H. Bing Siong the Indonesian Need of Arms After the Proclamation of Independence In
H. Bing Siong The Indonesian need of arms after the proclamation of independence In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 157 (2001), no: 4, Leiden, 799-830 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 06:23:46PM via free access HAN BING SIONG The Indonesian Need of Arms after the Proclamation of Independence At the time Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, considerable numbers of arms were actually in Indonesian hands (Wagner 1988:119). In 1943 the .Japanese had established the Indo- nesian PETA, in Java comprising 66 battalions.1 Besides, there were the heiho (in my previous articles incorrectly spelled heihö), the Indonesian auxiliary forces, amounting to 25,000 troops.2 In addition there were 24,000 lightly armed Indonesian police with their better equipped Tokubetsu Keisatsutai (special police units), with a total of 15,000 revolvers, 10,000 rifles and 80 machine guns at their disposal (Miyamoto 1973:60, 1986:340; Remmelink 1978:53). This advantageous starting-position of the fledgling republic was not to last long, however. At noon on 17 August, very shortly after Sukarno had made the pro- clamation, the Gunshireikan (Japanese army commander), Lieutenant Gen- eral Nagano, issued Army Operation Order No. 1113, ordering the East, 1 Allen 1976:70; Lebra 1977:109; Notosusanto 1979:99. Miyamoto (1973:17), followed by War History Series (1976:3), Remmelink (1978:50), Groen (1985:94), and L. de Jong (1986:520, aban- doning the correct figure in L. de Jong 1985:972), mentions a figure of 67 battalions, including 3 (according to the editors of Miyamoto 1986:223 this should be 'plus 3') in Bali; however, accord- ing to Miyamoto's notes on a copy of this publication which I was fortunate enough to be per- sonally presented with by him, the number was 69 (including the 3 in Bali).
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