Sukarno

Sukarno (June 6, 1901 – June 21, 1970) was the first President of Indonesia. He helped the country win its independence from the Netherlands and was President from 1945 to 1967, presiding over mixed success in the country's turbulent transition to independence. Sukarno was forced from power by one of his generals, Suharto, who formally became President in March 1967.

'Guided Democracy' and increasing autocracy

During this later part of his presidency, Sukarno came to increasingly rely on the army and the support of the PKI - the Communist Party of Indonesia.

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On November 30, 1957, there was a grenade attack against Sukarno when he was visiting a school in Cikini, Jakarta. Six children were killed but Sukarno did not suffer any serious wounds. In December he ordered the nationalization of 246 Dutch businesses. In February he began a breakdown of PRRI (Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia) rebels at Bukittinggi.

Related Topics:
November 30 - 1957 - Jakarta - Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia - Bukittinggi

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These PRRI rebels, a mix of anti-communist and Islamic movements, received arms and aid from Western sources, including the CIA. Until J. Allan Pope, an American pilot, was shot down after a bombing raid in northern Indonesia in 1958, the CIA sent arms to rebel movements on Sumatra as well as Sulawesi. The downing of this pilot, together with impressive victories of government forces against the PRRI, evoked a shift in US policy, leading to closer ties with Sukarno as well as Nasution, the head of the army and the most powerful anti-communist in the Jakarta government.

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Over the following years Sukarno established government control over media and book publishing, and laws discriminating against Chinese Indonesian residents. The infamous PP/10 (Government Directive 10) of 1959 banning "foreign citizens" from operating in rural areas forced the Chinese Indonesian residents to move out of rural areas and relocate to urban areas. In July 5 1959 he reestablished 1945 constitution, dissolved the parliament, molded it to his liking and assumed full personal power as a prime minister. He called the system as government-by-decree Manifesto Politik or Manipol. He sent his opponents to internal exile.

Related Topics:
Chinese Indonesian - 1959 - July 5

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In the 1950s he increased his ties to China and admitted more communists to his government. He also began to accept increasing amounts of Soviet bloc military aid. This aid, however, was surpassed by military aid from the Eisenhower Administration, which worried about a leftward drift should Sukarno rely too much on Soviet bloc aid. However, Sukarno increasingly attempted to forge a new alliance called the New Emerging Forces, as a counter to the old superpowers whom he accused of spreading "Neo-Colonialism, Colonialism and Imperialism". His political alliances gradually shifted towards Asian powers such as the PRC and North Korea.

Related Topics:
China - Communist - Soviet

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The Bandung Conference was held in 1955 in Bandung, with the goal of uniting developing Asian and African countries into a non-aligned movement to counter against the competing superpowers at the time. In order to increase Indonesia's prestige, Sukarno supported and won the bid for the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta. Many sporting facilities such as the Senayan sports complex, and supporting infrastructure were built to accommodate the games. There was political tension when the Indonesians refused the entry of delegations from Israel and Taiwan.

Related Topics:
Bandung Conference - Bandung - Non-aligned movement - 1962 - Asian Games - Jakarta - Senayan - Israel - Taiwan

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In March 1960 Sukarno dissolved the elected Assembly and replaced it with an appointed Assembly, and in August he broke off diplomatic relations with the Netherlands over Dutch New Guinea (West Papua.) After West Papua declared itself independent in December of 1961, Sukarno ordered raids to West Irian (Dutch New Guinea). There were more assassination attempts when he visited Sulawesi in 1962. West Irian was brought under Indonesian authority in May 1963 under the Bunker Plan. In July of the same year Sukarno had himself proclaimed President for Life.

Related Topics:
Dutch New Guinea - West Irian - Sulawesi - Bunker Plan - President for Life

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Sukarno also opposed the British-supported Federation of Malaysia, claiming that it was a neocolonial plot to advance British interests. In spite of his political overtures, Malaysia was proclaimed in September 1963. This led to the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (Konfrontasi) and the end of remaining US military aid to Indonesia. Sukarno withdrew Indonesia from the UN Security Council in 1965 when with US backing, the nascent Federation of Malaysia took a seat. Sukarno also became increasingly ill and collapsed in public in August 9, 1965. He was secretly diagnosed with kidney disease.

Related Topics:
Malaysia - Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation - UN Security Council

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