IGCSE History

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Sukarno and Pancasila

Immediately after the surrender of the Dutch forces in August 1945, Achmed Sukarno and Mohammed Hatta announced the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The Dutch refused to recognise the republic and when Dutch and British troops arrived to disarm the Japanese garrisons, fighting broke out between them and Indonesian forces. The Cheribon Agreement was an attempt to solve the crisis by negotiation. The Dutch would recognise the republic and would also accept the creation of a United States of Indonesia including most Dutch colonies in the East Indies.

Attempts to enforce the Cheribon Agreement failed and the Dutch attempted to regain control of Indonesia through an invasion in July 1947. The United Nations called for a cease-fire and negotiations between the two sides began under the chairmanship of the UN. The negotiations failed to reach any agreement and fighting broke out again in late 1948. The UN again called for an immediate end to hostilities and the transfer of sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia. Meetings continued until late 1949. By then the Dutch controlled most of the cities and had captured the government led by Sukarno. In December 1949 the Dutch handed sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia and the Republic of Indonesia was created in August 1950.

Sukarno generally followed an anti-Western and pro-Soviet policy. In 1956 he made a state visit to Moscow and in 1960 he signed a credit agreement with the Soviet Union. At the same time, Sukarno tried to adopt his policy of Pancasila. This avoided an Islamic identity and instead emphasised democracy and Marxism. The aim of Pancasila was to unify the new nation that was made up of many different cultures and ethnic groups.

Despite, Sukarno’s aim to be follow a middle path, which he called ‘Guided Democracy’, he faced opposition from both Communist and Muslim guerrillas and from coups by the army. One reason for this was his failure to call any general elections after 1955. In 1957 he was forced to declare a state of war and siege when South Sumatra and Borneo both tried to break away from Indonesia. In efforts to unify the country, Sukarno sent Indonesian troops into West Borneo to try to force the Dutch to leave and also opposed the creation of Malaysia, which he regarded as under British influence.

Sukarno attempted to regain control by changing his government rapidly. From 1957 to 1959 the Prime Minsier was Kartawidjaja who heade a cabinet of non-political experts. From 1963 he relied heavily on the left wing Foreign Minister Subandrio who attempted to negotiate with the Dutch. But the crisis facing Indonesia got worse rather than better.

In 1963, Indonesian guerrillas raided Malaysia and this led to protests from the USA in 1964. This in turn led to attacks on US buildings in Indonesia and the seizure of US companies in 1965. As law and order appeared to be breaking down, the communists launched a massive attack on the central government in September 1965. General Suharto was named commander-in-chief and he began a general assault on the communist forces in which tens of thousands were killed. In February 1967, Sukarno was forced to resign and was replaced by Suharto

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