Dipa Nusantara Aidit (born Ahmad Aidit; 30 July 1923 – 22 November 1965)
was an Indonesian
communist politician, who served as General Secretary of the
Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951 until his summary execution during the
mass killings of 1965–66. Born on
Belitung Island
Belitung ( Belitung Malay: ''Belitong'', formerly Billiton) is an island on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in the Java Sea. It covers , and had a population of 309,097 at the 2020 Census. Administratively, it forms two regencies ( Beli ...
, he was nicknamed "Amat". Aidit was educated in the
Dutch colonial
Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...
system.
Biography
Aidit was born Achmad Aidit in
Tanjung Pandan
Tanjungpandan (official writing style) (, Jawi: تنجوڠ ڤندن ), is the largest town on the island Belitung in the Indonesian province of Bangka-Belitung, Indonesia. Tanjungpandan is the capital of the Belitung Regency comprising one of the ...
, Belitung, 30 July 1923. He was the first son of four. His parents were
Abdullah Aidit and Mailan. Achmad and his siblings studied at Hollandsche Inlandsch School.
In early 1936, Achmad asked his father to continue his studies in
Jakarta (then called Batavia). Achmad then attended Middestand Handel School, instead of Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs, because the registration had already been closed. For three years he lived in
Cempaka Putih
Cempaka Putih is a district of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Cempaka Putih is roughly bounded by Jenderal Ahmad Yani bypass highway to the east, Pramuka boulevard to the south, Letjend Suprapto boulevard to the north, and a railway line to the west. ...
with his father's colleague. He moved to
Senen
Senen is a long-established urban district of Jakarta, Indonesia that has kept many tourist attractions such as two museums, the National Library of Indonesia and Gelanggang Remaja Senen, a quite narrow alley with old Chinese and similar style ...
and lived with his brother Murad who followed in Achmad's footsteps. Unwilling to rely on money sent by their parents, Achmad and Murad tried to earn money themselves. In those times, Achmad was an active as member of Persatuan Timur Muda, under
Gerindo (Indonesian People's Movement), led by
Amir Sjarifudin and
Adnan Kapau Gani
Adnan Kapau Gani (16 September 1905 – 23 December 1968), often abbreviated as A. K. Gani, was an Indonesian politician. Born in West Sumatra, he spent much of his youth in Java, where he studied medicine and became involved with the nasc ...
, and later became the chairman. Achmad also changed his name to Dipa Nusantara, which was shortened as D.N. and was often mistaken for Djafar Nawawi, to conceal his descent which was at first, rejected by his father.
During the
Japanese occupation, in Asrama Menteng 31 D.N. Aidit and his friends received political lectures from
Sukarno,
Hatta, Amir Sjarifudin,
Achmad Subardjo
Achmad Soebardjo Djojoadisoerjo (23 March 1896 – 15 December 1978) was a diplomat, one of Indonesia's founding fathers, and an Indonesian national hero. He was the first Foreign Minister of Indonesia. In 1933, he received the degree '' Meester ...
, and
Ki Hajar Dewantoro. There, in 1943, Aidit first met
M.H. Lukman. They were members of Gerakan Indonesia Merdeka while Aidit as the chairman of political council of the organization and Lukman as his member. In 1944, they were elected as the member of ''
Barisan Pelopor
The ''Suishintai'' ( ja, 推進体, Suishintai, Pioneer Corps, id, Barisan Pelopor) was the paramilitary youth wing of the '' Jawa Hōkōkai'' (ジャワ奉公会, "Javanese Service Society") which was formed in August 1944 by its leader Sukarno, ...
Indonesia'', the 100 men who were most loyal to Sukarno. About one year before
Indonesian independence
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...
, Aidit, M.H. Lukman, Sidik Kertapati, Chalid Rasjidi, and the other young men studied politics at Asrama Kemerdekaan founded by Rear Admiral
Maeda and headed by
Wikana
Wikana (16 October 1914 – 1966) was an Indonesian minister and independence leader. He was one of the youths who forced Sukarno and Hatta to declare independence immediately after the surrender of the Japanese. He was the first Indonesian Mini ...
.
In early September 1945, Angkatan Pemuda Indonesia was formed. Aidit was appointed as the chairman of API section Jakarta Raya. On 5 November, Aidit, Alizar Thaib, and the other API member attacked
Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger's post but eventually were arrested. They were then exiled to
Onrust island. After seven months, Aidit and Lukman were released. One day after released, they went to
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
to meet Wikana. In Yogyakarta, Aidit and Lukman ran the bimonthly magazine, . There, they met
Njoto, PKI's Banyuwangi representative.
In March 1947, Aidit was appointed as chairman of a PKI faction in a
KNIP meeting. In early 1948, Aidit, Lukman, and Njoto were assigned to translate
The Communist Manifesto
''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Commu ...
into Indonesian. In August, the three became members of the Central Committee, respectively responsible for land affair, agitation and propaganda, and relation to other organizations. The three and
Sudisman became members of the new PKI Politburo formed by
Musso
Munawar Musso (1897, in Kediri, East Java – Madiun, on 31 October 1948) was a leader of the Communist Party of Indonesia and one of the key figures in the 1948 Madiun affair.
Biography
Early life
Musso was born Munawar Musso in 1897, Pagu, ...
on 1 September 1948. Aidit was responsible for the labor section of the party. Aidit and Lukman managed to escape to China and Vietnam after PKI position was pressed in
Madiun Affair, while Murad claimed that Aidit took shelter in
Tanjung Priok
Tanjung Priok is a district of North Jakarta, Indonesia. It hosts the western part of the city's main harbor, the Port of Tanjung Priok (located in Tanjung Priok District and Koja District). The district of Tanjung Priok is bounded by Laksaman ...
. While in hiding, Aidit and Lukman reran on 15 August 1950. They also published two weekly. In January 1951, Njoto joined the latter.
After the 1948 affair, the four young members of the Politburo, Aidit, Njoto, Lukman, and
Sudisman replaced the old leaders in January 1951 as a result of the fifth congress of the party. Aidit was appointed as the secretary general of the party, which was later renamed as chairman, while Njoto and Lukman as his deputies. PKI led by Aidit was not only based on labor and plantation worker, but also farmer.
Though a
Marxist, Aidit submitted to
Sukarno's
Marhaenism
Marhaenism ( ind, Marhaenisme), is a socialistic political ideology originating and developed by the first President of Indonesia Sukarno. It was developed from the thought of Marxism which is applied according to the nature and culture of Indon ...
policy and allowed the party to grow without any overt intentions towards power. In return for his support of Sukarno, he rose to the position of Secretary-General of the PKI. Under his administration, the party became the 3rd largest Communist party in the world, behind those of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
China. He set up a number of programs including the
Pemuda Rakyat for the youth, and
Gerwani
Gerwani ( id, Gerakan Wanita Indonesia, "Indonesian Women's Movement") was a women's organization founded as Gerwis (, "Movement of Conscious Indonesian Women") in Semarang, Central Java, on 4 June 1950.
In 1954, Gerwis as an activist-based mov ...
, a women's league.
During the 1955 general election campaign, Aidit and the PKI drew a large following. In the next decade, the PKI became a leftist rival to conservative elements among the Muslim political parties and the Army. By 1965, the PKI had become the largest political party in Indonesia, and Aidit became bolder in overtures towards power.
Sjam claimed that on 12 August 1965 he met Aidit and was instructed to assess the party's power that time.
An
attempted coup occurred on 30 September 1965, which was later officially blamed on the PKI (see
Transition to the New Order
Indonesia's transition to the New Order in the mid-1960s ousted the country's first president, Sukarno, after 22 years in the position. One of the most tumultuous periods in the country's modern history, it was the commencement of Suharto's ...
). On 2 October, Aidit went to Yogyakarta to meet the regional PKI chairman Sutrisno. After a few hours, Aidit moved to Semarang also to consolidate to the party officials in the region. The meeting concluded that the coup was the Army's internal problem and PKI knew nothing about it. In the afternoon of that day, Aidit went to
Boyolali
Boyolali ( jv, ꦧꦺꦴꦪꦭꦭꦶ, Boyalali, Don't forget) is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the eastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,015.10 km2, and had a population of 930,531 at the 2010 census and 1 ...
to meet Boyolali regent Suwali who was a PKI member. Aidit then went to Solo to meet the mayor Utomo Ramelan who was also a member. The meeting contradicted the conclusion of the meeting in
Semarang. Several Politbiro members including Aidit and M.H. Lukman met in
Blitar
Blitar is a landlocked city in East Java, Indonesia, about 73 km from Malang and 167 km from Surabaya. The area lies within longitude 111° 40' – 112° 09' East and its latitude is 8° 06' South. The city of Blitar lies at an altitude ...
on 5 October. There Aidit wrote a letter of the PKI view of the coup which was read by Njoto during a cabinet meeting in
Bogor.
Aidit then fled to Boyolali, where he was captured by forces loyal to General
Suharto.
According to Zulkifli & Hidayat, on 22 November Aidit was arrested by a search party led by Colonel Yasir Hadibroto in a house in Sambeng Village,
Solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
. In the early morning, he was brought to Boyolali and was summarily executed as part of
the bloody 1965/66 anti-communist purge.
Political views
According to Ricklefs, Aidit thought that "Marxism was a guide to action, not an inflexible dogma". Aidit sympathized with
Musso
Munawar Musso (1897, in Kediri, East Java – Madiun, on 31 October 1948) was a leader of the Communist Party of Indonesia and one of the key figures in the 1948 Madiun affair.
Biography
Early life
Musso was born Munawar Musso in 1897, Pagu, ...
's ''Jalan Baru untuk Republik Indonesia'' (A New Road for Indonesian Republic), though he stated that the
Madiun Affair was just "children's games".
Legacy
Some of his writings were published as ''The Selected Works of D.N. Aidit'' (2 vols. Vol. I JPRS-6551; Vol. II JPRS-8886; Washington: US Joint Publications Research Service, 1961).
Personal life
Aidit married Soetanti in early 1948. Aidit's second son, Ilham, was born on 18 May 1959 in Moscow.
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
* Melvin, Jess (2018) ''The Army and the Indonesian Genocide: Mechanics of Mass Murder'' Routledge, UK
*
* Robinson, Geoffrey B. (2018) ''The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965-66'' Princeton University Press
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aidit, Dipa Nusantara
1923 births
1965 deaths
Communist Party of Indonesia politicians
Executed communists
Executed politicians
Indonesian people of Malay descent
People executed by Indonesia by firearm
People from the Bangka Belitung Islands
Executed Indonesian people
Members of the People's Representative Council, 1955
Indonesian newspaper editors