Remembering the years around independence

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)