Permesta

Permesta was a rebel movement in Indonesia, the name coming from Piagam Perjuangan Semesta (Universal Struggle Charter)^[1]. It was declared by civil and military leaders of East Indonesia on March 2, 1957. The center of the movement was in Manado, and the movement was led by Colonel Ventje Sumual. Alexander Evert Kawilarang resigned his position as Indonesian military attache in the USA to become a general in the Permesta army. The Permesta rebels fought against central government troops until the last remnants surrendered and were given an amnesty in 1961.

The rebellion was caused by a combination of reasons. The most significant progenitor of the rebellion was the opportunism by local military leaders who during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia (1950-1957), had developed a system of warlordism due to weakness and instability of central government in Jakarta. When the central military command under Armed Forces Chief General Abdul Haris Nasution tried to re-impose central military control and rein in the regional army chiefs' massive copra smuggling operations, the opportunistic regional military leaders in West Sumatera formed the PRRI movement and those in North Sulawesi formed the Permesta movement to counter the central government. To worsen the situation, the American Central Intelligence Agency interfered in the affair by giving support to the rebellious movements. The reason was because US President Dwight David Eisenhower and CIA chief Allen Dulles was concerned that the success of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in winning fourth-place in the 1955 elections (most of these votes came from Java) might be precursor of Indonesia becoming a communist state.

The support from the CIA to the Permesta rebels came in the form of 15 B-26 bombers which formed the rebel airforce AUREV (Angkatan Udara Revolusioner) based on Manado airfield, large amounts of weapons and equipment, unlimited source of money, plus an international cast of CIA agents and mercenaries from Philippines, Taiwan, and Poland. Emboldened by the CIA aid, the rebels began a series of airstrikes against cities in Sulawesi and Maluku held by central government. The cities bombed by the rebel planes, piloted by CIA agents, included Balikpapan, Makassar, and Ambon. On 15 May 1958, rebel planes bombed the marketplace of Ambon, killing large numbers of civilians attending Ascension Sunday services.

Responding to the rebel aggression, President Sukarno ordered the PRRI-Permesta rebellion to be crushed militarily. A series of air raids by central government airforce (AURI) on Manado destroyed most of the rebel B-26 planes. Meanwhile, a rebel B-26 bomber was shot down on 18 May 1958 by Indonesian pilot Ignatius Dewanto over Ambon. Its pilot, an American CIA agent named Allen Pope, was captured and put on trial in Jakarta where he exposed the deep involvement of CIA in the rebellion. As consequence, CIA began withdrawing its support for the rebellion.

After annihilating the rebel air force AUREV, central government troops launched an amphibious and airborne assault on the rebel capital Manado called Operasi Merdeka. The troops quickly expelled the rebels from Manado, after which they maintained a guerrilla resistance around the Lake Tondano area. However, the central government started a successful campaign offering amnesties to induce surrenders. The rebels, who had many familial and amicable relationships with many of the central government soldiers, began surrendering. The last Permesta rebels surrendered and swore an oath of loyalty to the central government in 1961.

Notes

References

• Conboy, Kenneth and Morrison, James (January 2000) Feet to the Fire: CIA Covert Operations in Indonesia, 1957-1958. US Naval Press Institute,
• Ricklefs (1982), A History of Modern Indonesia, Macmillan Southeast Asian reprint, ISBN 0-333-24380-3

External links

• Permesta Information Online
• The Permesta Rebellion