// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was the PRRI rebellion upset? It had a revolt-ing attitude.
| PRRI Rebellion | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Age of Gerombolan, Cold War in Asia, and the CIA activities in Indonesia | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Indonesia |
PRRI Supported by: Permesta United States | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Sukarno A.H. Nasution Ahmad Yani Omar Dhani Djamin Ginting |
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara  Assaat Dt. Mudo (POW) Ahmad Husein (POW) Dahlan Djambek  Burhanuddin Harahap (POW) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1,031 dead[1]
Total: 3,702 killed, 5,228 wounded, 1,242 missing (include casualties in PRRI and Permesta rebellion)[2] |
6,115 dead
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5,592 civilians killed | |||||||
PRRI rebellion was a conflict between the Indonesian government and Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia rebels from 1957 to 1962.
Conflict
[edit]The central government saw PRRI as a separatist movement that had to be crushed by force of arms. The central government through the Angkatan Perang Republik Indonesia (APRI or nicknamed "tentara pusat/the central army") conducted a joint operation consisting of Army, Navy, and Air force. The operation that was carried out was Operation Tegas, Operation 17 Agustus, Operation Saptamarga, Operation Sadar (PRRI), Operation merdeka
In the early stages of the military operation, government administration activities were paralyzed, officials and employees fled in order to save themselves. To revive the government, the central government divided Central Sumatra into three provinces, one of which was West Sumatra. On May 17, 1958, Kaharuddin Datuk Rangkayo Basa was appointed as the first Governors of West Sumatra.[4][5]
On the other hand, the actions of the central army are running out of control. APRI soldiers committed acts of violence. Thousands of people suspected of being PRRI sympathizers were arbitrarily arrested. Actions of mass killings occurred in a number of places. Under the Jam Gadang, APRI killed around 187 people by shooting. Only 17 of that number were PRRI soldiers, while the rest were civilians.[6] The corpses were then lined up in the courtyard of the Clock Tower.[7]
From mid-April 1958 to 1960, all junior and senior high schools were closed. Andalas University, which had only been running for two years, was forced to close because almost all of its lecturers and students joined PRRI. Towards the end of 1960, the entire area of West Sumatra was under the control of the APRI army.[8]
Abdul Haris Nasution noted that PRRI military operations claimed the lives of 7,146 people on both sides. Most of those who died, namely 6,115 were "from the PRRI side". Saafroedin Bahar Saafroedin Bahar noted that the number of victims resulting from the short PRRI conflict was far greater than the victims of the war with the Netherlands during the independence revolution.[1]
Apart from military operations, the central government took a diplomatic approach by persuading the PRRI soldiers to surrender and return to loyalty to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. This event is called Operation Callback. On May 29, 1961, Ahmad Husein officially surrendered along with around 24,500 of his followers. Furthermore, the government granted amnesty to civilian and military elements who had been involved in the PRRI. The amnesty was stated in Presidential Decree No. 322 of 1961 dated 22 June 1961. Although the PRRI leadership responded to the government's call, in reality the promise of amnesty was only rhetoric. For several years, PRRI's civilian and military leadership was quarantined. Communities, especially college students and students, experience heavy life pressures.[9]
Beginning of the end
[edit]
The central government in Jakarta, having tolerated the dissident Army Councils for almost twelve months, promptly began preparations to militarily defeat the PRRI. The rebels had virtually no chance of success given the overwhelming superiority of the government forces. In addition, the military experience possessed by General Nasution, who was leading the government military forces, far exceeded that of Lieutenant Colonel Husein.
The government military campaign that commenced on 12 March 1958 scored a quick victory in preventing the destruction of the Caltex oil fields and refinery in Pekanbaru by the PRRI forces. That attack also laid bare that the PRRI was receiving military aid from the United States, given the large amount of US-made equipment abandoned by the PRRI forces which had taken flight.
The United States government, especially the CIA (see CIA activities in Indonesia) had covertly supported the rebel PRRI Government in 1958, despite some dissent in the agency from Desmond Fitzgerald.[10] With the Americans posturing to become directly involved in the crisis, General Nasution conducted surprise amphibious assaults on rebel cities in Sumatra during March 1958.
With the military balance swiftly swinging in favour of the central government in Jakarta during the period March–May 1958, and the fact that Lieutenant Colonel Husein had little choice but to pursue a strategy of withdrawal and guerrilla warfare which would make it difficult for the United States to publicly recognise the PRRI,[11] the United States had to reconsider its previous policy assessment that the break-up of Indonesia and emergence of a communist government was likely. The Pope incident on 18 May 1958 signalled the beginning of the end of the CIA's program of covert support to the PRRI, with the US shifting its support back towards Sukarno and the central government as the anticipated victor from the conflict.
Surrender
[edit]Although the conflict dragged on over the next three years, the government forces were successful in pushing the PRRI into the jungle and mountains, and retook several strongholds,[12] including Kototinggi where the PRRI leadership was headquartered.
General Nasution, who was leading the government forces, launched Operasi Pemanggilan Kembali (Operation Call Back) at the end of 1960 to take advantage of internal rifts within the PRRI. The main objective of which was to persuade the army officers supporting the PRRI to surrender themselves, because once there was no longer military support, the civilians would also follow suit.
Small numbers of PRRI troops began surrendering from April 1961, while the majority did so in the middle of 1961. The last vestiges of the PRRI held out for a few more months before the final surrender by Mohammad Natsir, who was the last of them, on 28 September 1961.[13]
South Sumatra conflict
[edit]While the government of South Sumatra refused to take part in the PRRI rebellion, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the South Sumatran command (Major Nawawi) and another officer (Major Z. Kamidan) joined the rebellion and created a guerilla group in Bengkulu and Muba regions. In mid-1961 Zakaria launched an attempted coup against Nawawi forcing the latter one to retreat into Muba. In December 1961 a peace agreement was reached between Nawawi and the Indonesian government, and finally in early 1962 his forces surrendered.[14]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Abrar Yusra (2011).Azwar Anas:teladan dari ranah Minang.Penerbit Buku Kompas.ISBN 978-979-709-585-7.
- 1 2 3 Anwar, Rosihan (2006). Sukarno, tentara, PKI: Segitiga kekuasaan sebelum prahara politik, 1961-1965. Yayasan Obor Indonesia. ISBN 978-979-461-613-0.
- ↑ Mestika Zed (1995). Sumatera Barat di panggung sejarah, 1945-1995 (in Indonesian). Bidang Penerbitan Khusus, Panitia Peringatan 50 Tahun RI, Sumatera Barat. p. 147.
- ↑ Syamdani (2009).PRRI, pemberontakan atau bukan?. Media Pressindo.ISBN 978-979-788-032-3.
- ↑ Yusra, Abrar (1997).Tokoh yang berhati rakyat: biografi Harun Zain.Yayasan Gebu Minang. ISBN 978-979-8428-01-2.
- ↑ Syamdani (2009). PRRI, pemberontakan atau bukan? (in Indonesian). Media Pressindo. ISBN 978-979-788-032-3.
- ↑ Ilyas, Abraham. Syair Kisah Perjuangan Anak Nagari 1958-1961: Kalah di Ujung Bedil Menang dengan Silat (in Indonesian). Lembaga Kekerabatan Datuk Soda. ISBN 978-602-71254-1-4.
- ↑ Abrar Yusra (2011). Azwar Anas:teladan dari ranah Minang. Penerbit Buku Kompas.ISBN 978-979-709-585-7.
- ↑ Syamdani (2009). PRRI, pemberontakan atau bukan? (in Indonesian). Media Pressindo. ISBN 978-979-788-032-3.
- ↑ W. Thomas Smith, Jr. (2003). Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency. Facts On File/Checkmark Books. ISBN 9780816046669.
- ↑ Audrey R. Kahin, Rebellion to Integration: West Sumatra and the Indonesian Polity, p. 215.
- ↑ Audrey R. Kahin, Rebellion to Integration: West Sumatra and the Indonesian Polity, p. 225.
- ↑ Audrey R. Kahin, Rebellion to Integration: West Sumatra and the Indonesian Polity, p. 226-228.
- ↑ PEMBERONTAKAN PRRI SUMATRA SELATAN TANPA DEWAN GARUDA, December 2020