The Rengat massacre ( nl, Bloedbad van Rengat, id, Peristiwa 5 Januari 1949) was committed by the

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 ...

on 5 January 1949 in

Rengat Rengat ( Jawi: رڠات ) is a ''kecamatan'' (subdistrict) in Riau province of Indonesia and it is the capital (seat) of Indragiri Hulu Regency. The WWF keeps a conservation forest (it is named "Bukit Tiga Puluh") near the town, but the conserva ...

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

during Operation ''Kraai''. Following the capture of the town, paratroopers of the ''

Korps Speciale Troepen (KST; 'Special Forces Corps') was a Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) special forces unit that was established for deployment against the Indonesian revolutionaries during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was formed in 1948 with ...

'' under lieutenant Rudy de Mey subjected confirmed and suspected TNI militants, civil servants, and ordinary townspeople to looting, rape, and

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

.Hoek, Anne-Lot
"Rengat, 1949 (Part 1)"
''

Inside Indonesia ''Inside Indonesia'' is an Australian based journal, that has evolved into an online journal about Indonesia. It was very similar to Tapol Bulletin in that it was created during the New order era, and many people wanted to provide informatio ...

'', 12 September 2016. Retrieved on 26 December 2019. Bodies were disposed of in the Indragiri River. Estimates of the death toll of the Rengat massacre have varied significantly between sources. The Resident of Riau claimed that 400 people had been shot. In turn, the Riau district prosecutor put the death toll at 120 total dead, further reducing the number of victims to "around 80" in his conclusion. This amount has consistently appeared in Dutch official statements since at least 1969.

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 Guine ...

n sources, including a memorial site on location, estimate a death toll of between 1500 and 2000. Other sources have claimed up to 2600 wounded and dead, including the father of famed author Chairil Anwar.Hari Ini 68 Tahun Silam, 2.600 Warga Rengat Dibantai Belanda, Termasuk Ayah Penyair Terkemuka Chairil Anwar
''Potret News Riau'', 5 January 2017. Retrieved on 26 December 2019.

References

{{Indonesian National Revolution Indonesian National Revolution Conflicts in 1949 1949 in Indonesia Dutch war crimes Massacres in Indonesia Massacres in the Dutch East Indies Massacres in 1949 January 1949 events in Asia History of Sumatra 1949 murders in Indonesia

See also

References