Three awarded title of National Hero
Three awarded title of National Hero
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto conferred the title of National Hero on three men yesterday: Nuku Muhammad Amiruddin Kaicil Paparangan, Tuanku Tambusai and Syekh Yusuf Tajul Khalwati.
Soeharto also conferred awards of meritorious service on 50 deceased people, all of whom were represented by either their widows or heirs.
Nuku was from Halmahera in Maluku, Tambusai from South Sumatra and Syekh Yusuf came from Goa in South Sulawesi.
Yesterday's ceremony, on the eve of the National Heroes Day, was held at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
In the picture above, Soeharto is pinning the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adiprana award on the widow of Amirmachmud, one of three Army generals who helped secure the March 11, 1966, executive order from former president Sukarno. Basuki Rachmat's widow (left) received the same award on behalf of her late husband.
Today, the nation marks National Heroes Day with one minute's commemorative silence from 8:15 a.m. Everyone is expected to observe the rite. Motorists are expected to stop their vehicles for the period of one minute, during which sirens will be sounded.
It was 50 years ago today that hundreds of young Indonesians died in a fierce battle in Surabaya, East Java, against British- led Allied forces which were attempting to reimpose Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia shortly after the end of World War II. Indonesia had declared its independence the previous August.
The late Bung Tomo, whose fiery oration mobilized the young men to fight till the end, was one of the 50 people awarded with the meritorious services award yesterday.
Other people who received the awards posthumously included the drafters of the preamble to the 1945 Constitution, Kasman Singodimedjo and Bagus Hadikoesomo; two former chief justices, Kusumah Atmadja and Wrijono Prodjodikoro; and one of the most respected figures in the Armed Forces, T.B. Simatupang.
Kasman and Bagus are two of the four recipients who were former leaders of the Masjumi, a Moslem political party that was banned by Sukarno in 1960 because of its association with a number of Army-led rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi. The other two were Jusuf Wibisono and Prawoto Mangkusasmito. (emb)
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