The South Sulawesi Campaign (10 December 1946 – 21 February 1947) was a campaign during the
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...
. It was a counter-insurgency offensive of the special forces of the KNIL against Indonesian infiltrations from
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and pro-Indonesian local militias. It was masterminded by the controversial
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 ...
, a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 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 ...
). Westerling's operation, which started in December 1946 and ended in February 1947, succeeded in eliminating the insurgency and undermining local support for the Republicans by instituting
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 ...
s of suspected enemy fighters.
Background of the insurgency
Between 1816 and 1905, the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
consolidated their control over the
Bugis
The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...
states of South Sulawesi. By 1911, the Dutch had integrated the entire region into 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 ...
.
[Tol (2001), p. 136] Dutch rule was interrupted by the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
invasion of the East Indies during World War Two. During the
Japanese occupation of Indonesia
The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history.
In May ...
, Sulawesi along with much of eastern Indonesia was administrated by the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
which sought to suppress local Republican and nationalist movements in contrast to the Army-dominated occupations of
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
.
[Kahin (1952), p. 355] Following the
Japanese surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
in August 1945, the nationalist movement in Sulawesi established contact with
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 Republican administration in Java.
However, allied forces were already present in Borneo before the proclamation and the
NICA
Nica or NICA may refer to:
* Nīca, a village in Latvia
* Nica, the name in some languages of Nice, a French city
* Nica is an adjective which may refer to:
** Nicaragua
** Nicaraguan people
* Nica Airlines, an alternate name for Nicaragüense de ...
established control according to the
Van Mook-MacArthur Civil Affairs Agreement
The Van Mook-MacArthur Civil Affairs Agreement was an agreement between the United States and the Dutch government-in-exile. It concerned the jurisdiction over and administration of civil affairs in Dutch East Indies territory liberated by an Allie ...
. By 5 April 1946, most of the local Republican administration including Governor
Sam Ratulangi
Dr. Gerungan Saul Samuel Jacob Ratulangi (also written as ''Ratu Langie''; 5 November 1890 – 30 June 1949) was a Minahasan teacher, journalist, politician, and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero from North Sulawesi, Indonesia. He was part ...
were imprisoned by the returning Dutch authorities. The Dutch also interned the pro-Republican aristocracy and their supporters. Despite this, resistance continued in the form of pro-Republican intellectuals and guerrillas, surviving nobility and Java-based militants.
The Dutch downplayed the local resistance as manifestations of international
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and Javanese domination,
[Westerling (1952), p. 92] portraying the native populations as contented and resistant to revolutionary change.
[Westerling (1952), p. 89]
When the British and Australian Allies July 13, 1946, left Sulawesi the Dutch were also facing persistent violence. On 15 November 1946 the
Linggadjati Agreement
The Linggardjati Agreement (''Linggarjati'' in modern Indonesian spelling) was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggarjati, Kuning ...
(Linggajati in modern Indonesian spelling) was concluded by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggajati,
Kuningan
Kuningan ( su, ᮊᮥᮔᮤᮍᮔ᮪) is a town and district located in eastern West Java, Indonesia, between Cirebon
Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of ...
Regency, near Cirebon in which the Dutch recognised the republic as exercising
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
authority in Java, Madura and Sumatra. Sulawesi (or Celebes) stayed
De jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
part of the Dutch East Indies.
In violation of the Linggadjati Agreement hundreds of freedom fighters from Java made the crossing to assist 'their brothers on Celebes', carrying enormous amounts of smuggled weapons. What made things even more confusing was the fact that the resistance of the Indonesians became fragmented into all kinds of - competing - parties, which in turn sometimes entered into alliances with criminal gangs (Rampokkers). In
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 ...
,
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
,
Takalar and
Djeneponto, the" Tentara Lipan Badjeng "(The Badjeng Centipedes Army) was working had killed 309 enemies in a few months. Among all these enemies indicated by name, all Indonesian civilians, were also children. Besides this gang, the "Semoet Merah" (the Red Ant), who specialized in arson, operated in Makassar, but was also guilty of murder and kidnapping. In September 1946, the Gelarang of
Pantjambeang was murdered on the way to
Malino Malino may refer to:
*Malino, Indonesia, a town in Indonesia
* Malino, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia
*Malino, Croatia
Malino is a village in municipality of Oriovac in the central part of Brod-Posavina County
Brod-Posav ...
(shot and stabbed to death) with his entire family (18 people). In kampong Kandjilo a well was discovered with 80 heads. In
Tolo, according to the Djannang of Parigi, about 20 people were slaughtered as buffalos and their corpses were thrown into the river. The method of killing by these Indonesian 'nationalistic' groups was to lay (or hold) the victim on the ground and cut his neck with a badik (dagger knife). In total, at least 1,210 people would have been murdered between June 1946 and July 1947 by these Indonesian fighter groups.
Despite the
Malino Conference
The Malino Conference was organised by the Dutch in the Sulawesi town of Malino from 16–25 July 1946 as part of their attempt to arrange a federal solution for Indonesia. From the end of World War II, Indonesian Republicans had been trying to ...
in July 1946 which established local federal states in Dutch-controlled parts of Indonesia, the Sulawesi government's effectiveness was weakened by the poor economic situation, agricultural famines and a non-existent civil administration.
[Westerling (1952), p. 90] The Indonesian Republic in Java provided training for Sulawesi guerrillas and even dispatched Javanese forces, using the ports of
Polongbangkeng and
Barru
Barru is capital of Barru Regency in South Sulawesi province 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 islan ...
for landing troops and supplies.
By December 1946, Dutch authority in the island was limited to the confines of
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 on the verge of an absolute breakdown. Hundreds of government officials and members of the pro-Dutch Eurasian and Indo Chinese community, were attacked and killed. The KNIL garrisons, stationed on the island, were not able to provide protection.
[Westerling (1952), p. 93]
The "Westerling Method"
The failure of conventional tactics prompted the Netherlands East Indies government to dispatch the maverick counter-insurgency expert
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 ...
who initiated a three-month pacification campaign from December 1946 to February 1947. Earlier Dutch tactics had focused on temporarily detaining and releasing suspected guerrillas.
[Westerling (1952), p. 95] In November 1946, British-trained commando Westerling had developed a contingent of commandos within the KNIL known as the
Depot Special Forces (DST), which specialised in counter-insurgency warfare and interrogation.
According to Westerling, pacifying Sulawesi, without losing thousands of innocent lives could only be accomplished by instituting summary justice on the spot of suspected enemy fighters, who were generally executed. This became known as the "Westerling Method". Westerling ordered the registration of all
Javanese arriving in Makassar due to the large numbers of Javanese participating in the Sulawesi resistance. He also used scouts to infiltrate local villages and to identify members of the resistance.
[Westerling (1952), p. 96]
Based on their information and that of the Dutch military intelligence service, the DST surrounded one of more suspected villages during night, after which they drove the population to a central location. At daybreak, the operation began, often led by Westerling. Men would be separated from women and children. From the gathered information Westerling exposed certain people as terrorists and murderers. They were shot without any further investigation. Afterwards Westerling forced local communities to refrain from supporting guerillas by swearing on the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
and established local self-defence units with some members recruited from former guerrillas deemed as "redeemable".
[Westerling (1952), pp. 101–105]
Westerling directed eleven operations throughout the campaign. He succeeded in eliminating the insurgency and undermining local support for the Republicans. His actions restored Dutch rule in southern Sulawesi. However, the Netherlands East Indies government and the Dutch army command soon realised that Westerling's notoriety led to growing public criticism. In April 1947 the Dutch government instituted an official inquiry of his controversial methods. Raymond Westerling was put on the sidelines. He was relieved of his duties in November 1948.
[Westerling (1952), pp. 98–99]
Controversy over death toll and myth formation
The Republican government claimed that Westerling was responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. Initially they had estimated the number of victims at 15,000, but later stated it was 40,000. A monument with the name Monumen Korban 40.000 Jiwa was erected in the city of Makassar to commemorate the victims of the campaign. Dutch historian Jaap de Moor blames the inflation of the death toll on the fact that Republican government used it as propaganda to draw attention from the world to their diplomatic and armed struggle against the Dutch. Mohammed Natzir of the Indonesian Historical Commission of the Armed Forces also calls the figure of 40,000 deaths fiction and a propaganda measure of the Republican government against the Dutch occupation of that time.
In his book ''De Zuid-Celebes Affaire: Kapitein Westerling en de standrechtelijke executies'' Dutch historian Willem IJzereef estimates that the actions of the DST cost about 1,500 Indonesian lives. About 400 of them were executed during actions led by Westerling himself, while the remaining 1,100 were killed during actions of his second in command. Another 1,500 deaths could be added by actions of other KNIL units. Approximately 900 Indonesians were killed by pro-Dutch police units and members of the village guards. IJzereef believes that Indonesian resistance caused around 1,500 victims.
Research by former military officer Bauke Geersing written down in ''Kapitein Raymond Westerling en de Zuid-Celebes-affaire (1946-1947), Mythe en werkelijkheid'' (Captain Raymond Westerling and the South Celebes Affair (1946-1947), Myth and Reality ) led to his belief that with regard to this period in South Celebes, there is a myth surrounding the behavior of Westerling and distortion of history. Geersing used a research model based on 'contextual' historiography.
In 1969, Westerling gave an interview on TV. He admitted the war crimes but said he did not fear prosecution as he had the support of the Dutch government. Not a single Dutch broadcaster was willing to broadcast the interview. This was partly due to threats they had received. The interview was broadcast for the first time in 2012.
Accusations of war crimes
Westerling has always defended his actions and denied accusations of war crimes. His memoirs, which he publiced in 1952, devote a chapter to his self-defense. "They painted me as a bloodthirsty monster, who attacked the people of Celebes by fire and sword and exposed all those, who in the interest of Indonesia's national independence resisted Dutch rule, to a merciless campaign of repression". Westerling stated he had based his tactics on the premise that he performed the role of policeman, combating terror: "I arrested terrorists, not because they acted as instigators of the Republican government... but because they made themselves guilty of open and unmistaken crimes...I never had them
is troopsbombard a village, nor did I take the hut of innocent under fire. I had executed some criminals, but nobody had died needlessly or wrongly by my doing.
In 1949, the Dutch–Indonesian agreement on transfer of power stipulated neither country would call the other on its wartime offences, thus ruling out any attempt by Indonesia to press for Westerling's extradition.
Lawsuit against Dutch State
In 2013, the Dutch ambassador in Indonesia, apologized on behalf of the Dutch government. In 2014 widows and children of the murdered men filed a lawsuit against the Dutch state. A Dutch court ruled in 2015 that the Dutch state was liable for the damage done because it was Dutch territory and the people residents of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In March 2020, Hague District Court ordered the Dutch government to pay damage compensation ranging from to to relatives of 11 men executed in South Sulawesi campaign.
Notes
References
*
*
*
* Tol, Roger. "The Fall of the Bugis States." ''Indonesian Heritage: Early Modern History''. Vol. 3, ed.
Anthony Reid, Sian Jay and T. Durairajoo. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2001. pp. 132–133.
*
* . Translated from the French to English by Waverley Root as
Challenge to Terror'. Holyoake Press, 18 May 2008. .
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Sulawesi campaign of 1946-1947
Indonesian National Revolution
Battles of the Indonesian National Revolution
Dutch war crimes
1946 in Indonesia
1947 in Indonesia
December 1946 events in Asia
January 1947 events in Asia
February 1947 events in Asia