Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia (abbreviated as Pesindo) was a youth organisation that embraced the principles of socialism to uphold the Republic of Indonesia based on popular sovereignty. Pesindo was particularly closely associated with youth leaders in 1945. The role of youth figures such as Wikana and Chaerul Saleh (Menteng 31 Group and Kaigun Group which later merged into API Jakarta), Soemarsono and Krissubanu (PRI Surabaya), Ibnu Parna (AMRI Semarang) and other figures shaped Pesindo's identity, namely a revolutionary youth organisation against colonialism and fascism.[2]
On 10 November 1945, the first All-Indonesian Youth Congress was held in Yogyakarta. The event was the initiative of Minister of Information Amir Sjarifuddin, who was then active in the Socialist Party with Sutan Sjahrir. Initially, the purpose of this congress was to unite all youth organisations in Indonesia in one place to fight against colonialism.[2]
On the other hand, Amir Sjarifuddin had another goal, which was to incorporate the support of the youth in the Socialist Party that he led. This can be seen in the dualism of Sjahrir and Amir Sjariffuddin's leadership in the Socialist Party, where Sjahrir focused more on top-level efforts, such as diplomacy, while Amir Sjarifuddin moved more to seek the support of youth leaders who had become active since the Japanese occupation.[2]
In the end, the first Indonesian Youth Congress resulted in a decision to form an organisation called the Indonesian Youth Congress Agency (BKPRI). BKPRI consisted of all youth organisations that attended the congress. The first Chairman of BKPRI was Chaerul Saleh, assisted by Vice Chairman I Soepardo, Vice Chairman II A. Buchari, Chairman of the Struggle Leadership Council Soemarsono, and Chairman of the Development Leadership Council Wikana.[2]
A total of 28 youth organisations joined BKPRI. In addition, there were seven youth groups that decided to fuse into a youth organisation called Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia (Pesindo). The seven youth organisations included:
Dutch soldiers holding a poster of Stalin at the office of the Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia
Pesindo has a white star on a red background. The white colour of the star symbolises pure and holy ideals, while the red colour as the background symbolises the spirit of the people. In addition, Pesindo also has a march, the blood of the people. When in action in the field, Pesindo members also have their own code as a sign of identity. They gave a greeting using their left hand with five fingers clenched. The left hand is used as a symbol of the left movement, and the five clenched fingers symbolise the spirit and support for the five P's of Unity between youth, population, soldiers, civil servants, and police (Indonesian: Persatuan antara pemuda, penduduk, prajurit, pamong praja, dan polisi); and anti-five P's of oppression, extortion, colonisation, hostility, disruption (Indonesian: penindasan, pemerasan, penjajahan, perusuhan, pengacauan).[2]
In late 1945 and early 1946, Pesindo's organisational structure consisted of bodies under the Council of Leaders or DPP Pesindo, which was based in Madiun. Krissubanu was the first chairman of Pesindo, with Wikana as his deputy. On 11 January 1946, Pesindo held its first congress in Yogyakarta. In this congress, it was decided that the Pesindo DPP would move from Madiun to Solo and the chairman of Pesindo was Sudisman. Amir Sjarifuddin in the congress was also decided as an advisory board or consul body.Pesindo Congress II was held in Malang on 7‒9 November 1946. In the congress it was decided that Ruslan Widjajasastra would be the general leader, Wikana as Deputy General Leader I, Roedhito as Deputy General Leader II, and Soebroto and Djalaloeddin Jusuf Nasution as Secretaries.[2]
Dissolution of Pesindo and the founding of Pemuda Rakyat
After the Madiun affair, Pesindo lost most of its political power, its army, and its leaders. If the PKI lost Musso who was shot dead by the army on 31 October 1948, Pesindo lost Amir Sjarifuddin and other figures. On 15 October 1948, BKPRI held its congress to address the Madiun Incident, which involved many youth armies. One of the congress resolutions was that BKPRI officially suspended Pesindo for its involvement in the Madiun incident. After the Madiun incident, the chairman of Pesindo was Ir. Setiadi. As a result of the suspension, Pesindo was not invited to participate in the Third All-Indonesian Youth Congress held in Yogyakarta on 14‒18 August 1949.[2]
On 4‒12 November 1950, Pesindo held its third congress in Jakarta. The resolution adopted by this congress was that Pesindo would change its name to Pemuda Rakyat, and appointed Ir. Setiadi as General Leader I, Francisca Fanggidaej as General Leader II, Baharudin as General Leader III, and Asmudji, Sukatno, and Iskandar Subekti as General Secretaries I, II, and III. Thus, Pesindo officially disappeared from the Indonesian political scene and was replaced by the People's Youth Organisation.[2]
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of the Indonesian National Revolution, fighting against the forces of the Netherlands and pro-Dutch civilians, until the latter officially acknowledged Indonesia's independence in 1949. The document was signed by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who were appointed president and vice-president respectively the following day.
People's Youth was the youth wing of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). The organisation was formed as the Socialist Youth of Indonesia. Initially the organisation was set up on the initiative of then Minister of Defence Amir Sjarifuddin, as the youth wing of the Socialist Party of Indonesia. A congress was held on 10 and 11 November 1945, where seven locally based youth outfits merged. Rapidly it gained a membership of around 25,000. The organisation took part in the armed struggle for independence during the Indonesian National Revolution. Pesindo units were engaged in intense street fighting during the Battle of Surabaya.
Dipa Nusantara Aidit was an Indonesian communist politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1951 until his summary execution during the mass killings of 1965–66. Born on Belitung Island, he was nicknamed "Amat".
Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the left-wing during the Indonesian National Revolution, he previously served as Minister of Information from 1945 until 1946 and Minister of Defense from 1945 until 1948. Amir was born into the Sumatran aristocracy, and was educated at Leiden University. At Leiden, he became a member of the board of the Gymnasium student association in Haarlem, and was involved in the Batak student organization Jong Batak. He returned to Indonesia due to family troubles, but continued his education at the Rechts Hogeschool in Batavia.
Munawar Musso was a leader of the Communist Party of Indonesia and one of the key figures in the 1948 Madiun affair.
This is the timeline of Indonesian National Revolution.
The Madiun Affair, known locally as the Communist Party of Indonesia rebellion of 1948, was an armed conflict between the government of the self-proclaimed Republic of Indonesia and the left-wing opposition group Front Demokrasi Rakyat during the Indonesian National Revolution. The conflict began on September 18, 1948, in Madiun, East Java, and ended three months later when most FDR leaders and members were detained and executed by TNI forces.
The Third Sjahrir Cabinet was the fourth Indonesian cabinet. It served from October 1946 to June 1947, when it fell due to disagreements related to the implementation of the Linggadjati Agreement and subsequent negotiations with the Dutch.
The First Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet was the fifth Indonesian cabinet and was in office from 3 July to 11 November 1947.
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The Socialist Party of Indonesia was a political party in Indonesia. It was founded at a meeting in Jogjakarta on 13 November 1945. The Defence Minister Amir Sjarifuddin was the chairman of the party. Parsi was largely made up by Amir Sjarifuddin's former colleagues from the wartime resistance struggle in East Java. Some of them originated in Gerindo, a leftwing, nationalist and pro-Sukarno group active before the war. There were also some persons, like Abdulmadjid, Moewaladi and Tamzil, who had lived in the Netherlands during the war, and taken part in the anti-fascist resistance struggle there. The primary objective of Parsi was the independence of Indonesia from colonial rule, which was to be followed by the construction of a socialist society.
The Socialist Party was socialist political party in Indonesia which existed from 1945 to 1948. The party was founded as a merger between the Socialist People's Party (Paras) of Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and Socialist Party of Indonesia (Parsi) of Defence Minister Amir Sjarifuddin. Sjahrir became chairman of the unified party, whilst Sjarifuddin became vice-chairman.
The Labour Party of Indonesia was a political party in Indonesia.
Sudirman was a high-ranking Indonesian military officer during the Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, he continues to be widely respected in the country.
The 3 July Affair in 1946 was a political upheaval in the then newly formed Republic of Indonesia. The Prime Minister, Sutan Sjahrir, was kidnapped by factions within the military opposing the Republic’s negotiations with the Dutch during the Indonesian National Revolution. It ended with the release of Sjahrir and a re-structure of both the Republican government and the army.
Jong Islamieten Bond (JIB) or Islamic youth association was a youth organization during Dutch East Indies ruling established in Batavia on January 1, 1925. The organization was established by Indonesian young students with the first goal to provide courses on Islam to Muslim students to engage the sense of brotherhood amongst the educated Muslim youth from different regions of the archipelago who were previously members of local associations, such as Jong Java, Jong Sumatra, and others.
Wikana was an Indonesian minister and independence leader. He was one of the youths who forced Sukarno and Hatta to declare independence immediately after the surrender of the Japanese. He was the first Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sport. He was a member of the Indonesian Communist Party. Sometime after the 1965 coup d'état attempt, he was arrested and went missing, it is supposed that he was one of the assassinated in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66.
Sukarni Kartodiwirjo was an Indonesian freedom fighter and activist who demanded independence for Indonesia during the Dutch colonial era and the Japanese occupation, and was the chairman of the Murba Party until his death.
Setiadi Reksoprodjo was an Indonesian politician who served as Minister of Information in First Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet, Junior Minister of Information in Second Amir Sjarifuddin Cabinet, member of the People's Consultative Assembly and the Constitutional Assembly, and as the Minister of Electricity and Energy in Dwikora Cabinet and Revised Dwikora Cabinet. Setiadi was 25 years and 7 months old when he was appointed as Minister of Information, making him the youngest minister in Indonesia up to this day.
Lintong Mulia Sitorus, in pre-1948 spelling Lintong Moelia Sitoroes, was an Indonesian intellectual, writer, translator, lawyer, and Socialist Party of Indonesia politician. He was a key follower of the independent-minded Indonesian nationalist Sutan Sjahrir in the 1940s and 1950s.
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