Research on PETA history underway
Research on PETA history underway
BANDUNG (JP): Work is currently underway to write a book on
the history of Pembela Tanah Air (PETA), the militia set up
during the Japanese occupation in 1942, beginning with interviews
of some of the remaining survivors and compilation of official
documents and records.
On Tuesday, Gen. (ret.) Poniman, former defense and security
minister who heads the book's drafting committee, presented a set
of documents connected with the activities of PETA's battalion in
nearby Cimahi to PETA Foundation which in turn handed it over to
the National Archives.
The researchers still have a long way to go because the Cimahi
Battalion is only the third out of 67 battalions to present
documents and historical accounts of the militia.
The other two to have presented documents are the Blitar
Battalion in East Java and Cilacap Battalion in Central Java.
Pembela Tanah Air, which means Defenders of the Fatherland,
was one of several militias that were incorporated after the
proclamation of independence in August 1945, to become the Badan
Keamanan Rakyat (People's Security Agency). The agency later
became the republic's military, now known as the Indonesian Armed
Forces (ABRI), which was established on Oct. 5, 1945.
The militias, most notably PETA, provided the young republic
with a pool of army-trained and disciplined youths who were
crucial during the resistance against the Dutch attempt to
reimpose colonial rule after the World War II.
The executive chairman of PETA Foundation, Pamoe Rahardja,
said on Tuesday that the historical research on PETA hopefully
will correct the suggestions that PETA was established by the
Japanese military during the occupation.
"That's not true," Pamoe said. "PETA was born out of the
people who wanted to fight for freedom and independence. It's a
big mistake to suggest that PETA was formed by the Japanese."
Poniman underlined that there was a huge mutiny within PETA
against the Japanese rulers on a scale never previously seen in
this territory. (pet)