java governor Suryo to order the Indonesian army and Surabayans to unconditionally surrender. The governor rejected the ultimatum and chose to continue fighting against the British army. The battle occurred on Nov. 10, l945, and is remembered as Pertempuran Soerabaya, later declared as national heroes day.
"As someone who was involved in the event, I was responsible to thoroughly recorded it. For almost 30 years, I tried to search for documentary films, notes and pictures that could be used as the important records of Indonesian history.
"I found some roles of documentary films on the Indonesian struggle for independence from various sources in Indonesia and abroad," Alwi noted.
His painstaking efforts were fruitful. Later this month, he will release a three-hour documentary on Indonesia's fight for independence.
Sampan Hismanto, 70, better known as a dancer than a veteran of Battalion 17 of Regiment 27 in the Semarang-based Diponegoro Division IV of the Indonesian Army in Central Java: When Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta announced Indonesia's independence on Aug. 17, 1945, he was a member of seinendan, one of a number of security organizations established by the Japanese for young Indonesians in cities and villages.
"We had heard rumors that there would be a rebellion against the Japanese. But, we didn't know when, where and how. We only heard that members of the Indonesian Auxiliary Troops, or PETA, had rebelled."
"So on Aug. 17, 1945, when I was going to seinendan headquarters in Surakarta, I met my friends who asked me to go to a crossroad there where a public radio was installed. We didn't know anything about the announcement yet."
"It was from the radio that we heard that Sukarno and Hatta had proclaimed Indonesia's independence. Our reaction was to go to the police stations to strip their arms. There were no serious fighting because many of the policemen were Indonesians who had heard about the independence and secretly supported us."
"There was no coordination for what we should do. But, everyone spontaneously went to the police stations and grabbed the weapons. Then we went to the kempetai (Japanese police) headquarters. Some of the policemen joined us."
"At the headquarters, we launched a jibaku (suicide attack). No one seemed to be frightened, therefore there were a lot of victims on both the Indonesian and Japanese sides. I believe if there was not such a courage, the Japanese would not have surrendered. When we attacked the kempetai headquarters, many of us had only bamboo spears as weapons. We won the battle and we stripped the kempetai of their arms."
"On the night of Aug. 17, we went on a hunt for Japanese soldiers who had fled to the mountains."
Sampan is now director of the Indonesian Young Artists Association. He learned to dance at the age of five because his parents were court servants at the Surakarta Royal Palace.
"During the independence war, I danced to entertain my friends during our leisure time," he recalled. (als/raw)