Divided We Stand

Wouldn't it just be called Aceh Darussalam. In other words, isn't the phrase "Islamic Republic of" in this context redundant?
 
And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Indonesian Civil War (1951)

Even after a seemingly successful coup, tensions are high between the factions of the communist/military alliance. Tan Malaka, who was in charge of the 3,000 or so PKI rebels that were in Jakarta, had a poor relationship with a few generals in the TNI-AD, or national army to the point that firefights occurred between the two. General Simatupang, split between his loyalty to the army and his sympathy towards socialism, tried to mediate a peace between the two, but to no avail. Despite having completely surrounded and cut of Sukarno and his government from the outside world, the rebels are unable to stop him from escaping.

What Sukarno claims was a miracle was probably due to the incompetence of his enemies and bribery. While President Sukarno says that he and his loyalists escaped by wearing peasant's clothing, others claim to have saw the president's limousine driving around the day of his escape. In any case, on the 20th of April, 1951 President Sukarno was on board the cruise ship Hope in Tanjung Priok harbor and left to Singapore.

With the old government gone, the alliance between Communists and the military was redundant. Full scale war started not long after Sukarno was gone. Tan Malaka ordered the PKI, who were vastly outnumbered by almost 13 to 1 in Jakarta, to retreat back to Sumatra. In Java, only one major opponent stood in the way of the Army taking control of the island - the Darul Islam. While they had retreated from view during the joint takeover of Jakarta by the military and communists, armed elements of the Darul Islam as well as Masyumi, another Islamic organization in Java, began a sort of insurgency across the island. The DI strongholds in Sukabumi and Cianjur, West Java province blocked the roads that connected Java with the rest of the island. The mountain city of Bandung was also surrounded by no less than 8,000 DI soldiers, and the TNI-held city was bombarded by artillery and mortars just a week after the fall of Sukarno's government. With the Army factions either stuck in Jakarta or spread out across the rest of the island, reinforcements were slow to arrive. Over 12,000 casualties (half of them civilian) were reported over a three month period in and around Bandung. General TB Simatupang, fearing an assassination attempt on him by the other generals, relocated himself and his most loyal troops to Madura, and small island not far to the north-east of Java. Bung Tomo replaced him as head of the Armed Forces.

Rebel movements on the outer islands have taken the opportunity to formally declare independence from the Republic of Indonesia. First, the Republic of Sulawesi sent ambassadors to western nations to gain support for their independence. This was soon followed by the declaration of independence by the Republic of Lombok and the Republic of Sumbawa, both islands in the Nusa Tenggara archipelago. Seeing little hope in reuniting the nation under one government, the Communist Party of Indonesia established the Sumatran Socialist Republic on May 2nd. As a communist with ethnic ties with the island, Tan Malaka was sworn in as president, and the ethnic Javanese Semaun as Prime Minister. De jure, the military and the "Provisional Government of the Republic of Indonesia" were the victors, thus ending an 11 day civil war. De Facto, they held only 2/3 of the island of Java.

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The cruise ship Hope, in Tanjung Priok Harbor, Jakarta on the 20th of April. Hundreds of foreign expatriates and embassy staff evacuated to Singapore via this ship. The Hope, which one can see as appropriately named, never returned to Indonesia

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Darul Islam (DI) rebels raid an Army-held village in the mountains near the city of Bandung. The Battle of Bandung lasted for more than 3 months and killed more than 3,000 people. The DI would eventually see that a long-term siege of the city as too costly and withdraw.

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Wouldn't it just be called Aceh Darussalam. In other words, isn't the phrase "Islamic Republic of" in this context redundant?

Darussalam translated is "Land of Peace". Though many do see it meaning an Islamic State that doesn't always apply.

thekingsguard said:
Hoorat, our first breakaway nation!

Not the first, just the first I've bother to make a 'factbook' of :p

Wendell said:
This could have interesting consequences for the rest of the region. Please continue.

I certainly will, but sadly updates will be slower than other timelines, because I have a busy schedule.
 
Division of Java (1951)

The quick thinking military leaders that had not expected such a fast so-called truce in their favor, and the Provisional Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PSRI) was formed. Filled entirely with military officers and even a few generals, the provisional government was entirely for show. At the head of the government was Army General Sutomo, recently named head of the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian National Armed Forces) after the resignation of General T.B. Simatupang. However, both titles had little meaning, as Indonesia as a nation no longer existed in reality. The government had not even met together in the capital Jakarta. Claiming that the city was unsuitable as a capital due to the influence of former President Sukarno, the PSRI held all meetings in KODAM Brawijaya military base, near Surabaya in East Java, one of the few places where the military had no major opposition. Despite everything around them, the military refused to acknowledge the existence of separatist states, and insisted that Indonesia was still united.

Meanwhile, in Western Java, the Darul Islam and Masyumi had agreed to cooperate and had written up a Sharia-inspired constitution for an independent state. With Imam Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwirjo as the leader, the Negara Islam Jawa Barat (Islamic State of West Java) was establsihed on the 25th of August, 1951 despite constant skirmishes between Darul Islam rebels and Indonesian military. The NIJB has complete control over not only the villages and rural areas, but also the main roads connecting the large cities due to the strategic location of Sukabumi. Western Java's largest cities, Jakarta and Bogor, are now surrounded by rebel forces. However several factors, including a large-enough presence of military to prevent an attack, as well as the rebels lacking training and equipment for a full-scale assault, prevent the vital cities from changing hands at the moment.

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Colonel Alexander Evert Kaliwarang

Led by the young, ambitious Colonel Alexander Evert Kaliwarang, a force of around 25,000 men, well armed for an Indonesian military force and backed up by around 85 armored vehicles, some of which included tanks, marched from Surabaya and arrived in Bandung, very near the unofficial border between the NIJB and Indonesian military control and only recently taken back from the Islamic rebels. A week later Kaliwarang's forces moved forward, and initially succeeded in clearing the road towards Sukabumi. However, guerrilla warfare was used by the outnumbered and under-supplied Darul Islam to wear down the military forces. With dozens of Colonel Kaliwarang's new, untested recruits deserting every day, he was forced to fall back after achieving little in the region.

Now with the knowledge that the new military forces was weak, unprepared, and unwilling to fight, many insurgency groups popped up across Java, all wanting their own rights. Most were brutally shut down and their leaders executed. Former Head of the Armed Forces Simatupang, however, was planning his own scheme across the Strait of Madura on his own island. In his disposal were 6,000 troops. Although few they were loyal and battle-tested, as well as well trained, most of whom also came from T.B. Simatupang's homeland of northern Sumatra. The navy was contacted and, despite Simatupang being a former Army general, happily agreed to cooperate against the Army-dominated Provisional Government of Indonesia. Many naval vessels were relocated to Maduran harbors during the second half of 1951. In addition, he recruited up to 30,000 local men for his army. By December, Madura, just 30 kilometers across the strait from the city of Surabaya, Simatupang also had the local leaders of the island pledge their support. The next year would prove to be an important one for the future of the island and events there will have huge effects on its much larger neighbor, Java.

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Local Madurese recruits hike through the hills in their early morning training. Many of these soldiers did not use firearms until early 1952, and instead trained with bamboo spears
 
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