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The Rengasdengklok Incident (Indonesian : Peristiwa Rengasdengklok) was the kidnapping of Sukarno and Hatta by several youths (pemuda) at around 4 am on August 16, 1945 to persuade the two men to declare Indonesian independence. It was the peak of the disagreement between the older and pemuda groups over how to carry out the proclamation of independence.
Following a decision by Field Marshall Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group, the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (Indonesian : Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, PPKI) was formed on August 7, 1945 "to hasten all efforts in relation to final preparations for forming a government of an independent Indonesia". [1]
On August 14, pemuda figure Sutan Sjahrir told Indonesian nationalist Hatta about rumors that the Japanese were about to surrender and urged Hatta to declare independence without involving the PPKI, as this would result in the victorious Allies viewing Indonesia as a Japanese-sponsored state. However, Hatta wanted to avoid problems with the Japanese, as did the most prominent nationalist leader, Sukarno. The following day, Japan surrendered. [2] Hatta then called a meeting on the PPKI for the following day, and went home to prepare a proclamation of independence. Meanwhile a group of pemuda activists, including Wikana, D. N. Aidit and Chairul Saleh held a meeting and decided to send a delegation to urge Sukarno to declare independence as soon as possible. When the group arrived at Sukarno's house, there was a heated debate as Sukarno urged patience, saying he needed to consult the PPKI membership and that he did not want to provoke the Japanese. Hatta arrived later, and agreed with Sukarno, and the pemuda delegation left after a further exchange of angry words, with Wikana saying he could not be responsible for the consequences if independence was not declared on August 16 at noon. [3]
In the early hours of the morning, at around 4am, a group led by Sukarni, took Sukarno and Hatta to Rengasdengklok, Karawang, ostensibly to protect them from a pemuda uprising. Initially, they were taken to the Defenders of the Homeland (PETA) dormitory in Rengasdengklok. Because this location was deemed unsafe, they were then moved to the house of a man named Djiauw Kie Siong. The two men were again urged to proclaim of the independence of Indonesia. Hatta and Sukarno, now convinced the Japanese had surrendered, still wanted a declaration to be representative of the whole country, and therefore thought that the PPKI should make it. They also wanted to be sure that the Japanese would not take any military action in response. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The purpose of the kidnappings as reported by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, were: [7]
On the morning of August 16, Navy liaison officer Admiral Maeda learned that Sukarno and Hatta had been kidnapped. The results of the search and investigation then led to the suspicion falling on Wikana, who was then urged to immediately return the two men to Jakarta. Achmad Soebardjo picked them up from Rengasdengklok after Admiral Maeda guaranteed their security and promised there would be no interference from Japan in the independence proclamation. Sukarno and Hatta reached Jakarta late that night, and after discussions, went to Maeda's house where they wrote a brief declaration, which Sukarno read at his house on the morning of August 17. [8] [9]
The Indonesian National Revolution, also known as the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' transfer of sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia at the end of 1949.
Mohammad Hatta was an Indonesian statesman, nationalist, and independence activist who served as the country's first vice president as well as the third prime minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands. Hatta was an important figure during the Indonesian national awakening and during the national revolution, as a youth he was politically active both in the Netherlands and the Indies, which led him to be imprisoned in the Boven Digoel concentration camp for his activism, he also played a crucial part in the proclamation of Indonesian independence, being second the person to sign the declaration besides Sukarno, thus naming him as one of the founders of Indonesia.
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time 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.
Sutan Sjahrir was an Indonesian politician and revolutionary independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of Indonesia from 1945 until 1947. Previously, he was a key Indonesian nationalist organizer in the 1930s and 1940s. Unlike some of his colleagues, he did not support the Japanese during the Japanese occupation and fought in the resistance against them. He was considered to be an idealist and an intellectual.
The 1945 State Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia is the supreme law and basis for all laws of Indonesia.
The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence, sometimes referred to, but better known locally, as the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence, was an organization set up in March 1945 by the Japanese military authority in Java during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies as the initial stage of the establishment of independence for the area under the control of the Japanese 16th Army. The BPUPK held two plenary meetings; the first was from 28 May to 1 June 1945 and the second was between 10 and 17 July 1945.
Muhammad Yamin was an Indonesian poet, politician, historian and national hero who played a key role in the writing of the draft preamble to the 1945 constitution.
The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of authority from the occupying Japanese to Indonesia. It approved and promulgated the first Indonesian constitution, and appointed Sukarno president.
Mohamad Ibnu Sayuti, known as Sayuti Melik was an Indonesian typist. He helped type a copy of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, which Sukarno proclaimed to Indonesia on 17 August 1945. He was the husband of Soerastri Karma Trimurti, a journalist and activist in the women's rights and Indonesian independence movements.
The Central Indonesian National Committee, also known as the Central National Committee, was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia. Originally purely advisory, it later gained assumed legislative functions. The Working Committee of the KNIP became part of the People's Representative Council when Indonesia became a unitary state in 1950.
The Presidential Cabinet was the first cabinet established by Indonesia following the 17 August 1945 Indonesian Declaration of Independence. It comprised 20 ministers and four officials. Its term of office ran from 2 September to 14 November 1945.
Vice Presidential Edict No. X was an edict issued by Indonesian Vice-president Mohammad Hatta on 16 October 1945 which gave the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP), initially a purely advisory body, the authority to become the legislative body of the government.
The Formulation of Proclamation Text Museum is a history museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The building is where the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was formulated.
I Gusti Ketut Pudja was an Indonesian politician and national hero, who served as the first governor of Lesser Sunda from 1945 until 1946. He was a member of the Investigating Agency for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPK). He was also present at Admiral Tadashi Maeda's house, during the preparation for the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945. Making him the only Balinese to be present during the proclamation.
Rear Admiral Tadashi Maeda was a high-ranking Imperial Japanese Navy officer during the Pacific War. Maeda played an important role in Indonesian independence; he met Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta at his house in Jakarta on 16 August 1945 and his house was used for drafting the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence. After leaving military service, Maeda worked in the oil industry.
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.
The Jakarta Charter was a document drawn up by members of the Indonesian Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK) on 22 June 1945 in Jakarta that later formed the basis of the preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia. The document contained the five principles of the Pancasila ideology, but it also included an obligation for Muslims to abide by Shariah law. This obligation, which was also known as the "Seven Words", was eventually deleted from the enacted constitution after the Indonesian declaration of independence on 18 August 1945. Following the deletion of the "Seven Words" efforts by Islamic parties continued to seek its inclusion, most notably in 1959, when the 1945 constitution was suspended; in 1968, during the Transition to the New Order; and in 2002, following the end of the New Order and the beginning of the Reformasi era.
Shigetada Nishijima (西嶋重忠) was a Japanese scholar, former spy and lobbyist. He was active in Indonesia before, during and after the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, and became a major figure on the Japanese side of the Indonesian National Revolution. Between the 1950s and the 1960s, he was a lobbyist and an intermediary, linking Japanese and Indonesian interests. Later on, he became a scholar of and published memoirs of his time in Indonesia.
The Central Advisory Council was the name given to bodies established by the Japanese military administration in Java and Sumatra in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies to notionally provide Indonesians with popular representation.