Independence
On January 23, 1950, a rebel group called the Just King Armed Forces (Indonesian: Angkatan Perang Ratu Adil, APRA), led by Captain Raymond Westerling (a former Dutch military officer) and King Sultan Hamid II from Kalimantan (Borneo) attacked Indonesian army's Siliwangi Division HQ in Bandung. Lt. Col. Lembong and 93 other Indonesian soldiers and officers were killed. On January 24, 1950, the rebels tried to attack Jakarta, but the rebellion was quashed in a fierce battle in Pacet, near Jakarta. Sultan Hamid II was arrested, but Capt. Westerling managed to escape to Singapore.
In 1955, the first Asian-African Conference (Indonesian: Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi Asia-Afrika) was held in Bandung. Twenty-nine countries attended the conference. The Asian-African leaders who attended the summit included Nehru (India), Nasser (Egypt), Tito (Yugoslavia), Nkrumah (Ghana), U Nu (Myanmar), and others. This conference is one of the preparation for the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement block in Beograd (former Yugoslavia) in 1961.
After being elected in 1955, a new parliament body called the Constitutional Assembly (Indonesian: Konstituante), was established. It was tasked with creating new constitution to replace the Provisional Constitution of 1950. This new body held meetings in Bandung for several years without any result. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved by President Sukarno in a decree issued on July 5, 1959, which also reinstated the 1945 Constitution.
On May 10, 1963, a minor traffic accident (collision between 2 motorcycles) occurred in the campus of Bandung Institute of Technology. Two ITB students were involved in this accident: an ethnic Chinese student and an Indonesian student. The traffic accident turned into a racial brawl on the basketball field. The leaders of "Dewan Mahasiswa" (DM)/student council at ITB such as Muslimin Nasution (later becoming a government minister), Siswono Yudohusodo (later becoming a government minister), and Sutjipto (later becoming a leader of PKS party) used this event as the start of a movement against the establishment of ethnic Chinese tribe by Baperki (an ethnic Chinese organization influenced by Indonesian Communist Party/PKI). This movement was also directed against NASAKOM (Nasionalis, Agama dan Komunis) ideology from President Soekarno. The movement disagree with the Communist part of NASAKOM and they assumed that all ethnic Chinese community supported Baperki/Indonesian Communist Party. The next day, there was a large scale public demonstration by this movement against Baperki and ethnic Chinese. Unfortunately there are other organizations/people who use this event to start a large scale racial riot in Bandung that spread to other cities: Jogjakarta, Surabaya, Malang and Medan. Muslimin Nasution and other leaders of Student Council were arrested by Police. Muslimin was sentenced to 3 years in Prison for starting the riot.
On September 30, 1965, there was a failed coup attempt by revolutionary council (aka G30S). The Military Chief Of Staff, General Nasution escaped and went to Bandung for protection from the loyal Siliwangi division. According to General Nasution, near his mother residence in Bandung, members of Indonesian communist party (PKI) also dig new wells for burying their enemies.
On September 6, 1970 there was a football match between ITB students and cadets from Military academy. The game ended in a riot and brawl. Rene L. Conrad, an ITB student, was kidnapped and murdered by the Military cadets. Unfortunately the case remain unsolved today.
In 1976, Doctor Habibie (later becoming Indonesian President) established a state owned, aircraft manufacturing company called Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN). Later this company was renamed into PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI).
In 1978, after a People Consultative Assembly session in Jakarta, there were demonstrations against the re-election of President Soeharto by ITB students. Police disbanded the "Dewan Mahasiswa" (Student council) movement in ITB and the leaders were arrested. The university was closed for 3 months and the new Minister of Education announced "Normalization of University Life" (NKK) to quell the student movement.
On March 11, 1981, an extreme Moslem group called "Jamaah Imron" attacked Cicendo police station in Bandung. The movement was quashed by Indonesian police, but several members escaped to Medan, North Sumatra and hijacked Garuda airplane to Bangkok 2 weeks later. The passengers and crews were rescued by Indonesian special force in the Don Muang airport, Bangkok, Thailand. The pilot and a soldier were shot death during the rescue attempt.
From April 5, 1982 to January 8, 1983, there were several eruptions at Mt Galunggung in Tasikmalaya and Bandung was buried in several inches of ash.
Read more about this topic: History Of Bandung
Famous quotes containing the word independence:
“We commonly say that the rich man can speak the truth, can afford honesty, can afford independence of opinion and action;—and that is the theory of nobility. But it is the rich man in a true sense, that is to say, not the man of large income and large expenditure, but solely the man whose outlay is less than his income and is steadily kept so.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I am savage enough to prefer the woods, the wilds, and the independence of Monticello, to all the brilliant pleasures of this gay capital [Paris].”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“Children are as destined biologically to break away as we are, emotionally, to hold on and protect. But thinking independently comes of acting independently. It begins with a two-year-old doggedly pulling on flannel pajamas during a July heat wave and with parents accepting that the impulse is a good one. When we let go of these small tasks without anger or sorrow but with pleasure and pride we give each act of independence our blessing.”
—Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)