"Our Struggle" was a pamphlet written late October 1945 by Indonesian independence leader Soetan Sjahrir. It was pivotal in redirecting the Indonesian national revolution. In his pamphlet Sjahrir addressed all crucial spearheads of the still ongoing revolutionary struggle for Indonesia's independence. His target audiences are firstly and primarily the Indonesian masses and their leaders involved in the revolution, secondly public opinion in the colonial metropolis of the Netherlands, home of the adversary and thirdly international public opinion. The Dutch-language editions of 1946 contain opening words by ''Perhimpoenan Indonesia'' and were used to sway Dutch public opinion during the ''Linggadjati negotiations''. Its English translation was distributed at

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

to the British delegates to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. Sjahrir's writings successfully countered the myth that the Indonesian republic was the brainchild of the fascist imperial Japanese forces and not a deep national desire.

Context

After the defeat of the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

and ''de facto'' end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the capitulated and disillusioned Japanese Army and Navy in the former Dutch colony of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

retreat to their barracks and await relief by Allied forces. Before the postponed arrival of Allied forces and their demobilisation the Japanese troops remain responsible to guard their former Allied POW's and European civilian prisoners. August 1945 Indonesian leaders are pressured by revolutionary youth groups, to unilaterally declare the independent Republic of Indonesia. Within a few months the power vacuum left by retreating Japanese forces and the gradually arriving Allied forces explodes into full scale revolutionary tension. Social outgroups that next to Dutch people, include

Chinese Indonesians Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have l ...

, Dutch-Indonesian Eurasians, and Christian Indonesians such as the

Depok en, Starfruit City , motto = ''Pariraca Darma''(Servant of the righteousness) , image_map = Map of West Java highlighting Depok City.svg , mapsize = , map_caption ...

, Ambonese and Menadonese people fall victim to violent atrocities. A chaotic time of extreme aggression erupts that is remembered by the Dutch and Indo European victims as the

Bersiap ''Bersiap'' is the name given by the Dutch to a violent and chaotic phase of the Indonesian National Revolution following the end of World War II. The Indonesian word ''bersiap'' means 'get ready' or 'be prepared'. The ''Bersiap'' period last ...

period. Sjahrir was the first leader to strongly oppose and condemn the violence committed against (fellow) citizens.

Author

After writing this pamphlet Sjahrir joined

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 ...

and Hatta, the president and vice-president of the unilaterally declared republic of Indonesia as their first prime-minister. While Sukarno and Hatta were accused of having collaborated with the Axis forces and being puppets of the Japanese military, Sjahrir's reputation as anti-fascist and resistance leader enabled him to engage in the original negotiations with the returning Dutch colonial administration as well as the later ''Linggadjati negotiations''. "Perhaps the high point of his career was the publication of his pamphlet 'Our Struggle'. Whoever reads that pamphlet today can scarcely comprehend what it demanded in insight and courage. For it appeared at a moment when the Indonesian masses, brought to the boiling point by the Japanese occupation and civil war, sought release in racist and other hysterical outbursts. Sjahrir's pamphlet went directly against this, and many must have felt his call for chivalry, for the understanding of other ethnic groups, as a personal attack." Sol Tas.

Content

The pamphlet's content consists of a level headed analysis of the early situation of the revolution and clear recommendations for its successful continuation. Sjahrir warns against the negative effect the extreme violence has on the goodwill of international public opinion. Sjahrir clarifies the intense impact Japanese indoctrination has had on the Indonesian people, especially the youth (Indonesian: Pemuda). To deflect the ever growing hatred of the Japanese by the Indonesian people, the Japanese propaganda singled out ethnic target groups for persecution: westerners,

Indo people The Indo people ( nl, Indische Nederlanders, or Indos) are Eurasian people living in or connected with Indonesia. In its narrowest sense, the term refers to people in the former Dutch East Indies who held European legal status but were of ...

(Eurasians), Menadonese people and Ambonese people. By the end of the Japanese occupation practices such as mandatory forced labour (Japanese: Romusha), that on average killed 80% of the Indonesian coolies, caused Indonesias rural and urban communities to become impoverished, dislocated, in uproar and disarray. Sjahrir explains Indonesians will never accept any form of colonisation ever again.

Publications

In 1945 the Dutch-language pamphlet was originally written by Sjahrir in Jakarta, immediately thereafter translated into the Indonesian language as 'Perdjoeangan Kita' (Our Struggle). A Dutch-language book with his preliminary thoughts named "Indonesische overpeinzingen" (Indonesian musings) was published that same year by publisher Bezige Bij, Amsterdam. In 1946 a first edition of 9,000 pamphlets and second edition of an additional 8,000 pamphlets was printed in the Netherlands by 'Cloeck & Moedigh', published in the Dutch language by Uitgevery 'Vrij Nederland' Amsterdam under the auspices of

Perhimpoenan Indonesia The Perhimpoenan Indonesia (PI) (Eng: Indonesian Association; Dutch: Indonesische Vereniging) was an association for Indonesian students in the Netherlands in the first half of the twentieth century. It was established under the Dutch name ''Indis ...

. In 1949 his book was translated into the English language by Charles Wolf Jr. and named 'Out of Exile' published by John Day, New York. The later English version contains a considerable amount of additional text.Kousbroek, Rudy Het Oostindisch kampsyndroom. (Publisher: Olympus, 2005) P.233

Quotes

SoetanSjahrir OnzeStrijd Bookcover Closeup

Pages

File:SoetanSjahrir OnzeStrijd PageB.jpg, 'Onze Strijd' Page 16 File:SoetanSjahrir OnzeStrijd PageA.jpg, 'Onze Strijd' Page 27

References

Notes and citations

Bibliography

*Sjahrir, Soetan (1946). ''Onze Strijd''. (Publisher: Vrij Nederland, Amsterdam, 1946) *Anderson, Benedict R. O'G. (1972). ''Java in a time of revolution: occupation and resistance, 1944-1946''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. * *Kousbroek, Rudy ''Het Oostindisch kampsyndroom.'' (Publisher: Olympus, 2005) P.233 *

External links

Googlebook: Mrázek, Rudolf (1994). ''Sjahrir: Politics and Exile in Indonesia''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program.

Souvenirs of Sjahrir by Sol Tas

Sjahrir's biography

Sjahrir's biography, History website Britannica on line.
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Photo gallery on Sutan Sjahrir commemoration website.
Dutch East Indies Indo people Pamphlets Indonesian National Revolution 1945 non-fiction books