Bombing of Manado
| Bombing of Manado | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Permesta Rebellion | |||||||
 AURI (Indonesian Air Force) B-25 Mitchell in Manado during the bombing | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Indonesia |
 Permesta | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Leo Wattimena Omar Dhani | unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Indonesian Air Force | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
5 North American P-51 Mustang 2 North American B-25 Mitchell | Several armed Jeep | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown aircraft | Many headquarters and infrastructure destroyed | ||||||
| Dozens of civilians were killed | |||||||
The Bombing of Manado was an aerial bombing conducted by the Indonesian Air Force (AURI) to response the proclamation of Permesta the rebels movement in Sulawesi. The bombing resulted in destruction of infrastructure in Manado and strenghten the decision of Alexander Kawilarang and Ventje Sumual (The Proclamator) to started the armed conflict.
Background
[edit]The Proclamation of Permesta and the ideas of permesta
[edit]
The PRRI rebellion in the west and Permesta rebellion in the east arose for a combination of reasons. Foremost was that certain ethnic groups in Sulawesi and central Sumatra felt that government policies from Jakarta were stagnating their local economies, which in turn limited any opportunities for regional development.[1] Also, there was some animosity towards the Javanese ethnic group, who were the most numerous and influential in the newly created unitary state of Indonesia.[2] Indonesia's political arena was centered on the island of Java and yet the country's economic resources mostly came from other islands in Indonesia.[3][4]
At 3:00 am on 2 March 1957 at the governor's residence in Makassar and in front of about 50 attendees, Sumual proclaimed a state of war for the entire TT-VII region, which encompassed the entire territory of eastern Indonesia.[5] After the proclamation, Lahade read the Universal Struggle Charter or Permesta Charter.[6] The end of the charter stated that "first of all by convincing all leaders and layers of society, that we are not breaking away from the Republic of Indonesia, and are merely fighting for the betterment of the fate of the Indonesian people and the settlement of remaining issues of the National revolution." The charter was signed by the attendees. After the charter was read, Governor Pangerang asked everyone to remain calm and carry out their respective duties and responsibilities.[7]
Bombing
[edit]The central government carried out a bombing raid of Manado six days after Somba's statement. At 8:15 am on 22 February 1958, two B-25 Mitchell bombers from the Indonesian Air Force (AURI) targeted the radio station in the city.[8]
The bombing was under command of Major Leo Wattimena and also Major Omar Dhani, they released bomb on Studio RRI Manado,Army dormitory,and Hospitals in Manado the Bombing resulted in destruction of infrastructure and military headquarter in Manado.[9][10]
Aftermath
[edit]The bombing in Manado hastened the decisions of two Minahasan officers who were initially not enthusiastic about joining Permesta. They were Warouw who had joined Sumual to meet Sukarno in Tokyo and Col. Alexander Evert (A. E.) Kawilarang who at that time was the military attaché in Washington, D.C.Kawilarang was an experienced officer in the Indonesian Army who previously commanded three military territories: TT-I/Bukit Barisan in Medan, TT-III/Siliwangi in Bandung, and also TT-VII before Warouw and Sumual.[11]
The bombing also resulted in the people of North Sulawesi being more enthusiastic to the Permesta cause. Two days after the bombing, KDM-SUT announced and instructed former soldiers of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL or Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger) to report and join Permesta. It is estimated that around 2000 of them self-reported. Even though they were old because KNIL was formed during the Dutch occupation, they could train younger inexperienced enlistees who joined Permesta.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Lundstrom-Burghoorn 1981, p. 43.
- ^ Schouten 1998, p. 215.
- ^ Liwe 2010, p. 89.
- ^ Harvey 1977, p. 3.
- ^ Ricklefs & Nugraha 2008, p. 531.
- ^ Harvey 1977, p. 47.
- ^ Liwe 2010, p. 99.
- ^ Conboy & Morrison 1999, p. 38.
- ^ "Kisah Bergabungnya Kolonel Alex Kawilarang dengan Permesta: Murka saat Manado Dibom". merdeka.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- ^ Aswin, Lumintang (2014-09-13). "Kolonel Alex Kawilarang Kecam Pemerintah Pusat". manado.tribunnews.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- ^ Harvey 1977, p. 102.
- ^ Harvey 1977, p. 104.
Citations
[edit]- Lundstrom-Burghoorn, W. (1981). Minahasa Civilization: A Tradition of Change. Göteborg: ACTA Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
- Harvey, Barbara S. (1977). Permesta: Half a Rebellion. Ithaca: Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University.
- Schouten, M. J. C. (1998). Leadership and Social Mobility in a Southeast Asian society: Minahasa 1677–1983. Leiden: KITLV Press.
- Conboy, Kenneth; Morrison, James (1999). Feet to the Fire: CIA Covert Operations in Indonesia, 1957–1958. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-193-9.
- Liwe, Amelia Joan (2010). From Crisis to Footnote: The Ambiguous Permesta Revolt in Post-Colonial Indonesia (PhD). Madison: University of Wisconsin, Madison.
- Ricklefs, Merle Calvin; Nugraha, Moh. Sidik (2008). Sejarah Indonesia Modern 1200–2008 [Modern History of Indonesia 1200–2008] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Serambi Ilmu Semesta.