Permesta

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Permesta was a rebel movement in Indonesia, the name coming from Piagam Perjuangan Semesta Alam. It was declared by civil and military leaders of East Indonesia on March 2, 1957. The center of the movement was in Makassar, the provincial capital of Sulawesi. One year later, in 1958, the leaders of Permesta removed their headquarters to Manado. There they fought against the central government troops until they reached a cease fire. People in this region were not satisfied with their economic condition. In addition, they also knew that their right to self determination was guaranteed by a number of decolonisation agreements. These agreements, the Linggarjati, the Renville, and the Round Table Agreement, mentioned procedures of decolonisation in the former East Indies territory. People in every territory could exercise a plebiscite. The government of the Republic of Indonesia, which was declared in Jakarta on August 17, 1945, used military operations to stop any move for independence. Until now, conflicts throughout the archipelago occur. Permesta was the answer from the eastern Indonesian people who disagreed with Jakarta, which gave more room to the communist party to control the government. Jakarta considered such a move as a rebellion and began a military operation to end it. The fighting began soon after the declaration of Permesta and lasted until around 1961 when both sides agreed to a cease fire and amnesty for the insurgents.