Decolonization, 70 years after the cannonade of Candi

The cannonade of Candi-Karanganyar

Nederlandse samenvatting volgt hieronder.

On 19 October 2017, it was 70 years ago that the "Cannonade of Candi-Karanganyar" took place. The first time I read about it was when I found the website of Ravie Ananda in a search for "Keboemen" in September 2015.

On this website Ravie Ananda describes the history of the Mexolie-factory where  both our fathers had worked in the 1930's and the 1970's.  He also writes about the history of the war in Keboemen and about the cannonade on Candi-Karanganyar, that took place on October 19, 1947.

The website of Ravie Ananda, in which he describes the cannonade on 19 October 1947.

It appeared that the dutch journalist Max van der Werff (NCRV-TV) and the indonesian historian Ady Setyawan had visited Ravie Ananda already in 2013 and had reported about this cannonade, in which 786 people were killed, on the dutch television. I could not find any additional information about this incident. Also, in the thesis of Rémy Limpach, which I obtained in January 2016, the cannonade on Karanganyar was not mentioned (Post #29- okt. 2016). Helped by Dr. Bart Luttikhuis (KITLV), I started to retrieve information about the cannonade from the Dutch National Archive: it appeared that most details of Ravie Ananda's description were confirmed by dutch battle reports (Post #30, 17 December 2016 and Post #31, 2017).

After making a call in the veteran magazine "Checkpoint", I was contacted by Map de Lange, a veteran of the second "Police Action" of 1948. Together with Rémy Limpach and Azarja Harmanny, we watched at the NIMH the documentary "Tabee Toean"(1995) by Thom Verheul (see Post #31, 11 May 2017). The movie shows four dutch veterans visiting their locations of combat actions on Java. One of them, the artillerist Henry Pezy (3-6RVA), tells how they fired from a road at Gombong about 3000 granades with 12 cannons. "I am still curious about what has become of the people in Karanganyar", he remarks when visiting the market of Candi.

Visit to the veteran Map de Lange, who has an impressive documentation about the Dutch colonial war (May 1, 2017).

After studying the battle reports and other documents obtained from the National Archive, Map de Lange makes the observation that the Army Commander Spoor only became aware of the cannonade 10 days later. The question who ordered the bombardment will perhaps be answered by historians involved in the newly started research project on the decolonization war. However, as argued below, this study has a more important purpose!

"Vergangenheitsbewältigung" (public debate on a problematic period)

In his article ("Geschiedenis Magazine", nr. 4, June 2017), Rémy Limpach  is wondering how countries like France, England and Germany have coped with their colonial past. His examples include the French in Algeria (-1962) and the English in Kenya (Mau-mau, 1952-1960). The Germans seem to have successfully overcome the Holocaust and helped by the Allied Occupation Forces, they received the image of "Weltmeister der Vergangenheitsbewältigung". But unfortunately, their dealing with the 1904-genocide committed in Namibia is still under way.

Benjamin Ferencz: "If people are made into beasts" and "Governements must stand trial to explain their behavior for a judge". During his visit (19 May 2017) to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.

  

But what about the Dutch in the period 1945-1950? Almost everything is known and documented. But the lost war has so far been hushed-up efficiently. The crimes described are shocking. But can they surprise us? According to Benjamin Ferencz, Neurenberg's former prosecutor, the war makes murderers of decent people. In an interview he talks about the brutes of the so-called "Einzatsgruppen" who killed about one million people behind the front in Eastern Europe:

Although each of those men have hundreds of deaths on their conscience, Ferencz does not believe that they were bad by nature. "It's a big mistake to think so. I wondered how a man like Otto Ohlendorf (Commander of one of the Einzatsgruppen), highly educated and father of five children, could have been able to do that. My conclusion is that war makes killers of otherwise decent people. These men were patriots who believed they served the interests of their country. "

Limpach notes that the negotiations between the Netherlands and the Indonesian Republic in the period 1945-1950 were in fact a farce. How was that possible? Did the government officials in the Netherlands and in the colony not have the least incentive to reach a political solution? Did these government officials just go for war?

The dutch journalist John Jansen van Galen does not agree with the above: according to him the dutch governement pursued a Union between Indonesia and the Netherlands on a voluntary and equal basis and never wanted to conserve its colony...... It seems to me that the historians should be able to describe the facts here. If Limpach's description is right the debt claim lies not only in the Dutch armed forces but also in its leadership, the public administrations, both in the colony and in the Hague.

Decolonization, violence and war in Indonesia, 1945-1950

On September 14, 2017 the kick-off for the program "Decolonization, violence and war in Indonesia" took place in Amsterdam. The three institutes, KITLV, NIOD and NIMH, will receive a financial support of 4 million euros for this research.

From the "stream" of the kick-off meeting on 14 September 2017: A sometimes uncomfortable conversation between Wouter Veraart, Rémy Limpach, Esther Captain and Marjolein van Pagee.

Critical questions were asked by Annelot Hoek and especially by Marjolein van Pagee (1). It seemed as if Marjolein van Pagee missed something in the framing of the research proposals. Was it the involvement or identification with the opponent, one of the most uncomfortable things to achieve? She pointed out that we are going to Indonesia, but we are not listening to the Indonesians. "Talk with them", she exclaimed

Azarja Harmanny went to Kebumen (August 2017) to talk with Ravie Ananda. Here they are standing in front of the monument at Candi. 

There is something behind the anger of Marjolein van Pagee. Is it the same anger as felt, for instance, by Afro-Suriname people in the Netherlands, when the government expressed her sincere regret about slavery and slave trade in the past? Such recognition is worthless if not supported by the white community. 

I think that Marjolein van Pagee tries to make us aware that this study about decolonization, violence and war in Indonesia should not only be about its historical facts. It should also tell the Dutch community about the Indonesian people who had suffered, although standing on the winning side. We know so much about the life of Dutch people in the colony, almost on a daily basis like in the case of my parents (e.g. see french Blog Posthume). But what do we know about the (grand)parents of, for instance, Ravie Ananda, who suffered not only the war, but had been living in an "apartheid" society, as emphasized by Prof. Wouter Veraart in the panel discussion during the kick-off meeting of September 14?

This study of the 1945-1950-war in Indonesia should give us additional facts but also help us to identify with the Indonesians. Only when a larger part of the Dutch community recognizes and accepts the historical injustices committed there, the governement will be able to perform a "policy of regret" (2). Only then will this investigation of the decolonization have proven its necessity and value.

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(1) Marjolein van Pagee, is freelance researcher and journalist. She founded Histori Bersama in September 2016. The activity of the foundation is to translate recent publications from Dutch and Indonesian media that refer to the colonial past and the Indonesian decolonization war (1945-1949).

(2) Ewout Tenhagen; scriptie onder begeleiding van dr. Remco Raben,  Universiteit Utrecht; "Duiding van een donker verleden", 10 juli 2017:

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Nederlandse samenvatting

In dit blog, geschreven 70 jaar na de "Cannonade op Candi", beschrijf ik hoe dit onderwerp is ontstaan. Daarna ga ik in op een artikel van Rémy Limpach, waarin hij voor diverse landen nagaat hoe zij hun dekolonisatie verwerkt hebben. Ik verwijs daarbij naar het bezoek (in mei 2017) van oud-Neurenberg-aanklager Benjamin Ferencz aan het Internationaal Strafhof (ICC) in Den Haag, Hij pleit ervoor dat uiteindelijk ook een regering voor begane wandaden terecht moet staan.

Tijdens de kick-off op 14 september jl. van het door de regering gesubsidieerde onderzoek naar de dekolonisatieoorlog 1945-1950, werd er ongemakkelijke kritiek geuit door o.a. Marjolein van Pagee. Bij haar en anderen is een boosheid te bespeuren die me doet denken aan de Zwarte-Piet discussie. Net zoals de spijtbetuiging van onze regering voor de slavernij geen waarde heeft als zij niet ook breed gedragen wordt door de blanke gemeenschap, zo ook is een spijtbetuiging voor het structurele geweld toegepast in Nederlands-Indië onvoldoende als de Nederlandse gemeenschap dit onrecht niet erkent. Pas als wij ons in Nederland beter kunnen vereenzelvigen met het lot van de Indonesiërs gedurende de periode 1945-1950, zal het dekolonisatie-onderzoek haar noodzaak en waarde bewezen hebben.

The cannonade of Candi on "the wrong side of history

Dutch follows english.

1. On a tank through Kebumen.

"A cannonade on Candi-Karanganjar in October 1947? That is impossible!", exclaimed the 90 year-old veteran, JF. He knew that in October 1947 there was still a ceasefire after the first large Dutch military offensive had ended in August 1947. The second would start a year later, on December 19, 1948. Only after showing him the battle report posted in my previous Blog, he was able to accept the fact.

The three veterans, J.F. (with the veteran magazine "Checkpoint"), G.K. and F.vB., whom we met in the house of one of them. We would meet them again during their reunion on May 10th, 2017.

The three veterans whom we spoke, were not yet in Indonesia at the time of the cannonade on Candi, October 19, 1947. They arrived on March 31, 1948 and were assigned to a tank peloton of the 6th Escadron ("Vechtwagens"; fighting vehicles) of the KNIL-battaljon Infantry V, "Andjing Nica". J.F. was tankgunner. During the second military offensive on December 19, 1948 ("Operation Kraai") he drove from Gombong, through Keboemen to Poerworedjo. He couldn't remember that there was any fighting in Keboemen. See, however, the photograph below and a Youtube movie in which we see Ravie Ananda interviewing people that still remember how the Dutch army entered Keboemen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtQtughlifM

Destroyed houses in Keboemen. From the web site of the 6th Eskadron Fighting Vehicles "Huzaren van Boreel".

https://sites.google.com/site/zesdeeskadron/5-de-tweede-politionele-actie-deel-1

2. "On the wrong side of history"  

Ravie Ananda wrote to me on facebook, 18th of March 2017. (I somewhat changed and shortened his english text):

"Our nation Indonesia, only recognizes August 17, 1945 as Independence Day. It became our pride as the Unitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), because of the loss of many victims and property. It cannot be exchanged with anything else until forever. It is our pride.

Many people of NKRI did not know that the Netherlands disowned (denied) independence of Indonesia on August 17, 1945, but call independence Indonesia December 27, 1949. Now many people in Indonesia know of it.  It makes a bad impact, because for Indonesia, August 17, 1945 is a very holy Independence Day."

Ravie Ananda standing in the open window. He wrote under this picture of Fort van der Wijck (Facebook 18 March 2017): "Independence is absolutely not a gift, but a hard struggle to break the iron bars and thick walls of colonization!"

I answered Ravie Ananda that the recent Dutch studies about what happened in the 1945-1950 war (by Oostindie, Limpach and others in the institutes of KITLV, NIMH and NIOD) would eventually lead to a de jure recognition by the Dutch people of the 17th of August 1945, as Indonesia's day of independence.

De facto, however, this date has already been politically and morally recognized by the Dutch government in 2005, when the minister of foreign affairs, Ben Bot, gave a speech during Indonesia's celebration of 60 years of independence. In that speech the minister admitted that the Netherlands had stood "on the wrong side of history" when executing its colonial war of 1945-1950. At the time, the Dutch had not understood and could not accept that their role as colonizer was played out. Ben Bot added that he wanted to make it clear to Indonesia that the Dutch people are starting to realize and to accept that the independence of Indonesia already started on the day of August 17th, 1945.

(During the subsequent war the number of deaths on the Indonesian side is estimated to reach the 100.000 or even 150.000, including victims of mutual struggle of the various Indonesian warring parties. The Dutch army lost 6226 people according to the National Indies Monument in Roermond, the Netherlands.)

From left to right: Azarja Harmanny, Rémy Limpach and Map de Lange, studying the military map of the Karanganjar region. 

Cut-out from the map "Gombong", page 45XLI_C, showing the shooting direction by the three artillery batteries north and south of Gombong.

3. Visit to the NIMH together with the veteran Map de Lange

On March 15, 2017, I visited again the NIMH (Netherlands Institute for Military History) with the veteran Map de Lange, whom I didn't know yet. Together with Rémy Limpach and Azarja Harmanny we watched in full length the documentary "Tabee Toean" by Thom Verheul (1995), which Map de Lange had brought with him.

But first, we looked at the military maps Azarja had obtained: he told us that the coordinates given in the battle reports showed that there were three artillery batteries, two positioned on the road south of Gombong (near Bendoengan), shooting east to Candi (Tjandi Koelon; coördinates 04.41) and the third one positioned north of Gombong (near Soedikampir), shooting east to Madja and Kaligowok (coördinates 05.45).

Then, we watched together for 85 minutes the movie "Tabee Toean" (goodbye mister), made by Thom Verheul in 1995. Many times the movie was stopped to allow Map de Lange to explain issues about backgrounds and soldiers he had known (e.g. Wim Schot).

In the movie we saw how an artillerist of 3-6-RVA (field artillery), Henry Pezy, went back to Gombong, where "12 cannons had been positioned firing about 3000 grenades on Karanganjar." He wanted to inform himself about what had happened to the people there. Together with Edith Sapumo, who as a child had survived the bombardment, he returned to Candi and placed flowers at the monument in memory of the 786 victims of the shelling (see previous blog).

Edith Sapumo accompanies the veteran Henry Pezy in 1995, when he brings flowers to the monument at the market place of Candi (Tjandi) in memory of the deceased during the cannonade of 19th October 1947.

Stll from the movie "Tabee Toean" of Thom Verheul.

It appeared that Map de Lange was one of the Dutch soldiers who was critical towards the war when participating in the second Dutch military offensive starting on 19 December 1948 and other military actions. He described his adventures and those of his unit in a manuscript entitled: “Conscripted between  Domination and Impotence” (Maassluis, 2007; with reference to the memorial book of 5-6RI,1950). It is an impressive account of a former conscript soldier who, thanks to his leftist political background and critical conscience, stood moraly "on the right side of history". Nevertheless, he fulfilled his duty, stayed with his comrades and participated in the war as orderly writer ("ordonnans/schrijver"). In his opinion he had to stay "on the wrong side of history". In consequence, he considers himself to be co-responsible for the excessive violence committed by others in their own and different situations.

By reading his manuscript, I learned quite some aspects and insights that were new to me. For instance, about the great support the soldiers of many battaljons (like the one Map de Lange served for) gained from their religion, either catholic or protestant. Religion was one of the pillars that taught them that the Netherlands was the only legal authority in the Dutch Indies and that the authority was granted to them by God. As a consequence, Dutch authority in the colony had to be restored first before the Netherlands could consider any political changes. In part, this philosophy is reflected in a pamphlet issued at the start of the second military offensive, signed by the Army Commander S.H. Spoor.

 

Pamphlet, translated from dutch, given to the soldiers at the start of the second military offensive. (See: https://sites.google.com/site/zesdeeskadron/5-de-tweede-politionele-actie-deel-1).

The progressive background of Map de Lange convinced him that the former resistance fighter against the Germans, Henk van Randwijk, was right in accepting Soekarno as a negotiator. The fact that Soekarno had been banned by the Dutch authorities first to Flores and later to Bengkulu (Sumatra) already long before the war, had pushed him into collaboration with the Japanese, for which he could hardly be blamed. I remember how my father would explode when I expressed such views in the 1960's.

Map de Lange also describes how the Dutch soldiers, during the surrender of the Dutch army to the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) on 19 October 1949, found out that their former enemies (called "peloppers") were different from the bloodthirsty mobsters they had expected them to be. How different is his story from that reported by Alfred Birney in his autobiographic novel "The interpreter of Java" (Dutch: "De tolk van Java". 2016. De Geus), in which he describes his father's adventures and fightings in a colonial war in which racism, hatred and crueltry seem to have played a major role. Just recently, Alfred Birney received the 2017 Libris-prize for the best Dutch novel. In my view, this is primarily because of his description of his family life in the Netherlands with his traumatised father and his white Dutch mother who, deep in her heart, feels an aversion towards her indo-children.

4. Visit to the reunion of the 6th Eskadron KL/KNIL

On May 10th, the Cavalerist R.Wartena and I visited a reunion of the 6th Eskadron Fighting Vehicles in the Bernhard Kazerne (Amersfoort). The veteran J.F. introduced us to his comrades and I told the audience that I was primarily curious about their experiences in Kebumen, because young Indonesians were interested in this history, which is being described on the extensive website of Ravie Ananda (https://kebumen2013.com/category/sejarah/).

The veteran J.F. at the reunion of the 6th eskadron Fighting Vehicles in the Bernhard Kazerne (Amersfoort.

I also told them that in the surroundings of Kebumen several monuments had been placed to commemorate the Dutch agression and I showed them the pictures of the new bridge in Kebumen and of their staging of the execution on the tennis court of the Mexolie factory (see also my blog: http://woldringh-naarden.blogspot.nl/2016/02/bezoek-aan-dordrecht-tussen-groningen.html).

Some of the veterans came with lively stories about accidents and killings, others said that they couldn't remember Kebumen. One of them didn't want his name to be mentioned, because he still wanted to visit Indonesia and was afraid that they wouldn't let him in......

Upper left: Ravie Ananda standing in front of the renewed "Renville bridge" near Kebumen, which had been demolished during the decolonization war.  Upper right: Staging of the execution of 4 people on the tennis court of the Mexolie factory in Kebumen during the second military agression in December 1948. Below: HeruSubagyo tells how he and his little sisters were saved during the war by a dutch officer.

Ravie Ananda (left; Youtube movie 10 November 2015) explaining about painting monuments established in commemoration of the decolonization war.

De kanonnade op Tjandi (Candi) aan "de verkeerde kant van de geschiedenis"

1. Op een tank door Keboemen.

"Een kanonnade op Tjandi-Karanganjar in oktober 1947? Dat is onmogelijk!", riep de 90-jarige veteraan J.F. uit. Hij wist dat in oktober 1947 nog een staakt-het-vuren gold, nadat de eerste Politionele Actie in augustus 1947 was beëindigd. De tweede Politionele Actie zou een jaar later op 19 december 1948 beginnen. Pas nadat ik hem het gevechtsverslag had laten zien, gepubliceerd in mijn vorige Blog, kon hij het feit accepteren.

De drie veteranen, J.F. (met het veteranen tijdschrift "Checkpoint"), G.K. en F.vB., die we ontmoetten in het huis van één van hen. We zouden elkaar opnieuw ontmoeten tijdens hun reünie op 10 mei 2017.

De drie veteranen die we spraken waren nog niet in Indonesië op het moment van de kanonnade op 19 oktober 1947. Ze kwamen pas op 31 maart 1948 aan en werden toegewezen aan een tankpeloton van het 6e Escadron (Vechtwagens) van het KNIL-battaljon Infantry V, "Andjing Nica". J.F. was tankgunner. Tijdens het tweede militaire offensief op 19 december 1948 ("Operation Kraai") reed hij van Gombong, door Keboemen naar Poerworedjo. Hij kon zich niet herinneren dat er in Keboemen gevechten waren. Zie echter de foto hieronder en een Youtube film (gepubliceerd op 23 maart 2017), waarin we Ravie Ananda mensen zien interviewen die zich herinneren hoe het Nederlandse leger Keboemen binnenkwam.

Zie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtQtughlifM

Vernietigde huizen in Keboemen. Van de website van het 6e Eskadron Vechtvoertuigen "Huzaren van Boreel".

LINK: https://sites.google.com/site/zesdeeskadron/5-de-tweede-politionele-actie-deel-1

2. "Aan de verkeerde kant van de geschiedenis"  

Ravie Ananda schreef mij op facebook (18 maart 2017) de volgende boodschap (ik heb zijn Engelse tekst iets veranderd en verkort):

"Onze natie Indonesië, erkent alleen 17 augustus 1945 als de dag van onafhankelijkheid, omdat het het begin was van een oorlog die met verlies van veel slachtoffers en eigendommen gepaard ging. Het kan nooit met een andere datum worden gewisseld. Het is onze trots.

Veel mensen van NKRI wisten niet dat Nederland als datum van de onafhankelijkheid van Indonesië niet 17 augustus 1945 maar 27 december 1949 aanneemt. Nu weten veel mensen in Indonesië dat. Het maakt een slechte indruk, want voor Indonesië is 17 augustus 1945 een zeer heilige Onafhankelijkheidsdag."

Ravie Ananda staande in het open raam. Hij schreef onder deze foto van Fort van der Wijck (Facebook 18 maart 2017): "Onafhankelijkheid is absoluut geen geschenk, maar een harde strijd om de ijzeren staven en de dikke muren van kolonisatie te breken!"

Ik antwoordde Ravie Ananda dat de recente Nederlandse studies over wat er in de oorlog van 1945-1950 gebeurd is (door Oostindie, Limpach en anderen in de instituten van KITLV, NIMH en NIOD), uiteindelijk zullen leiden tot een erkenning door de Nederlandse bevolking van de 17e-augustus-1945 als onafhankelijkheidsdag van Indonesië.

In feite is deze datum echter in 2005 zowel politiek als moreel al erkend door de Nederlandse regering, toen de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Ben Bot, een toespraak gaf tijdens de viering van 60 jaar onafhankelijkheid van Indonesië. In die toespraak heeft de minister toegegeven dat Nederland "aan de verkeerde kant van de geschiedenis" stond met haar koloniale oorlog van 1945-1950. In die tijd hadden de Nederlanders niet begrepen en konden ze ook niet accepteren dat hun rol als kolonisator was uitgespeeld. Ben Bot voegde eraan toe dat hij Indonesië duidelijk wil maken dat de Nederlanders zich nu pas beginnen te realiseren dat de onafhankelijkheid van Indonesië al op 17 augustus 1945 begon.

(In de daaropvolgende oorlog wordt het aantal sterfgevallen aan de Indonesische zijde geschat op 100.000 of zelfs 150.000, waaronder ook gerekend de slachtoffers van de wederzijdse strijd tussen verschillende Indonesische partijen. Het Nederlandse leger verloor 6226 mensen volgens het Nationaal-Indisch Monument in Roermond, Nederland.)

LINK Ben Bot:  http://indonesiadutch.blogspot.nl/2009_10_01_archive.html

Van links naar rechts: Azarja Harmanny, Rémy Limpach en Map de Lange, die de militaire kaart van de Karanganjar regio bestuderen.

Uitsnede van de kaart "Gombong", pagina 45XLI_C, waarin de schietrichting wordt weergegeven van de drie artilleriebatterijen ten noorden en ten zuiden van Gombong.

3. Bezoek aan het NIMH samen met de veteraan Map de Lange

Op 15 maart 2017 bezocht ik opnieuw het NIMH (Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Geschiedenis) en ontmoette daar de veteraan Map de Lange. Samen met Rémy Limpach en Azarja Harmanny hebben we de volledige documentaire "Tabee Toean" (van Thom Verheul; 1995), door Map de Lange meegebracht, bekeken.

Maar eerst keken we naar de militaire kaarten die Azarja had laten maken: hij vertelde ons dat de coördinaten die in de gevechtsverslagen werden vermeld, aantonen dat er drie artilleriebatterijen waren, twee op de weg ten zuiden van Gombong (dichtbij Bendoengan), die naar het oosten naar Candi schoten (Tjandi Koelon; coördinaten 04.41) en een derde batterij, gelegen ten noorden van Gombong (nabij Soedikampir), die naar het oosten schoot, naar Madja en Kaligowok (coördinaten 05.45).

Daarna hebben we gedurende anderhalf uur naar de film "Tabee Toean" gekeken. Vaak werd de film gestopt om vragen te stellen en Map de Lange commentaar te laten geven over achtergronden en over de soldaten die hij gekend had (bijvoorbeeld Wim Schot).

In de film zagen we hoe een artillerist van 3-6-RVA (veldartillerie), Henry Pezy, terug ging naar Gombong, waar "12 kanonnen gepositioneerd waren om ongeveer 3000 granaten op Karanganjar te schieten." Hij wilde weten wat er met de mensen daar gebeurd was. Samen met Edith Sapumo, die als kind het bombardement had overleefd, keerde hij terug naar Candi en legde bloemen neer bij het monument ter herdenking van de 786 slachtoffers van de beschieting (zie vorige blog).

Edith Sapumo begeleidt de veteraan Henry Pezy in 1995, wanneer hij bloemen legt bij het monument op de markt van Candi (Tjandi) ter herinnering aan de overledenen van de kanonnade op 19 oktober 1947.

Stlll uit de film 'Tabee Toean' van Thom Verheul.

Uit zijn verhalen bleek dat Map de Lange een van de Nederlandse soldaten was die kritisch stond tegenover de oorlog tijdens zijn deelname aan de tweede Politionele Actie en andere militaire acties. Hij beschreef zijn avonturen en die van zijn eenheid in een manuscript getiteld: "Dienstplichtig tussen macht en onmacht" (Maassluis, 2007; met verwijzing naar het gedenkboek van 5-6RI, 1950). Het is een indrukwekkend verslag van een voormalig dienstplichtig soldaat die, met zijn linkse politieke achtergrond en zijn kritisch geweten, moreel "aan de juiste kant van de geschiedenis" leek te staan. Niettemin vervulde hij zijn plicht, bleef bij zijn kameraden en nam deel aan de oorlog als ordonnans / schrijver. Naar zijn mening moest hij wel "aan de verkeerde kant van de geschiedenis" gaan staan, waardoor hij zich medeverantwoordelijk voelde voor het buitensporige geweld dat anderen in hun eigen situatie hebben begaan.

Door zijn manuscript te lezen, leerde ik heel wat aspecten en inzichten die nieuw voor mij waren. Bijvoorbeeld, over de grote steun die soldaten van vele bataljons (zoals die van Map de Lange) kregen van hun religie, katholiek of protestant. Religie was een van de pijlers die hen leerde dat Nederland de enige juridische autoriteit in Nederlands-Indië was en dat het gezag aan Nederland was toegekend door God. Als gevolg hiervan moest de Nederlandse autoriteit in de kolonie eerst hersteld worden voordat Nederland politieke veranderingen kon overwegen. Deze filosofie komt tot uiting in onderstaand pamflet dat is uitgegeven aan het begin van de tweede Politionele Actie, ondertekend door de legercommandant S.H. Spoor.

Pamflet gegeven aan de soldaten bij het begin van de tweede Politionele Actie. (Zie: https://sites.google.com/site/zesdeeskadron/5-de-tweede-politionele-actie-deel-1).

De progressieve achtergrond van Map de Lange heeft hem ervan overtuigd dat Henk van Randwijk, de voormalige verzetstrijder tegen de Duitsers, gelijk had om Soekarno als onderhandelaar te accepteren. Dat Soekarno al voor de oorlog door de Nederlandse autoriteiten eerst naar Flores en later naar Bengkulu (Sumatra) werd verbannen, heeft hem tot een samenwerking met de Japanners verleid, waarvoor hij eigenlijk nauwelijks beschuldigd kon worden. Ik herinner me hoe mijn vader ontplofte als ik, in de jaren zestig, dergelijke opvattingen uitte.

Map de Lange beschrijft ook hoe de Nederlandse soldaten tijdens de overgave van het Nederlandse leger aan de TNI (Indonesische nationale strijdkrachten) op 19 oktober 1949 erachter kwamen dat hun voormalige vijanden (de "peloppers") sterk verschilden van de bloeddorstige monsters, die zij zich hadden voorgesteld. Hoe anders is zijn verhaal dan dat geschreven door Alfred Birney in zijn autobiografische roman "De tolk van Java" (De Geus, 2016), waarin hij zijn vader's avonturen en moordpartijen beschrijft in een koloniale oorlog waarin racisme, haat en wreedheid een belangrijke rol leken te spelen. Kort geleden heeft Alfred Birney de 2017 Libris-prijs ontvangen voor de beste Nederlandse roman. Naar mijn oordeel komt dit vooral door de beschrijving van zijn familieleven in Nederland met zijn getraumatiseerde vader en zijn witte, nederlandse moeder, die diep in haar hart een afkeer voelt tegen haar indo-kinderen.

LINK: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.M._van_Randwijk

LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriaan_van_Dis

LINK: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/05/libris-prize-goes-to-alfred-birneys-novel-on-traumatised-abusive-father/

4. Bezoek aan de reünie van het 6e Eskadron KL/KNIL

Op 10 mei bezochten de Cavalerist R. Wartena en ik een reünie van het 6e Eskadron Gevechtswagens in de Bernhard Kazerne (Amersfoort). De veteraan J.F. introduceerde ons aan zijn kameraden en ik vertelde het publiek dat ik voornamelijk nieuwsgierig was over hun ervaringen in Kebumen, omdat jonge Indonesiërs zoals Ravie Ananda geïnteresseerd zijn in deze geschiedenis, die wordt beschreven op zijn uitgebreide website (https: // kebumen2013 .com / category / Sejarah /).

Ik vertelde hen ook dat in de omgeving van Kebumen verschillende monumenten waren opgericht om de Nederlandse agressie te herdenken en ik liet hen de foto's zien van de nieuwe brug in Kebumen en hun enscenering van de executie op de tennisbaan van de Mexoliefabriek (zie ook Mijn blog: http://woldringh-naarden.blogspot.nl/2016/02/bezoek-aan-dordrecht-tussen-groningen.html).

Sommigen van de veteranen kwamen met levendige verhalen over ongelukken en moorden, anderen zeiden dat ze zich Kebumen niet konden herinneren. Eén van hen wilde niet dat ik zijn naam zou noemen, omdat hij Indonesië nog wilde bezoeken en bang was dat ze hem niet zouden binnenlaten......

 

De veteraan J.F. bij de reünie van het 6e eskadron Vechtwagens in de Bernhard Kazerne (Amersfoort)

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The cannonade of Candi (Indonesia) on October 19th, 1947

About 2 years ago, Max van der Werff (NCRV-TV) and Ady Setyawan visited Ravie Ananda in Kebumen. They interviewed him about a story on his website "Wahyu Pancasila", called "Commemorating the Cannonade of Candi". Here he reports about the Dutch artillery bombarding the market in Candi-Karanganyar causing 786 casualties. 

Left: Drs. Mathieu Willemsen (conservator of the Nederlands Militair Museum) in front of a 25-pounder cannon (with a range of 12.25 km and a firing speed of 7 shots per min) as used by the 3-6 Regiment Field Artillery. Right: Photograph from the book "Success in a lost war" by Ben Bouman (see ref. 1).

I am interested in this history, because Ravie Ananda is a current resident of Kebumen, who gives the victims of the colonial war, in the words of Martin Witteveen (nrc-article in my previous blog), "a face and a voice". In addition, the story belongs to the history of Keboemen, the first place in the Dutch colony where my parents arrived in 1933 and from where my mother started to describe her experiences in the colonial society in weekly letters to her parents in Switzerland (see "Java 1933: un blog posthume" posted by Catherine Marchand). Ravie Ananda reacted to my post "Kebumen:past and present", on September 20, 2015. Since then we regularly corresponded with each other.

Things beyond description have happened in Candi and in Keboemen, also on the grounds of the Dutch Mexolie factory. Why do I describe them? Because I want to know what is in all those documents, photographs and letters left behind by my parents and because I hope to understand better what they have experienced and endured.

Do I feel ashamed of this history? No, I don't. Am I proud of my father, who survived the bombardment of Tjilatjap on March 5, 1942 or of my mother who survived the camp-hospital Sint Vincentius in Batavia at the end of the war? No, pride is not the word. Their documents make me realize how easy, how spoiled my life has been. Rather, I feel thankful for the way they took up their lives when they united in the Netherlands in 1948.

But what about the Indonesian people who fought and survived the Dutch? How were they able to take up their lives in Kebumen? How did the grand parents of Ravie Ananda experience the Japanese and Dutch army during and after WW-II? I hope to understand something of their lives through Ravie Ananda's stories.

Timeline of events in the Dutch Indies after WW-II

- 1945. August 15th: Japanese capitulation (V.J.-day), - October battle of Soerabaya. Start of the so-called Bersiap-period (the battle-cry bersiap means "be prepared"). It was a period of Indonesian revolutionary violence that could develop during the retreat of the Japanese occupational army. It lasted until the British and later the Dutch military forces had been build up at the end of 1946.

-  1945. October 5th: establishment of the TKR (Tentara Keamanan Rakjat), later called TRI (Tentara Republik Indonesia ) and in 1947 called TNI (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, Indonesian National Army consisting of 195.000 men).

- 1946. March: Dutch troops are allowed to enter Indonesia to take over British positions

- 1946. November 15th: Agreement of Lingadjati (Linggajati).

- 1947, 21 July. The Dutch launch "Operatie Product" ("Eerste politionele actie"; general Spoor; 95.000 men), breaking the Lingadjati Agreement by entering Republican-held territories and outraging world opinion. The Republican army, TNI (Tentara Nasinal Indonesia) could not offer much resistance. The "Police Action" lasted until August 5th, 1947. A newly organized bataljon called Andjing Nica, belonging to the Vth Brigade, moved under heavy fighting from Bandoeng to Gombong, west of Kebumen. Another section of the Vth Brigade was the 3-6 Regiment Field Artillery stationed in Gombong. The section was deployed in extensive cleansing operations as the one on October 19, 1947 near Karanganjar in Republican territory. On page 51 and 137 of his book about the Andjing Nica (see ref. 2), Sjoerd Lapré describes the action against Karanganjar. He describes fierce fightings and the capture of large stocks of mines and bombs, but does not mention the involvement of artillery.

- 1947. October 19th: "Cannonade of Candi".

- 1948. January 17th: Renville-agreement about demarcation lines, also so-called "van Mook-grenzen".

- 1948. December 19th until January 5th, 1949: "Operatie Kraai", second war or "Tweede Politionele Actie".

- 1949. January 28, Resolution of the United Nations condemning the Netherlands for its strategy in the colony and proposing the formation of a federal government in which the Republic would participate. August, Cease-fire.

- 1949. December 27th: transfer of sovereignty in Amsterdam.

Maps of central Java. The middle insert is from the book of Lapré (ref. 2, page 49).

Karanganyar and Kebumen locate to the east of the demarcation line at Kemit.

Lower panel: the distance between the alun-alun of Karanganyar and the Monument 

of the Candi-cannonade is about 1 km.

Commemorating the Cannonade of Candi on Sunday October 19th, 1947

The story written by Ravie Ananda on his website "Pancasila" was freely translated from Javanese with the help of Julia Tampubolon and using Google translate:

"Candi (signifies temple) is the name of a village located east of the alun-alun (central square) of Karanganyar in the District of Kebumen in Central Java.

After the First Dutch Military aggression (in dutch: Eerste Politionele Actie), in which they carried out an attack on the markets of Gombong and then Karanganyar (located on the highway Gombong - Kebumen), the markets were closed and moved to Candi as a general security measure, to avoid Dutch acts of violence. The Dutch knew about the existence of COP (“Corp Pertahanan” = Defense Corp) located in the Perlawanan street east of the alun-alun. At the market of Candi there was a COP-office and a warehouse, which at the time was led by Lt. Moeryoeni; there was also a “General Galley Kitchen” (kombuis), which was established voluntarily by citizens and opened to fighters.

The COP logistic’s office was hit by a Dutch cannon 3 times. The Dutch often fired their cannons to areas that are considered to be highly suspected. The intent of the cannonade was to screw up the concentration of TNI (Republican Army) defense forces. The Dutch previously conducted aerial reconnaissance with a dragonfly plane (a Piper Cub?) on October 19th 1947,  Sunday at 06.00 a.m. in cloudy weather. The Dutch first shot towards the south Sugihwaras village. The dragonfly plane was later seen above Candi giving ray code as well as dropping a few bombs as a guide towards the target for cannonades at two locations: Kenteng and Ragadana.

The Candi market was on two locations: east and west of the small river. The market is very simple but crowded by people carrying out sales and purchases. At 08.00 a.m. the market crowd was surprised by the arrival of the dragonfly plane, followed by the first canon shot that hit near the market. The plane was also guided by a Ducht spy who was in Legok (sub-village of Candi) by reflecting a mirror to the top as the location code. The spy was eventually killed as he was also exposed to the cannonade. His body was washed away in the river that was flooded by residents. The shellfire from Gombong was intensive like a hail of bullets.

Arround 10.00 a.m. the shooting stopped. Residents in the surrounding of Candi rushed to be evacuated. But it was not long before the cannonade started again, convulsing in the Candi village which includes the sub-villages: Pasar Candi, Cengkoreh, Sigedong, Serang, Kandangan, Legok, Gemiwang, Kepel, Plarangan and Pucung. The cannonade stopped arround 01.00 p.m. The number of grenades fired about 600. That can be calculated from the number of holes in the ground. After stop, citizens sheltering in Sigedong cave or in their homes fled to safe areas in Somawangsa, Karanggayam, Pandansari, Sruweng etc. Injured walked towards Kebumen for help in hospital.

Severe casualties at the Kebumen hospital were taken to hospital in Yogyakarta by train. The cannonade killed many local residents (covering 10 sub-villages of Candi) and other villagers that were on the market as well as refugees who were scattered around Candi. There are also members of the TNI, TP (Tentara Pelajar/ Students’ Army) and fighters.

Dead bodies were everywhere, especially in Candi market to the east of the railroad track. Many bodies occurred with head, hands and feet separated. There is also a body part caught in trees. The number of victims could be recorded as many as 786 people (13 members of TP). It’s very likely that bodies were washed away when the river was flooding.

Coffins were prepared by the DKT (Djawatan Kesehatan Tentara/ Health Army troops Departement) and RST (Rumah Sakit Tentara/ Hospital Army Troops) in Kebumen. The bodies of huge numbers of victims were buried in the yard – the holes were not deep enough to reduce odors, so the next day many graves were found that had been reopened by animals such as dogs and so on. Many parts of the bodies could not be buried separately because they had been devoured by animals. If bodies could be clearly identified as member of TP, they were collected and treated by his unit and transported to Kebumen. Subsequently transported to Purworejo or Yogyakarta by train according unity.

In addition there are also casualties in damaged or destroyed homes and a number of pets died like cows, buffaloes and goats. After the events of the cannonade Dutch troops often entered the Candi area and confiscated a variety of foodstuffs and livestock of residents, because the existence of a common kitchen in Candi as a fighter logistics persists.

After the state returned safely in 1949 survivors maimed for life were given compensation by the District of Rp15 (At that time the price worth of a little goat). The houses that were destroyed by the cannonade were rebuilt by the people without any help from the government. Until 2013 only some of the victims are still to be found; among others: Ahmad Sofyan (98 years old), Ahmad Suwito (88 years old) and Baniyah (80 years old).

Most of the victims with disabilities and child victims of the cannonade had died due to aging. To commemorate the event of the cannonade of Candi a simple memorial was made ​​of rocks in the middle of the market by citizens, then restored by TP. The first monument was moved in front of the Village Hall Candi.

Greetings Pancasila..!!

Source:

·  Interviews with the fighters cannonade Candi

·  Interviews with survivors: Ahmad Sofyan (98 years old), Ahmad Suwito (88 years old) and Baniyah (80 years old)."

  Ravie Ananda standing with his son at the first monument commemorating the cannonade 

of Candi. Right, the restored monument at the market place of Candi. 

Below: On three sides the inscription says (i) Warning Dutch cannonade during war 

of independence. (ii) To the victims of the cannonade. 786 deaths; 600 shots. 

(iii) Not fallen in vain. People have given ...?

Information about the cannonade as retrieved from the Dutch National Archive

Dr. Bart Luttikhuis of the KITLV (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) kindly helped me to find the Dutch sources that contain information about what happened on October 19th, 1947 in Karanganjar (Candi). In the National Archive in the Hague they gave me the original documents of the inventory numbers as noted by Bart Luttikhuis.

Below follows a summary of what I found in some of these documents (Archive #2.13.132, inventory numbers 1298, 2276, 2277, 3064, 3071, 3078 and 3225):

(1) From September 13th onwards many Republican infiltrations, directed from Karanganjar,       occurred in the region of Tjandjoer, where bombs and mines were placed by "civilians".

(2) As a result, the Dutch decided to clean the region between Gombong and Karanganjar, that lies beyond the Van-Mook-line. According to a Memo of 29 October 1947 by Lt.Kol. Six (see figure below; in Dutch), this line runs between Gombong and Karanganjar (at Kemit).

(3) The military action of the 3-6 Regiment Field Artillery about the action of October 19th (document 2277), is very scanty. It only mentions that the action started at 5:00 o'clock. A total of 1304 brisant grenades were fired, mainly on 2 kampongs that were not named. Many bomb loads (141) were unusable because of humidity and 50 grenades refused. It is further mentioned that the first shells hit own troops because of defects in the aiming devices.

(4) Military action of the Vth Bataljon KNIL Infantry by Lieutenant Colonel A. van Santen (Commanders Lapré and Trieling). From their chronological account:

6:00 Troops march from kampong Kaleng to kampong Kebongan.

6:30  Appearance of Pipercub.

6:35  Artillery firing on Kaligowog and kampong Madja.

6:50  Artillery firing on kampong Pagoetan.

7:12  Artiller firing stopped because grenades hit own troops.

9:45  Artillery fires on Karanganjar.

10:12 Firing stops.

11:45 Infantry advances to Karanganjar.

11:57 Houses in Karanganjar are searched. Many weapons and hundreds of grenades are found. Twenty three people taken prisoner.

13:00 Artillery is pulled back.

14:25 Heavy fighting near kampong Doewoer.

15:00 Infantry is retreating.

In total were 56 people taken prisoner. The enemy left 94 people dead on the battle field; not included deaths caused by artillery fire. No losses on Dutch side.

(5)  Note on Memo of Lt.Kl. Six (see image) written in pencil: "Is it true that during the cleansing operation of Karanganjar 500 people have been killed as reported by Djocja (radio)?" Answer on November 3rd: 124 dead people have been counted.

One of the documents (a Memo by Lt.Kl Six) reporting about the Karanganjar battle on October 19th, 1947. For handwritten pencil remark about the number of deaths, see text.

Remarks on the cannonade

The Dutch battle reports give a very factual and stand-offisch narrative of what happened in Karanganjar on the 19th of October 1947. By and large they agree with the story of Ravie Ananda reflecting the Indonesian experience (see above) and also with the account of Lapré in his book about the Vth Andjing Nica Bataljon of the KNIL operating in Central Java (see ref. 2).

In his book "The burning villages of General Spoor", Rémy Limpach (ref. 3) makes the following remark on page 395 (see also photograph #48 after page 466):

"Compared with tanks, planes and naval ships, it was the artillery, with its prolonged fire, that caused the greatest number of casualties, injuries and property damage. This was primarily because there was a lot of artillery capacity and the number of tanks and fighter planes remained very limited throughout the conflict. Moreover, Major General Simon de Waal (KNIL) estimated that based on his experiences, the shelling of the civilian population was generally more fatal and demanded more fatalities than air shelling. When in November 1947 he faced the question whether he would "punish" the enemy for laying a deadly roadside bomb with artillery or air shelling, he opted for an air strike that was more precize in his eyes and would make fewer civilian casualties."

From the Dutch reports it remains unclear how many civilians were killed; they only counted fighters from Republican army groups. The infantry entering Karanganjar must have seen the result of the shelling on the civilian population as reported in the above story of Ravie Ananda taken from his website "Wahyu Pancasila". Considering the large number of brisant grenades fired (1304), a death toll of 786 seems realistic.

Remarks on the books of L. de Jong and Rémy Limpach

In the study of dr. L. de Jong, entitled "Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog", written down in 14 volumes, the chapters about the colonial war 1945-1950 appeared in the second part of volume 12. A first concept of the description of possible dutch war crimes or "derailing violence", was retracted by de Jong, because of protests from army veterans. He left the description to Lt-Gen. F. van der Veen in an annex to volume 12-2 (edition 1988). In an interview with the dutch newspaper NRC-Handelsblad (30 October 1984), de Jong confessed that if in that period (1945-1950) an organization like Amnesty International would have existed, the Netherlands would have been heavily critisized in every report.

For the first time Rémy Limpach's book gives us a scientific and extensive overview of the "faits accomplis" of dutch misbehaviors and war crimes. What would have happened if this study had appeared in 1969, the year that J. Hueting told his story? Would it have been able to break the protests of veteran groups, of the dutch public opninion? Or would it have been put aside as communist propaganda, a popular cliché at that time.

After previous studies by Van Doorn and Hendrix (1970), by civil servants (Excessennota, 1970) and by Oostindie (2015), Rémy Limpach's book effectuated a final push for our government to start an independent follow-up study of the decolonization in the Dutch-Indies; the decision was taken on 3 December 2016.

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Acknowledgments

I want to thank Julia Tampubolon (Jakarta) for helping me with translations of Ravie Ananda's web site, Dr. Bart Luttikhuis (KITLV) for giving me the document numbers of the National Archive, Prof. Petra Groen (NIMH) for helping me with abbreviations of faded ammunition of the KNIL-Infantry, Roelof Wartena for showing me around in the Netherlands Military Museum, Drs. M. Willemsen (NMM) for information about the cannons used by the KNIL and Rémy Limpach (NIMH) for discussions, advise and corrections of my story.

Literature

(1) Ben Bouman, "Succes in een verloren oorlog - het 6e Regiment Veldartillerie en zijn Speciale Troepen in de onafhankelijkheidsstrijd van de Republiek Indonesië, 1946-1949."

(2) Lapré,S.A. "Het Andjing Nica Bataljon (KNIL) in Nederlands-Indië (1945-1950)" (Ermelo, 1988).

(3) Limpach, Rémy P., "De brandende kampongs van Generaal Spoor". (Boom, Amsterdam, 2016) (www.boomgeschiedenis.nl).