A Red Garuda: A History of Nusantara (1950-1970)
For information on Indonesia in the 1940s: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8624485&postcount=66
===
With the goal of independence from the Dutch imperialists successful, the unity of the Indonesian people began to crack along ethnic, religious and political lines. The implementation of the Renville Agreement signed by Indonesian revolutionary leaders in 1948, which had temporarily ceded West Java to the Dutch prompted Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo to reactivate his Darul Islam insurgency. They had been most active in the Garut area of West Java against the Japanese occupiers, and until then had maintained amiable relations with the Indonesian national revolutionary movement. Kartosoewirjo's Darul Islam guerrillas attacked the Dutch occupying forces. After the Dutch Operatie Kraai offensive of December 1948, Republican guerrillas that re-infiltrated West Java came under fire from the Darul Islam mujahideen. On August 7th, 1949, Kartosoewirjo declared the establishment of the Negara Islam Indonesia (Islamic State of Indonesia), taking the title of Imam. After the transfer of West Java back from Dutch to Republican control, the Darul Islam refused to recognise Sukarno's authority and continued to attack returning Republican forces. During the 1950s, weak central government and uncoordinated military responses allowed the Darul Islam to widen its reach, controlling one-third of West Java at its height and raiding the outskirts of Jakarta. Additionally, Islamist rebels in South Sulawesi and Aceh declared allegiance to Kartosoewirjo's movement, although in practice there was little coordination between these disparate bands and the core of the movement in West Java. In 1957, agents of the Darul Islam attempted unsuccessfully to assassinate Sukarno with a grenade during a primary school function at Cikini in Central Jakarta. The declaration of martial law in the same year proved to be the death knell for the Darul Islam. The military introduced so-called "fences of legs", encircling and besieging the guerrillas' mountain bases and thus cutting off their supply and escape routes, leaving the guerrilla bands with two options: surrender or annihilation. Kartosoewirjo responded with a declaration of total war in 1961, his guerrillas stepping up banditry and terror attacks on local populations, alienating further the people that might otherwise have considered supporting them. In May 1962 agents of the Darul Islam attempted once again to assassinate Sukarno, this time during the Eid al-Adha prayers. A month later, Kartosoewirjo was captured at his hideout at Mount Geber. Under coercion from the Indonesian military, he made an order to all active mujahideen to surrender. The last band did so in August at Mount Ciremai. Kartosoewirjo was dragged in chains to Jakarta, where he was tried by the military and found guilty of rebellion and attempted assassination of the President. He was executed by firing squad on September 5th 1962.
Kartosoewirjo mere moments before paradise
Whilst the unsuccessful Darul Islam rebellion was one of the largest threats to the Republic, a more successful revolt erupted in the far east of the country. In 1951, the primarily protestant Ambonese declared independence as the Republic of the South Moluccas (Republik Maluku Selatan, RMS). The force behind the Ambonese assertion of its right to self-determination was provided by Ambonese men who had fought within the Royal Netherlands Army (KNIL) in a similar capacity as the famous Gurkhas of the British army. Whilst the Republican government opposed the independence of South Moluccas, they experienced stiff resistance when Indonesian troops landed on the island of Ambon, home to the capital of the self-proclaimed republic. The KNIL veterans of the South Moluccan militias initially repelled the Indonesians. After regrouping and reinforcing the beleaguered Republican forces, the Indonesians found that the South Moluccans had been themselves stiffened by the arrival of Dutch KNIL and Australian troops. Both the Dutch and Australian governments denounced what they portrayed as Indonesian aggression, citing the Indonesian failure to adopt the federal structure supposedly intended to ensure the rights of smaller groups such as the Ambonese. In the Australian press in particular, the issue was framed as one of "Mohammedan intolerance for pious Christians" and a "brave stand of the devout Ambonese against collaborationists". American commentary was notably absent, although it was revealed decades later that the CIA had been involved in assisting the South Moluccan rebellion, confirming Indonesian accusations[140]. In the end, the Indonesians, faced with other internal issues, were forced to back down to avoid escalation. The South Moluccans and their President Chris Soumokil received international recognition from a number of Western nations, although many non-aligned nations refused to recognise them, as well as the Eastern Bloc.
Warriors of South Maluku
Within Indonesia proper, the economy had been wrecked by three years of Japanese occupation followed by four years of war with the Dutch. The inexperienced revolutionary government struggled to boost food production and other necessities to match the demands of a growing population. Management skills were greatly lacking due to the exodus of Europeans and Eurasians to the Netherlands, whilst rampant smuggling and inflation frustrated economic growth. Many of the plantations of the country had fallen into disuse. The economic situation was exacerbated by a dysfunctional parliamentary system. The Provisional Constitution of 1950 had differed from the 1945 constitution (which had been declared under the Japanese occupation) in mandating a parliamentary system, stipulating constitutional guarantees for human rights based on those laid out by the UN in their Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fractured and disorganised multi-party system led to rapid turnover and dissolution of coalition governments. 17 different cabinets existed between 1945 and 1958. Parliamentary elections were finally held in 1955. The Indonesian National Party (PNI), perceived by most Indonesians to be "Sukarno's party" topped the poll, with strong support also received by the Masyumi Party and the Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI), although no party garnered more than 25% of the votes, resulting in short-lived and largely-unworkable coalitions.
By 1956, Sukarno began to openly criticise parliamentary democracy, claiming its inherently oppositional nature contradicted the traditional Indonesian emphasis on harmony. As an alternative, he proposed a three-fold blend of nasionalisme, agama (religion) and komunisme into a cooperative "Nasakom" government. On 15th March 1957, President Sukarno appointed PNI chairman Soewirjo to form a "working cabinet" which would be tasked with establishing the National Council in accordance with the president's ideas. This initiative failed due to the exclusion of the Masyumi, the largest opposition party. Sukarno intervened, handpicking a working cabinet headed by non-party Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja on 8th April 1957. Although the PKI were not included, there were sympathetic figures amongst this cabinet. The National Council was established in May 1957. It was chaired by Sukarno himself, with Ruslan Absulgani as Vice Chairman. On its inauguration on July 12th, it contained 42 members, representing groups such as peasants, workers and women, as well as the various religious communities of the country. Decisions were to be reached through consensus rather than voting, in accordance with Sukarno's view of "Indonesian Democracy".
A divisive man with a confused legacy: President Sukarno
Not all were satisfied with Sukarno's system, however. With his careful attempts to balance the antagonistic military, Islamist and communist factions, schemes by each group to further their power were common. In September-October 1957, various rebellious army officers held meetings in Sumatra. They came to an agreement on three points: the need to appoint a new President; the replacement of Abul Nasution as Chief of Staff; and outlawing the PKI. Some believe these conspirators were behind another assassination attempt on the President on November 30th. On the 10th February, the dissidents, this time also including Masyumi leaders, held a summit in Padang, issuing an ultimatum to the government. The rebels demanded the dissolution of the cabinet, elections and the relegation of the Presidency (still held by Sukarno) to a figurehead role. Five days later, they declared the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) based in Bukittingi, Sumatra. The PRRI was joined two days later by the Permesta rebels in Sumatra, itself a regionalist movement supported by the CIA. CIA support for the Permesta-PRRI rebellion came in the form of 15 B-26 bombers and a handful of P-51 Mustangs which formed the Angkatan Udara Revolusioner/AUREV, the insurgent air force, as well as mercenaries from Taiwan, Poland, the Philippines and the USA. The rebels, whose CIA assets were primarily based in Manado in Sulawesi, began a series of airstrikes on Indonesian cities. In response the Indonesian Air Force seized control of the air over Sulawesi and launched a combined airborne and amphibious assault on Manado called Operasi Merdeka (Operation Independence). Some Permesta rebels began a guerrilla campaign, but the last of them surrendered by 1961. Simultaneously, Indonesian army units successfully repulsed a PRRI attack on the Caltex oil fields and refinery in Pekanbaru. The amount of US-made equipment left behind by the PRRI forces made the US support for the movement evident. The Sukarno government, which had been approaching the Americans for weapon supply for years, switched their arms acquisition focus to the Soviet Union, who readily commenced the sale of military equipment to Indonesia. In a number of lightning amphibious assaults, the Indonesian military drove the PRRI troops into the mountains and jungles, where they would finally capitulate in 1961.
PRRI troops armed with American Thompson submachineguns
In his Independence Day address on 17th August 1957, Sukarno laid down the ideology of guided democracy, later renamed 'Manipol'. In 1958, Masyumi and their splinter Nahdlatul Ulama party called for the planned 1959 elections to be postponed, fearing a PKI victory. In September, Djuanda announcement the postponement. The Constitutional Assembly remained incapable of reaching an agreement on the basis of a new constitution, and was deadlocked between those who wanted an Islamic constitution or one crafted in accordance with the values of Pancasila. Sukarno also endorsed Nasution's suggestion that Indonesia reinstate the 1945 constitution. The biggest resultant change would be a strengthening of the executive branch, with the President becoming once again both Head of State and Head of Government. On the economic front, the government implemented sweeping anti-inflationary measures on the 25th August 1959, devaluing the currency by 75% and declaring that all Rp500 and Rp1000 notes would henceforth be worth one-tenth of their nominal value. Meanwhile, anti-Chinese initiatives, including repatriation and forced transfer to the cities damaged economic confidence. By 1960, inflation had reached 100% per annum.
To counteract Nasution's dominance of the army, Sukarno gradually became closer to the PKI and the Air Force. On March 1960, Sukarno dissolved the legislature after it had rejected his budget. In June, a Mutual Cooperation House of Representatives (DPR-GR), in which the armed services had representation and a Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) were established, with the Chairman of the PKI, Dipa Nusantara Aidit as a Deputy Chairman. The PKI was estimated to have 17-25% of seats in the DPR-GR and now had representation in all institutions of state except for the cabinet. Despite regional army commanders' attempts to suppress the PKI, Sukarno continued to defend it as he pushed the idea of Nasakom. In June 1962, Sukarno foiled Nasution's attempt to be appointed armed forces' commander, relegating him to a Chief of Staff role with no direct military command, although the General did retain his position as Minister of Defense and Security. By 1962, the PKI had over 2 million members, and in March Sukarno gave two of its key figures, Aidit and Njoto, cabinet positions without portfolios. In 1963, with the establishment of Malaysia, the PKI exploited the issue of North Borneo's incorporation into Malaysia by organising demonstrations in Jakarta. In the course of one of these demonstrations, the British embassy was burnt to the ground. On 17th September, Indonesia severed diplomatic relations with Malaysia and initiated the konfrontasi, which eventually resulted with the independence of North Kalimantan from Malaya. Later that year, the PKI began an aksi sepihak ("unilateral action") campaign to implement the 1959-1960 land reform laws, leading to low-intensity political violence. Sukarno was made President for Life by the MPRS.
Dipa Nusantara Aidit, head of the Communist Party of Indonesia
Increasingly concerned about the growing influence of the PKI, the army began to develop secret contacts with Malaysia and the West. Additionally, the USSR also began to court the military, perturbed by the pro-Chinese orientation of the PKI. Large numbers of Indonesian officers began to travel to the United States for training. Meanwhile, the PKI was attempting to infiltrate the army and in early 1965, Aidit proposed to Sukarno the creation of the "Fifth Branch" (in addition to the army, navy, air force and police), made up of armed workers and peasants. This posed a direct threat to the primacy of the army. In 1965, Sukarno announced the discovery of a document allegedly written by the British ambassador, the so-called Gilchrist Document, touted as proof of army plots against the government (It was in fact a forgery by the Czechoslovak StB on behalf of the PKI). During his 1964 Independence Day speech, Sukarno publicly denounced the United States. An anti-American campaign ensued in which American companies were threatened, American movies banned, American-occupied buildings attacked, American journalists banned or imprisoned, and the American flag defaced. Large anti-American posters appeared on the streets of Jakarta and aid from the US was cut off. In August 1965, President Sukarno declared Indonesia's withdrawal from the World Bank and IMF. In the 1965 Independence Day speech to the nation, he announced the existence of a "Jakarta-Phnom Penh-Hanoi-Peking-Seoul axis" and that the people would be armed to protect the "national revolution". On 27 September, Nasution announced that he opposed the "Fifth Branch" and "Nasakomisation" of the army.
The Indonesian economy continued to deteriorate. The 1964-1965 period saw an inflation rate of 600%. The government was unable to service massive foreign debt to both Western and Communist Bloc governments. The 1st October 1966[141] saw the seizure of the capital by the so-called "30 September Movement" (G30S). Ahmad Yani, head of the army, was killed, as was Nasution[142].The G30S was composed of members of the Presidential Guard, the Brawidjaja Division, and Diponegoro Division under the command of the communist Lieutenant-Colonel Untung bin Sjamsuri. The communist Fifth Branch militias sprung into action, as did the Air Force, which bombarded army units which intended to advance against the G30S positions. Over the course of the next two years, the communists, who had replaced the cabinet with a "Revolutionary Council" which had kept Sukarno as President, suppressed the military response, forcing those that didn't defect to the cause to surrender. The G30S had presented their actions as a preemptive strike against an emerging military coup backed by the CIA, although it is uncertain whether or not a coup was actually in the making. From 1968, the government, which despite Sukarno's nominal primacy was actually controlled by Aidit, began to purge "counter-revolutionary elements". Thousands were killed by merah milisi ("red militia"). The primary targets were relatively wealthy farmers, landlords (the so-called "seven village devils") and religious leaders. Estimates of those killed reach 20,000, with some Indonesian emigres claiming even greater numbers. Tandem with these purges was a limited imitation of Maoist policies seen in the Great Leap Forward, as well as a more aggressively militaristic stance towards neighbouring states, particularly Malaya, South Moluccas and the Republic of West Papua (Republik Papua Barat). Renaming itself "Revolutionary Nusantara", the country strongly oriented itself towards the PRC, often referring to Aidit himself as "Comrade Number Two", second only to Mao himself.
Indonesian milisi march in front of Borobudur===
[140] On May 18th 1958 OTL, USAF pilot Allen Pope was shot down over Ambon after sinking the KRI Hang Toeah and damaging its sister ship, the KRI Sawega.
[141] One year later than OTL.
[142] IOTL, Nasution narrowly escaped.
For information on Indonesia in the 1940s: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8624485&postcount=66
===
With the goal of independence from the Dutch imperialists successful, the unity of the Indonesian people began to crack along ethnic, religious and political lines. The implementation of the Renville Agreement signed by Indonesian revolutionary leaders in 1948, which had temporarily ceded West Java to the Dutch prompted Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo to reactivate his Darul Islam insurgency. They had been most active in the Garut area of West Java against the Japanese occupiers, and until then had maintained amiable relations with the Indonesian national revolutionary movement. Kartosoewirjo's Darul Islam guerrillas attacked the Dutch occupying forces. After the Dutch Operatie Kraai offensive of December 1948, Republican guerrillas that re-infiltrated West Java came under fire from the Darul Islam mujahideen. On August 7th, 1949, Kartosoewirjo declared the establishment of the Negara Islam Indonesia (Islamic State of Indonesia), taking the title of Imam. After the transfer of West Java back from Dutch to Republican control, the Darul Islam refused to recognise Sukarno's authority and continued to attack returning Republican forces. During the 1950s, weak central government and uncoordinated military responses allowed the Darul Islam to widen its reach, controlling one-third of West Java at its height and raiding the outskirts of Jakarta. Additionally, Islamist rebels in South Sulawesi and Aceh declared allegiance to Kartosoewirjo's movement, although in practice there was little coordination between these disparate bands and the core of the movement in West Java. In 1957, agents of the Darul Islam attempted unsuccessfully to assassinate Sukarno with a grenade during a primary school function at Cikini in Central Jakarta. The declaration of martial law in the same year proved to be the death knell for the Darul Islam. The military introduced so-called "fences of legs", encircling and besieging the guerrillas' mountain bases and thus cutting off their supply and escape routes, leaving the guerrilla bands with two options: surrender or annihilation. Kartosoewirjo responded with a declaration of total war in 1961, his guerrillas stepping up banditry and terror attacks on local populations, alienating further the people that might otherwise have considered supporting them. In May 1962 agents of the Darul Islam attempted once again to assassinate Sukarno, this time during the Eid al-Adha prayers. A month later, Kartosoewirjo was captured at his hideout at Mount Geber. Under coercion from the Indonesian military, he made an order to all active mujahideen to surrender. The last band did so in August at Mount Ciremai. Kartosoewirjo was dragged in chains to Jakarta, where he was tried by the military and found guilty of rebellion and attempted assassination of the President. He was executed by firing squad on September 5th 1962.
Kartosoewirjo mere moments before paradise
Whilst the unsuccessful Darul Islam rebellion was one of the largest threats to the Republic, a more successful revolt erupted in the far east of the country. In 1951, the primarily protestant Ambonese declared independence as the Republic of the South Moluccas (Republik Maluku Selatan, RMS). The force behind the Ambonese assertion of its right to self-determination was provided by Ambonese men who had fought within the Royal Netherlands Army (KNIL) in a similar capacity as the famous Gurkhas of the British army. Whilst the Republican government opposed the independence of South Moluccas, they experienced stiff resistance when Indonesian troops landed on the island of Ambon, home to the capital of the self-proclaimed republic. The KNIL veterans of the South Moluccan militias initially repelled the Indonesians. After regrouping and reinforcing the beleaguered Republican forces, the Indonesians found that the South Moluccans had been themselves stiffened by the arrival of Dutch KNIL and Australian troops. Both the Dutch and Australian governments denounced what they portrayed as Indonesian aggression, citing the Indonesian failure to adopt the federal structure supposedly intended to ensure the rights of smaller groups such as the Ambonese. In the Australian press in particular, the issue was framed as one of "Mohammedan intolerance for pious Christians" and a "brave stand of the devout Ambonese against collaborationists". American commentary was notably absent, although it was revealed decades later that the CIA had been involved in assisting the South Moluccan rebellion, confirming Indonesian accusations[140]. In the end, the Indonesians, faced with other internal issues, were forced to back down to avoid escalation. The South Moluccans and their President Chris Soumokil received international recognition from a number of Western nations, although many non-aligned nations refused to recognise them, as well as the Eastern Bloc.
Warriors of South Maluku
Within Indonesia proper, the economy had been wrecked by three years of Japanese occupation followed by four years of war with the Dutch. The inexperienced revolutionary government struggled to boost food production and other necessities to match the demands of a growing population. Management skills were greatly lacking due to the exodus of Europeans and Eurasians to the Netherlands, whilst rampant smuggling and inflation frustrated economic growth. Many of the plantations of the country had fallen into disuse. The economic situation was exacerbated by a dysfunctional parliamentary system. The Provisional Constitution of 1950 had differed from the 1945 constitution (which had been declared under the Japanese occupation) in mandating a parliamentary system, stipulating constitutional guarantees for human rights based on those laid out by the UN in their Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fractured and disorganised multi-party system led to rapid turnover and dissolution of coalition governments. 17 different cabinets existed between 1945 and 1958. Parliamentary elections were finally held in 1955. The Indonesian National Party (PNI), perceived by most Indonesians to be "Sukarno's party" topped the poll, with strong support also received by the Masyumi Party and the Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI), although no party garnered more than 25% of the votes, resulting in short-lived and largely-unworkable coalitions.
By 1956, Sukarno began to openly criticise parliamentary democracy, claiming its inherently oppositional nature contradicted the traditional Indonesian emphasis on harmony. As an alternative, he proposed a three-fold blend of nasionalisme, agama (religion) and komunisme into a cooperative "Nasakom" government. On 15th March 1957, President Sukarno appointed PNI chairman Soewirjo to form a "working cabinet" which would be tasked with establishing the National Council in accordance with the president's ideas. This initiative failed due to the exclusion of the Masyumi, the largest opposition party. Sukarno intervened, handpicking a working cabinet headed by non-party Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja on 8th April 1957. Although the PKI were not included, there were sympathetic figures amongst this cabinet. The National Council was established in May 1957. It was chaired by Sukarno himself, with Ruslan Absulgani as Vice Chairman. On its inauguration on July 12th, it contained 42 members, representing groups such as peasants, workers and women, as well as the various religious communities of the country. Decisions were to be reached through consensus rather than voting, in accordance with Sukarno's view of "Indonesian Democracy".
A divisive man with a confused legacy: President Sukarno
Not all were satisfied with Sukarno's system, however. With his careful attempts to balance the antagonistic military, Islamist and communist factions, schemes by each group to further their power were common. In September-October 1957, various rebellious army officers held meetings in Sumatra. They came to an agreement on three points: the need to appoint a new President; the replacement of Abul Nasution as Chief of Staff; and outlawing the PKI. Some believe these conspirators were behind another assassination attempt on the President on November 30th. On the 10th February, the dissidents, this time also including Masyumi leaders, held a summit in Padang, issuing an ultimatum to the government. The rebels demanded the dissolution of the cabinet, elections and the relegation of the Presidency (still held by Sukarno) to a figurehead role. Five days later, they declared the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) based in Bukittingi, Sumatra. The PRRI was joined two days later by the Permesta rebels in Sumatra, itself a regionalist movement supported by the CIA. CIA support for the Permesta-PRRI rebellion came in the form of 15 B-26 bombers and a handful of P-51 Mustangs which formed the Angkatan Udara Revolusioner/AUREV, the insurgent air force, as well as mercenaries from Taiwan, Poland, the Philippines and the USA. The rebels, whose CIA assets were primarily based in Manado in Sulawesi, began a series of airstrikes on Indonesian cities. In response the Indonesian Air Force seized control of the air over Sulawesi and launched a combined airborne and amphibious assault on Manado called Operasi Merdeka (Operation Independence). Some Permesta rebels began a guerrilla campaign, but the last of them surrendered by 1961. Simultaneously, Indonesian army units successfully repulsed a PRRI attack on the Caltex oil fields and refinery in Pekanbaru. The amount of US-made equipment left behind by the PRRI forces made the US support for the movement evident. The Sukarno government, which had been approaching the Americans for weapon supply for years, switched their arms acquisition focus to the Soviet Union, who readily commenced the sale of military equipment to Indonesia. In a number of lightning amphibious assaults, the Indonesian military drove the PRRI troops into the mountains and jungles, where they would finally capitulate in 1961.
PRRI troops armed with American Thompson submachineguns
In his Independence Day address on 17th August 1957, Sukarno laid down the ideology of guided democracy, later renamed 'Manipol'. In 1958, Masyumi and their splinter Nahdlatul Ulama party called for the planned 1959 elections to be postponed, fearing a PKI victory. In September, Djuanda announcement the postponement. The Constitutional Assembly remained incapable of reaching an agreement on the basis of a new constitution, and was deadlocked between those who wanted an Islamic constitution or one crafted in accordance with the values of Pancasila. Sukarno also endorsed Nasution's suggestion that Indonesia reinstate the 1945 constitution. The biggest resultant change would be a strengthening of the executive branch, with the President becoming once again both Head of State and Head of Government. On the economic front, the government implemented sweeping anti-inflationary measures on the 25th August 1959, devaluing the currency by 75% and declaring that all Rp500 and Rp1000 notes would henceforth be worth one-tenth of their nominal value. Meanwhile, anti-Chinese initiatives, including repatriation and forced transfer to the cities damaged economic confidence. By 1960, inflation had reached 100% per annum.
To counteract Nasution's dominance of the army, Sukarno gradually became closer to the PKI and the Air Force. On March 1960, Sukarno dissolved the legislature after it had rejected his budget. In June, a Mutual Cooperation House of Representatives (DPR-GR), in which the armed services had representation and a Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) were established, with the Chairman of the PKI, Dipa Nusantara Aidit as a Deputy Chairman. The PKI was estimated to have 17-25% of seats in the DPR-GR and now had representation in all institutions of state except for the cabinet. Despite regional army commanders' attempts to suppress the PKI, Sukarno continued to defend it as he pushed the idea of Nasakom. In June 1962, Sukarno foiled Nasution's attempt to be appointed armed forces' commander, relegating him to a Chief of Staff role with no direct military command, although the General did retain his position as Minister of Defense and Security. By 1962, the PKI had over 2 million members, and in March Sukarno gave two of its key figures, Aidit and Njoto, cabinet positions without portfolios. In 1963, with the establishment of Malaysia, the PKI exploited the issue of North Borneo's incorporation into Malaysia by organising demonstrations in Jakarta. In the course of one of these demonstrations, the British embassy was burnt to the ground. On 17th September, Indonesia severed diplomatic relations with Malaysia and initiated the konfrontasi, which eventually resulted with the independence of North Kalimantan from Malaya. Later that year, the PKI began an aksi sepihak ("unilateral action") campaign to implement the 1959-1960 land reform laws, leading to low-intensity political violence. Sukarno was made President for Life by the MPRS.
Dipa Nusantara Aidit, head of the Communist Party of Indonesia
Increasingly concerned about the growing influence of the PKI, the army began to develop secret contacts with Malaysia and the West. Additionally, the USSR also began to court the military, perturbed by the pro-Chinese orientation of the PKI. Large numbers of Indonesian officers began to travel to the United States for training. Meanwhile, the PKI was attempting to infiltrate the army and in early 1965, Aidit proposed to Sukarno the creation of the "Fifth Branch" (in addition to the army, navy, air force and police), made up of armed workers and peasants. This posed a direct threat to the primacy of the army. In 1965, Sukarno announced the discovery of a document allegedly written by the British ambassador, the so-called Gilchrist Document, touted as proof of army plots against the government (It was in fact a forgery by the Czechoslovak StB on behalf of the PKI). During his 1964 Independence Day speech, Sukarno publicly denounced the United States. An anti-American campaign ensued in which American companies were threatened, American movies banned, American-occupied buildings attacked, American journalists banned or imprisoned, and the American flag defaced. Large anti-American posters appeared on the streets of Jakarta and aid from the US was cut off. In August 1965, President Sukarno declared Indonesia's withdrawal from the World Bank and IMF. In the 1965 Independence Day speech to the nation, he announced the existence of a "Jakarta-Phnom Penh-Hanoi-Peking-Seoul axis" and that the people would be armed to protect the "national revolution". On 27 September, Nasution announced that he opposed the "Fifth Branch" and "Nasakomisation" of the army.
The Indonesian economy continued to deteriorate. The 1964-1965 period saw an inflation rate of 600%. The government was unable to service massive foreign debt to both Western and Communist Bloc governments. The 1st October 1966[141] saw the seizure of the capital by the so-called "30 September Movement" (G30S). Ahmad Yani, head of the army, was killed, as was Nasution[142].The G30S was composed of members of the Presidential Guard, the Brawidjaja Division, and Diponegoro Division under the command of the communist Lieutenant-Colonel Untung bin Sjamsuri. The communist Fifth Branch militias sprung into action, as did the Air Force, which bombarded army units which intended to advance against the G30S positions. Over the course of the next two years, the communists, who had replaced the cabinet with a "Revolutionary Council" which had kept Sukarno as President, suppressed the military response, forcing those that didn't defect to the cause to surrender. The G30S had presented their actions as a preemptive strike against an emerging military coup backed by the CIA, although it is uncertain whether or not a coup was actually in the making. From 1968, the government, which despite Sukarno's nominal primacy was actually controlled by Aidit, began to purge "counter-revolutionary elements". Thousands were killed by merah milisi ("red militia"). The primary targets were relatively wealthy farmers, landlords (the so-called "seven village devils") and religious leaders. Estimates of those killed reach 20,000, with some Indonesian emigres claiming even greater numbers. Tandem with these purges was a limited imitation of Maoist policies seen in the Great Leap Forward, as well as a more aggressively militaristic stance towards neighbouring states, particularly Malaya, South Moluccas and the Republic of West Papua (Republik Papua Barat). Renaming itself "Revolutionary Nusantara", the country strongly oriented itself towards the PRC, often referring to Aidit himself as "Comrade Number Two", second only to Mao himself.
Indonesian milisi march in front of Borobudur
[140] On May 18th 1958 OTL, USAF pilot Allen Pope was shot down over Ambon after sinking the KRI Hang Toeah and damaging its sister ship, the KRI Sawega.
[141] One year later than OTL.
[142] IOTL, Nasution narrowly escaped.
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