Raymond Westerling

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Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (August 31, 1919 - November 26, 1987), nicknamed the Turk, was a Dutch commander. He waged a guerilla war in the Celebes during the Indonesian National Revolution after the Second World War, and staged a coup in the city of Bandung in 1950.

[edit] South Celebes

Westerling was born in Istanbul, Turkey, as a child from a Dutch father and Greek mother. During the Second World War, Westerling would join the Dutch military service and receive his training in England. After the War, Westerling would be sent to Dutch Indies, where in 1946 he would command the Depot Special Forces (DSF) to pacify the South Celebes, where the Nationalists tried to hinder the return of Dutch governance. The DSF consisted mostly of indigenous soldiers and was an elite unit of the KNIL, and were relentless in their way to subordinate the population - people were executed without trial.

[edit] Bandung

After the 1949 Indonesian independence, Westerling would command a force, the Angkatan Perang Ratu Adil (APRA, Army of the Just King) of deserted Regiment Special Forces (one of successors of the DSF), and KNIL soldiers, to stage a coup in Bandung in January, 1950, to overthrow the Sukarno government. Poorly planned, the coup failed and Westerling had to flee the country to Singapore.

Although responsible for many 'war crimes', Westerling never had to stand trial for these allegations. He would move to the Netherlands, where he would die in Purmerend in 1987.