Bersiap

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Bersiap is the name given by the Dutch to a violent and chaotic phase of Indonesia's revolutionary period following the end of World War II. The Indonesian word bersiap means 'get ready' or 'be prepared'. The Bersiap period lasted from August 1945 to December 1946.[citation needed]

It is a specific period starting with revolutionary violence occurring during the increasing power vacuum left by the retreating Japanese occupational forces and the gradual build up of a British military presence, but before the official handover to a Dutch military presence.

The period ends with the departure of the British military in 1946, by which time the Dutch had rebuilt their military capacity. Meanwhile also the Indonesian revolutionary fighters were well into the process of forming a formal military structure.[1]

Contents

[edit] Phases

Pemuda on Java, armed with bamboo spears and Japanese rifles, 1946

As off the unilateral declaration of Indonesia's independence in August 1945 young Indonesian revolutionary fighters (Indonesian: Pemuda[2]) violently opposed both the Japanese and British armies. They also opposed European civilians returning from their imprisonment by the Japanese, as well as all perceived pro-Dutch populations, which include the Indo-European (Eurasian) and Indo Chinese populations.

Several phases are distinguished during the Bersiap period, each with different levels of violence and chaos. October–November 1945 is considered the most aggressive one with the Battle of Surabaya as its heaviest single battle.

The Bersiap can be roughly divided into four phases and is mostly situated on the island of Java.[3]

[edit] Phase 1

The first phase started immediately after the unilateral declaration of Indonesian independence and before the arrival of the British armed forces. Even though the declaration was made under strong arm pressure of the so called 'Pemuda', this short phase was the least violent one of the Bersiap. The Japanese were either supportive or indifferent to the Indonesian independence movement, but were under clear orders to remain neutral and protect the former European inmates in their concentration camps. Indonesian independence leaders were taking over key positions from the Japanese. The trains were still riding and some of the former Dutch and Indo prisoners were out looking for their families and property.

[edit] Phase 2

In the second phase of the Bersiap (15 Sep – 14 Oct 1945) de-centralised local Pemuda groups started to organise and obtain weapons. The first Japanese soldiers were molested and the attitude against Dutch and Indo civilians became hostile. Indonesian propaganda also became aggressive. Fights between young Pemuda and young Indos start, resulting in a food boycot of Indos (October 5), which in turn resulted into more violent fights. In October razzias commence and Indo males were arrested and killed.[4] Atrocities committed by revolutionary forces against Indo-Europeans begin.[5] By the end of September the first British (Indian) troops started to arrive. The British tried to remain neutral and seek cooperation with the Republican leadership. Also the Japanese military tried not to get involved and only reacted when provoked.

[edit] Phase 3

The third phase (middle of October to the end of November 1945) is considered the most violent one. In Bandung [6] and Semarang[7] Japanese forces intervene to regain control. In Surabaya and Malang Indonesian forces are able to disarm the Japanese military. European and Indo-European men and boys are locked up, soon followed by the women and girls.[8] Travel for the perceived anti-revolutionary population (Christian Indonesian, Chinese Indonesian, European and Indo-European people) becomes impossible. The British armed forces try to obtain control, but encounter heavy resistance particularly in the middle of Java.[9] Surabaya is the scene of bitter fighting.[10]

[edit] Phase 4

The fourth phase (December 1945 to December 1946) is considered the aftermath of the heaviest Bersiap fighting. Although in Batavia,[11] Bandung [12] and throughout Java regular violence continues up to march 1946.[13] Indonesian commanders put much effort in organising the many irregular fighting units and consolidate their forces on Java.[14] Heavy pressure from the British compels the Dutch politicians to commence negotiations with the Republican leadership.[15]

Indonesian forces start evacuating the Japanese military forces and European and Indo-European civilian prisoners. March 1946 regular Dutch troops start entering the country. July 1946 the Japanese army was finally evacuated and the British troops were all withdrawn by the end of the year, leaving the Dutch military in charge and de facto ending the Bersiap period. The country was now divided into Republican and Dutch controlled areas. The violence and warfare continued, but now between two clear parties: the Dutch army and the Indonesian army.

[edit] Post Bersiap period

Because the Indonesian military leadership is able to control and organise the militant revolutionary forces, the Indonesian political leadership retain overall authority and political leverage in the international arena. The civilian evacuation of Europeans and Indo-Europeans continues until the middle of the next year (May 1947) and renewed hostility and warfare during the continued struggle for Indonesian independence lasts until under heavy political pressure of the US and UN the Dutch formally recognise the young state three years after the Bersiap (December 1949).

[edit] Propaganda

Sutomo during one of his speeches.

One of the catalysts driving the atrocities committed by Indonesian Pemuda against the native Indo-European civilian population was the inciteful Republican propaganda.[16] The Republican military declaration of total war (14 October 1945) states: "When the sun sets, we the Indonesian people are in war with the Dutch." The declaration then continues with clearly targeting civilian groups: "With this declaration we order all Indonesians to find their own enemy – Dutch, Indo or Ambonese." [17]

In his speeches the radical revolutionary leader Sutomo specifically aims at the Indo population, verbally reducing them to bloodhounds.[18]

"Torture them to death, destroy those bloodhounds of colonialism to the root. […] The immortal spirits of your ancestors demand of you: revenge, bloody revenge!" , Sutomo, Jogjakarta, 24 November 1945.[19]

Soon in the streets of the capital Batavia graffiti on the walls showed explicit slogans: "Death to the Ambonese and Indos!" [20] Indonesian leaders such as Sukarno and Sjahrir attempted to call for calm, and even groomed the Indo population to join the revolution, but were unable to prevent the atrocities. The small town of Depok, pre-dominantly occupied by native Christian (indigenous and Indo) people, was one of the first places to be destroyed. Many of its inhabitants were tortured and killed by the Pemuda.

[edit] Guerrilla warfare

At first republican propaganda such as radio speeches and mass rallys were the main tools to influence and mobilise the revolutionary masses. Indonesian military leadership was yet to establish a military agenda and had little control over the many autonomous revolutionary forces. During the Bersiap Indonesian leaders such as generals Sudirman and Nasution began to hastily build a formal military structure and develop an Indonesian military strategy. In his book about the founding doctrines of Indonesia's Army general Nasution, who became Indonesia's foremost military intellectual, reflects on this strategy and highlights the long term negative psychological and social impact on Indonesian fighters involved in the Bersiap.[21]

“Guerrilla war is indeed destructive in nature, not only materially because it uses sabotage and scorched earth, but also what is more, it causes psychological, political and social damage. A guerrilla fighter is bred on a spirit of destruction and is not easily repatriated into the community as an ordinary citizen. The spirit of revolution, of guerrilla warfare and of scorched earth is aimed at destroying the whole existing religious, legal, socio-economic order which forms the organisation of the dominating power. How can the guerrilla accept again a legal, political and socio-economic situation since to him it has the taint of the old system? Many nations and countries continue to be chaotic years and decades after a guerrilla war overturns and rubs out the ethical, legal standards which are normally found in a society. Burning, sabotage, killing and kidnapping at the expense of the enemy have a heroic value. To have participated in guerrilla activities makes it difficult for one to adapt oneself to an ordered society, a society based on law.” Abdul Haris Nasution in 'Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare', 1953.

[edit] Casualties

The death toll of the Bersiap period runs into the tens of thousands. The bodies of 3,600 Indo-Europeans have been identified as killed. However more than 20,000 registered Indo-European civilians were abducted and never returned. The Indonesian revolutionaries lost at least 20,000, often young, fighting men. The Japanese forces lost around 1,000 soldiers and the British forces registered 660 soldiers, mostly British Indians, as killed (with a similar number missing in action).[22] The actual Dutch military were hardly involved,[23] as they only started to return to Indonesia in March and April 1946.

[edit] Research

Few Dutch or Indonesian historians have done holistic studies about this specific phenomenon of the Indonesian national revolution. Dutch historians mostly focus on particular locations and incidents and Indonesian historians mostly focus on the heroic aspects of the revolution. Witness reports from Indo (Eurasian) people mostly focus on the atrocities experienced.[24] Japanese historians show very little interest all together in this part of the World War II aftermath. The most holistic studies encompassing all these elements have in fact been performed by American and English historians.[25]

[edit] Commemoration

In 1988 a national 'Indies Monument' was erected to commemorate the victims of both the Japanese occupation and Indonesian National Revolution in The Hague, Netherlands.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Notes and citations

  1. ^ The Bersiap period starts when, after being kidnapped by ‘Pemuda’, Sukarno declares independence (17 August 1945). The Bersiap period ends when (29 November 1946) the last British troops leave Indonesia and the Dutch army officially takes over. The last Japanese troops had already been evacuated (July 1946).
  2. ^ Pemuda: Young irregular revolutionary fighting forces. Often trained by the Japanese. Also referred to as Pelopor (Frontrunner). Among the Pemuda or Pelopor there were also criminal elements (e.g. looters and murderers), which the newly established Indonesian military leadership tried to filter out, but who were often responsible for some of the early atrocities and war crimes committed. See: Kawilarang, A.E., Officier in dienst van de Republiek Indonesië. (English: 'Officer in service of the Republic of Indonesia' translated into Dutch after the original Indonesian edition, P.H. & H.J. Geurink, Jakarta, 3rd. Edition, Warung Bambu, Breda, 1994) and Cribb, Robert. ‘Gangsters and revolutionaries, the Jakarta peoples militia and the Indonesian revolution 1945-1949.’ (Publisher: Equinox , Singapore, 2009)[1]
  3. ^ British troops landed on Sumatra October 1945. Former civilian internees on Sumatra, were put up in a few large camps in the sparsely populated interior. They were quickly taken to the coast and concentrated in the cities of Padang, Medan, and Palembang. By the end of November all Japanese internment camps on Sumatra had been cleared. On Sumatra the Japanese cooperated with the British, and the Indonesian nationalists were less militant than on Java. The situation there, despite some rioting in Medan and Padang, was relatively peaceful by the end of 1945. The chaotic Bersiap violence also did not occur on any other island in Indonesia.[2]
  4. ^ October 12 the Revolutionary government ordered the arrest of all Indo men and boys. In Surabaya 42 Indos were murdered in the basement of the 'Simpang Club' and several hundreds were tortured in the 'Kalisosok Prison' in the Werfstraat. After an Ambonese prison guard informed the British about plans to poison the prisoners (November 9) they were rescued (November 10) by an Indo commander and a Gurkha unit. See: Bussemaker, H.Th. Bersiap! - Opstand in het paradijs. (Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 2005) ISBN 9057303663 summarised in this educational paper: [3]. For an eye witness account of the rescue mission see: [4]
  5. ^ Frederick, Willam H. Visions and Heat: The Making of the Indonesian Revolution (Publisher Ohio University Press, Athens Ohio, 1989.) P. 237-243 ISBN 0-8214-0906-9
  6. ^ Japanese military police, Kempeitai, killed Republican pemuda in Pekalongan (Central Java) on 3 October. Japanese troops drove Republican pemuda out of Bandung (West Java), and handed the city to the British.
  7. ^ The fiercest fighting involving the Japanese military was in Semarang. On October 14, British forces began to occupy the city. Retreating Republican forces retaliated by killing between 130 and 300 Japanese prisoners they were holding. Five hundred Japanese and 2,000 Indonesians had been killed and the Japanese had almost re-captured the city six days later when British forces arrived. See: Ricklefs (1991), page 216.
  8. ^ The British military subsequently decided to evacuate the 10,000 Indo-Europeans and European internees from the volatile Central Java interior. See: Ricklefs (1991)
  9. ^ British detachments sent to the towns of Ambarawa and Magelang encountered strong Republican resistance and used air strikes against the Indonesian forces. p. 216; See: McMillan, Richard. 'The British Occupation of Indonesia 1945-1946' (Publisher Routledge, Melbourne, 2005) pp. 306–307 ISBN 0-415-35551-6
  10. ^ See: the Battle of Surabaya
  11. ^ In Batavia (Jakarta), where hundreds of autonomous ‘'Pemuda'’ groups existed the last months of 1945 were a terrifying time of regular looting, robbery, kidnapping and random murders were Europeans and Indo-Europeans disappeared even from the heart of the city, to be found floating in the ‘kali’ (canals) days later. See: Cribb, Robert. ‘Gangsters and revolutionaries, the Jakarta peoples militia and the Indonesian revolution 1945-1949.’ (Publisher: Equinox , Singapore, 2009) p.64 ISBN 978-979-3780-71-9
  12. ^ Republican attacks against alleged pro-Dutch civilians reached a peak in November and December, with 1,200 killed in Bandung. See: Reid (1973), p. 54. The alleged pro-Dutch civilians mostly included native born Indo-European, Indo-Chinese, Christian indigenous people (e.g. Menadonese and Ambonese) and indigenous aristocracy, which made the Bersiap period a chaotic mix of civil war, religious conflict and social revolution.
  13. ^ In March 1946, departing Republican forces responded to a British ultimatum for them to leave Bandung by deliberately burning down much of the southern half of the city, in what is known as the "Bandung Sea of Fire
  14. ^ Nasution in West-Java, Sudirman in Middle-Java have a hard time in controlling the many different armed forces and excluding criminal forces from their ranks, but in the end they succeed.
  15. ^ Leading to an agreement called the Linggadjati Agreement (Dutch: 'Akkoord van Linggadjati'), which eventually failed.
  16. ^ Republican propaganda during the revolution was used as a form of political warfare, by communicating loaded messages to produce emotional responses and influence the attitude of the masses, with the objective to further its political and military agenda. Effective means of mass communication were the broadcasts of republican radio stations such as 'Radio Pemberontak' and speeches during mass demonstrations. The supreme republican leader Sukarno had mastered these forms of communication. However during the Bersiap period the republican strategic agenda had not yet fully found a common ground and unitary message how to achieve its single mission of independence. Due to this paradox republican communication often fluctuated between moderate (political) and radical (military) messages.
  17. ^ Meijer, Hans. 'In Indie geworteld, de Geschiedenis van Indische Nederlanders, de twintigste eeuw.' (Publisher Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2004) p. 247 ISBN 90-351-2617-3
  18. ^ Note: In Surabaya Sutomo had a radio studio and transmitting equipment at his disposal. The first inflammatory transmission was on 13 oktober 1945, but could only be received in Surabaya and parts of East-Java. From 16 oktober 1945 the radio broadcasts could be heard all over Indonesia. The next Sutomo speech was broadcasted 14 October and another on the evening of 15 October. This was the evening of "black monday", the day Dutch & Indo citizens were rounded up and killed at the Kalisosok and Bubutan prisons in Surabaya. Bussemaker, H.Th. Bersiap! - Opstand in het paradijs. (Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 2005) P.214-218 ISBN 9057303663
  19. ^ Meijer, Hans. 'In Indie geworteld, de Geschiedenis van Indische Nederlanders, de twintigste eeuw.' (Publisher Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2004) P.245 ISBN 90-351-2617-3. Note: Citing Dutch newspaper 'De Haagsche Post', article dated 4 December 1954.[5]
  20. ^ The only pro-Dutch armed forces that existed on Java were basically small re-grouped South Moluccan KNIL units. These so called 'Ambonese' or 'Belanda Hitam' (English: Black Dutch) as they were called by (other) Indonesians consequently retaliated any provocation or attack by 'Pemuda'. Among the million population of Java their numbers of approximately a few thousand were small, but in Batavia their autonomous contra-terror operations escalated to the point that the British military leadership wanted to de-mobilise them from the city. Young Indos seeking revenge for atrocities committed by the 'Pemuda' sometimes joined them (for instance in Bandung were they established an autonomous fighting unit called 'Andjing Nica', along the lines of a KNIL battalion), giving this part of the Bersiap the nature of a civil war. See: Meijer, Hans. 'In Indie geworteld, de Geschiedenis van Indische Nederlanders, de twintigste eeuw.' (Publisher Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2004) P.249-250 ISBN 90-351-2617-3
  21. ^ Nasution, Abdul Haris, Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare and The Indonesian Defence System Past and Future, (Information Service of the Indonesian Armed Forces, Jakarta, 1953) P.50-51
  22. ^ Bussemaker, H.Th. 'Bersiap! - Opstand in het paradijs.' (Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 2005) ISBN 9057303663
  23. ^ Former KNIL POWs were still recuperating in Allied military bases outside of Indonesia (e.g. Japan and the Philippines). The British in fact prohibited Dutch troops to enter the country during most of the Bersiap period.
  24. ^ Newspaper 'De Haagsche Post', dated 4 December 1954, reported: "These victims were defenseless. They were the Indisch-Nederlandse women and children, malnourished and without male family members who had been interned by the Japanese. The excessive cruelty even filled the Japanese with horror. The human remains of hundreds of mutilated women and children came floating down the large rivers, nailed to rough wooden crosses." [6]
  25. ^ The main historically objective source is the 30 years spanning South-East Asian research project by the Cornell-University Ithaca, New York State, USA. University website

[edit] Bibliography

  • Anderson, B.R.O.G. Java in a time of revolution. Occupation and resistance 1944-1946. (Publisher: Ithaca, 1972)
  • (Dutch) Berg, J. van den, Bersiap, Nederlands-Indonesische Verhalen. (Publisher: KITLV, The Hague, 1993)
  • (Dutch) Bussemaker, H.Th. Bersiap! - Opstand in het paradijs. (Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 2005) ISBN 9057303663
  • (Dutch) Beekhuis, H., Bussemaker, H.Th., Haas, P.M. de en Lutter, A.A. Geïllustreerde atlas van de Bersiapkampen in Nederlands-Indië 1945-1947. [7] (Publisher: Beekhuis, 2009) ISBN 9789052944364
  • (Dutch) Meijer, Hans. In Indie geworteld, de Geschiedenis van Indische Nederlanders, de twintigste eeuw., Chapter: 'De bersiaptijd.' (Publisher Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2004) P.236-266 ISBN 90-351-2617-3
  • (Dutch) Willems, Wim, De uittocht uit Indie 1945-1995 (Publisher Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2001) ISBN 90-351-2361-1
  • Cribb, Robert. ‘Gangsters and revolutionaries, the Jakarta peoples militia and the Indonesian revolution 1945-1949.’ (Publisher: Equinox , Singapore, 2009)[8] ISBN 978-979-3780-71-9
  • Frederick, Willam H. Visions and Heat: The Making of the Indonesian Revolution (Publisher Ohio University Press, Athens Ohio, 1989) P.237-243 ISBN 0-8214-0906-9
  • Hollander, Inez Silenced Voices: Uncovering a Family's Colonial History in Indonesia. (Ohio RIS Southeast Asia Series, Publisher: Ohio University Press; 1 edition, 2009) ISBN 0896802698 [9]
  • McMillan, Richard. The British Occupation of Indonesia 1945-1946. (Publisher Routledge, Melbourne, 2005) P.306-307 ISBN 0-415-35551-6
  • (Dutch) Meelhuijsen, W., Revolutie in Soerabaja: 17 augustus – 1 december 1945. (Publisher: NIMH, Zutphen, 2000)
  • Reid, Anthony. The Indonesian National Revolution 1945-1950. (Publisher: Longman Pty Ltd., Melbourne, 1974) ISBN 0-582-71046-4.
  • Ricklefs, M.C. A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300. (Second Edition. MacMillan, 1991) P.216
  • Smail, J.R.W. Bandung in the early revolution 1945-1946. A study in the social history of the Indonesian revolution. (Publisher: Ithaca, 1964)
  • (Indonesian) Trisnojuwono Dimedan perang: dan tjerita-tjerita lain. (Publisher: Nusantara, 1962)
  • Vickers, Adrian. A History of Modern Indonesia. (Publisher: Cambridge University Press,New York 2005) P. 85–112. ISBN 0-521-54262-2

[edit] External links

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