Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is part of
the History of Indonesia series
See also:
Timeline of Indonesian History
Prehistory
Early kingdoms
Srivijaya (3rd to 14th centuries)
Tarumanagara (358-723)
Sailendra (8th & 9th centuries)
Kingdom of Sunda (669-1579)
Kingdom of Mataram (752–1045)
Kediri (1045–1221)
Singhasari (1222–1292)
Majapahit (1293–1500)
The rise of Muslim states
The spread of Islam (1200–1600)
Malacca Sultanate (1400–1511)
Sultanate of Demak (1475–1518)
Aceh Sultanate (1496–1903)
The Sultanate of Banten (1526–1813)
Mataram Sultanate (1500s to 1700s)
European colonialism
The Portuguese (1512–1850)
Dutch East India Company (1602–1800)
Dutch East Indies (1800–1942)
The emergence of Indonesia
National Awakening (1899–1942)
Japanese Occupation (1942–45)
Declaration of Independence (1945)
National Revolution (1945–1950)
Independent Indonesia
Liberal Democracy (1950–1957)
Guided Democracy (1957–1965)
Start of the New Order (1965–1966)
The New Order (1966–1998)
Reformation Era (1998–present)
Edit this template

The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia/PRRI) was a rebel movement led by army officers of the Indonesian Army.

[edit] The Rebellion of the Colonels

The movement was started when a clash of few military factions inside the newly formed Indonesian Army backgrounded by the political rivalry began to demand of a new law on local autonomy all over the country. After their demands were not met they began to rebel against the government. The rebellions included:

  • Dewan Banteng in Central Sumatra which on 20 December 1956 under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Hussein (commander of the 4th regiment of the Territorial Army in Sumatra) began to take over the local government of Central Sumatra.
  • Dewan Gajah in East Sumatra under Colonel Mauluddin Simbolon (Supreme Commander of the Territorial Army in Sumatra) which on 22 December on the same year began to take over the government of East Sumatra and cut all relation with the government.
  • Dewan Garuda in South Sumatra which on 15 January 1957 under Lieutenant Colonel Barlian takeover the local government of South Sumatra.

[edit] End of the rebellion

In 15 February 1958 Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Hussein declared the existence of PRRI. The Government in Jakarta immediately sent the army to destroy the rebellion and dishonorably discharged the three colonels. Army chief of staff Nasution Army immediately announced that the territorial army would be placed under his command. In short most of the areas were easily recaptured by the army, and most of the rebels' weapons were retrieved in good condition by the army.

The U.S. government, which supported the rebels, started to withdraw their forces immediately after one of their fighter planes was shot down and its pilot Allen Pope was shot over Ambon. In August 1958 the rebellion ended and the government in Jakarta regained control of the rebel areas.

Languages