The APRA coup d'état was a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

Raymond Westerling Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (31 August 1919 – 26 November 1987) was a Greek-Dutch military officer of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. He orchestrated a contraguerrilla in Sulawesi during the Indonesian National Revolution aft ...

's Legion of Ratu Adil (APRA) to capture

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

and

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, and to overthrow

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

’s

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

Republic of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Ind ...

. Westerling was a demobilised Dutch Captain of the KNIL (

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

), who sought to preserve the

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Republic of the United States of Indonesia The United States of Indonesia ( nl, Verenigde Staten van Indonesië, id, Republik Indonesia Serikat, abbreviated as RIS), was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (except ...

, which retained the support of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and various minority elements. Westerling's forces succeeded in capturing Bandung in the early hours of 23 January 1950. Simultaneously, the APRA infiltrated Jakarta as part of a coup d’état to overthrow the RUSI Cabinet. Their plan was to arrest and assassinate several prominent Republican figures including the Defence Minister Sultan

Hamengkubuwono IX Hamengkubuwono IX or HB IX (12 April 1912 – 2 October 1988) was an Indonesian statesman and royal who was the second vice president of Indonesia, the ninth sultan of Yogyakarta, and the first governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Hamen ...

and Secretary-General Ali Budiardjo. However, Westerling's forces in Jakarta were killed or captured by the Indonesian army and police forces. The APRA was forced out of Bandung, while Westerling escaped to Singapore. After a mopping up campaign the Legion of Ratu Adil had ceased to function in February 1950. The coup d'état led to the downfall of

Sultan Hamid II Sultan Hamid II (born Syarif Abdul Hamid Alkadrie; 12 July 1913 – 30 March 1978) was the eighth Sultan of Pontianak and the only President of the State of West Kalimantan from 1946 to its disestablishment in 1950. He was the eldest son of ...

and accelerated the integration of the RUSI into the Republic by 17 August 1950.Kahin (1952), p. 454-56

Rise of the APRA

Prior to the transfer of sovereignty on 27 December 1949, a RUSI Cabinet consisting of both Republican and Federalist members was formed on 17 December 1949. This Cabinet was headed by Prime Minister

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...

and included 11 Republicans and five Federalists including the pro-Dutch

. Ultimately, this federal government was short-lived due to conflicting differences between the Republicans and the Federalists as well as growing popular support for a

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

.Kahin (1952), p. 448-48 Growing tensions between the Republicans and Federalists prompted Hamid II to conspire with the former commander of the DST (Depot Special Forces) commando unit

to organize an anti-Republican coup d’état which would ensure a federal

. By January 1950, Westerling had built up a militia force known as Angkatan Perang Ratu Adil (APRA, Legion of Ratu Adil). Raymond Westerling stated that the APRA counted 22,000 men. American historian George Kahin estimates it was about 2,000 men. The APRA comprised various Republican elements including defectors from the Indonesian army, Islamic and communist battle groups. The Legion was further augmented by elements of the KNIL,

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

, Westerling's old commando unit and several sympathetic Dutch nationals including two police inspectors. The Republican government attempted to negotiate with Westerling by offering to pay him US$100,000 in exchange for renouncing his revolutionary activities, but Westerling rejected the offer.Westerling (1952), p. 198 On 5 January 1950, Westerling sent an ultimatum to the government of Jakarta. His demands were the recognition of the APRA as the official army of the state of Pasundan and unconditional respect for the autonomy of the federal states. Westerling added that if the answer was not positive, he could not be held responsible for the outbreak of large-scale fighting by the APRA. With no reply to his ultimatum, Westerling started the coup in the night of 22–23 January, a month after international recognition of the Republic of Indonesia.De Moor (1999) 413-36

Attacks against Bandung and Jakarta

Westerling's planned coup d’état involved the near-simultaneous capture of Bandung and Jakarta, followed by the capture of

Buitenzorg Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI). At 10 pm, they would seize ammunition stocks from the old KNIL arms depot in Bandung and then dispatch them to a rendezvous point 15 miles away for delivery to Djakarta by 11 pm. At 5 am on 23 January, APRA forces based in nearby

Tjimahi Cimahi () is a landlocked city located immediately west of the larger city of Bandung, in West Java Province, Indonesia and within the Bandung Metropolitan Area. It covers an area of 40.37 km2 and had a population at the 2010 Census of 541 ...

would capture strategic locations like military bases, police stations, and government buildings and communications facilities throughout Bandung and Jakarta. At dawn, about 520 APRA soldiers entered Bandung. However, the

Siliwangi Division Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi ( id, Komando Daerah Militer III/Siliwangi or Kodam III/Siliwangi) is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province. The division was formed during the Indonesian ...

, which was encamped in the city, had been forewarned of Westerling's plans. A motorized unit was sent to intercept the Legion, but was quickly defeated. Advancing through Bandung, the APRA captured key locations including the TNI's headquarters and the Siliwangi barracks. Within an hour, they had secured the city center and eliminated all resistance. TNI Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Lembong and 93 other Indonesian soldiers and officers were killed. The majority of the TNI forces were taken by surprise and there were reports of soldiers discarding their uniforms and fleeing. TNI Colonel Erie Sudeweo sought refuge in the Dutch barracks.De Moor (1999) p. 437-72 However, the second phase of the coup d'état collapsed since the majority of the KNIL's commanders cooperated with the Indonesian government and refused to support Westerling's actions. A Dutch officer discovered the unloading of ammunition from the Bandung arms depot into trucks of the APRA. Due to this development, the ammunitions convoy did not arrive in the Republican capital

at 11 PM as planned. Westerling's Legion was unable to launch its scheduled attack at 5 AM on 23 January. There had been plans to seize the presidential palace, army barracks and to arrest Republican politicians including Sukarno, Hatta, Hamengkubuwono IX and Ali Budiardjo. Unable to find any ammunition, Westerling was forced to abort his attack by 6 AM. With the coup attempt in tatters, the APRA retreated from Bandung after negotiations with KNIL Major General Edu Engles. By 5 PM Republican forces under Sadikin had re-established control over Bandung.De Moor (1999), p. 473-79

Aftermath of the coup

In the following weeks several small APRA units were defeated in a mopping up campaign by the Indonesian army and police. The Legion of Ratu Adil had ceased to function in February 1950. The attempted coup d'état increased public agitation for the dissolution of the federal system. Westerling escaped with the help of the Dutch government to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Despite attempts by the Indonesian government to extradite him, he lived in exile in the

until his death in 1987. By April 5, several key conspirators including

had been arrested by the Republican authorities. On April 19, Hamid II confessed to his involvement in the botched Jakarta coup and to planning a second attack on Parliament scheduled for February 15. Due to the presence of RUSI troops, the attack had been aborted. The role of the Pasundan government in the coup led to its dissolution by February 10, further undermining the federal structure. By then, the Pasudan Parliament's wishes of merger with the republic were fulfilled. By late March 1950, Hamid's West Kalimantan was one of the four remaining federal states in the United States of Indonesia. Hamid's role in the coup led to increased agitation in West Kalimantan for its integration as part of the Republic of Indonesia. Following a fact-finding mission by the Government Commission, the RUSI House of Representatives voted, by a margin of fifty votes to one, to merge West Kalimantan into the Republic of Indonesia.Kahin (1952), p. 456 Following clashes with demobilized KNIL troops under

Andi Aziz Andi Aziz (19 September 1924 – 30 January 1984) was a Royal Dutch East Indies Army captain. He was born in Simpangbinangal, Barru, South Sulawesi. He led the 5 April 1950 Makassar Uprising in Sulawesi against the Republic of the United ...

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

and the attempted secession of an

Ambonese The Ambonese, also known as South Moluccans, are an Indonesian ethnic group of mixed Austronesian and Melanesian origin. They are majority Christians followed by Muslims. The Ambonese are from Ambon Island in Maluku, an island group east of Sula ...

Republic of South Moluccas South Maluku, also South Moluccas, officially the Republic of South Maluku, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised Secession, secessionist republic that claimed the islands of Ambon Island, Ambon, Buru, and ...

, the federal United States of Indonesia was dissolved on 17 August 1950, turning Indonesia into a unitary state dominated by the central government in Jakarta.

Notes

References

* * * – translated from the French to English by Waverley Root as –

External links