Merdeka - An Alternate History of Indonesia

I would suggest the KNIL be the military of Indonesia though still remain firmly in Dutch hands with the state militias of Indonesia being a secondary force, this would placate the Dutch and if those militias are on paper an equal if not greater force then it would placate the Indonesians, I'd think.
 
Not good news from Atjeh. I hope this won't kill the idea of federalism - a federal idea that comes from the Indonesian delegates rather than being imposed by the Dutch may be the best solution going forward.
 
Not good news from Atjeh. I hope this won't kill the idea of federalism - a federal idea that comes from the Indonesian delegates rather than being imposed by the Dutch may be the best solution going forward.

I have a feeling that this will in fact, somewhat strengthen the idea's position, but also that of strong federal government. We'll also likely to see US-like situation of reasonably wide state autonomy over its own laws, in any rate a natural solution to placate places like Aceh.
 
Yes of course, who else ? :p :D

Looks like Indonesian military will grow stronger then intended after all, and nothing can be done about it.

I would suggest the KNIL be the military of Indonesia though still remain firmly in Dutch hands with the state militias of Indonesia being a secondary force, this would placate the Dutch and if those militias are on paper an equal if not greater force then it would placate the Indonesians, I'd think.

KNIL will be nationalized. Even though by WW2 the ratio of Dutch and native soldiers had been less overwhelming on the native side, the Dutch in the KNIL are actually Dutch settlers of the Indies. It was even against the law to deploy Dutch people from Europe here. But yes, the top ranks will stay Dutch for quite awhile. This is actually a good thing, really. We can avoid something that happened OTL this way.

I sensed a refugee problem here

In Atjeh? Trust me, this is just the start.

Not good news from Atjeh. I hope this won't kill the idea of federalism - a federal idea that comes from the Indonesian delegates rather than being imposed by the Dutch may be the best solution going forward.

I have a feeling that this will in fact, somewhat strengthen the idea's position, but also that of strong federal government. We'll also likely to see US-like situation of reasonably wide state autonomy over its own laws, in any rate a natural solution to placate places like Aceh.

Yes, it will actually strengthen the idea of federalism, although it does increase Atjeh separatism by a mile.
 
12. The Native Factor

As Atjeh's uprising had been spread by word of mouth and blood, the outside world had little knowledge of it until the bloodshed started to spill into neighboring areas. The delegates of the Buitenzorg Conference became aware of the fact the hard way. On October 14, Atjehnese insurgents had looted their way into North Sumatra. The first aristocratic land they stumbled upon was the palace of the Sultan of Serdang, a delegate representing North Sumatra. The royal family of Sultan Soelaiman Sjariffoel Alamsjah had escaped to safety, but his palace was looted and burned down. The Royal Guards had been outnumberred and slaughtered protecting the palace, and there was no telling what happened to the local Muslim population who were loyal to their Sultan. Both Atjehnese representatives in the conference were from the nobility, and both have no means of contacting their loved ones at this dire time.

COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Oude_woning_van_de_sultan_van_Serdang_Rantau_Pandjang_TMnr_60022954.jpg

The Royal Palace of Serdang before being burnt to the ground. It is estimated that 100 civilians were killed protecting it in October 1945. This was the first casualty in Sumatra's regicide outside of Atjeh.

The next day's meeting was cancelled upon request by the Atjehnese and North Sumatran delegation, and after reports of British Indian troops skirmishing with insurgents on the outskirts of Medan, Governor General Hubertus Johannes van Mook announced that the conference was to be postponed.

At this point they were in the middle of the second phase of the Conference, on the nature of the transitional government. The members of the conference had used the ongoing Indian and Filipino transitional governments as reference. The length of ten years had been accepted by the delegates, after that period a round table conference shall be held to review the progress of development before the Indonesian people were to be given the right of self-determination.

The transitional government shall be headed by a Governor General chosen by the Queen, however the delegates had some requests on that matter. First was the request by the Eurasian Ernest Douwes Dekker of Central Java that the position should be made separate from the government of the Netherlands. The Governor General promised the local delegates that he would see to it that his successors will not be under the employment of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs nor hold any position in the home Government. He explaineded that the future Governor Generals shall be part of a common Governing body which would include the Dutch Prime Minister, and the hypothetical Governor Generals of Suriname and Curacao. A second point of contention however, was harder to accept. Continuing Mohammad Hatta's proposal in the first round of conference, Sam Ratoelangie of North Celebes demanded the Governor General be Indonesian, as was the case of the Filipino transitional presidents. The Indonesian delegates were ready to accept that the Governor General be appointed by the Dutch monarch, but there had to be proof that this was not a continuation of the colonial administration. Mohammad Hatta invited van Mook to stay as Governor General for some time, but made it clear that Indonesians wanted self-rule to start during the transitional period. Finally, van Mook accepted the demands.

However, for such a demand to pass the nationalists had to make one major concession. The NICA side of the conference argued that the Dutch government still had to maintain presence within the transitional government. On this matter Dr Soepomo of Central Java came up with a solution that was acceptable for both sides, the Dutch Ministry of Colonial Affairs shall set up a judicial body to ensure the transitional government stay in its path.

While agreements had been reached on the fundamentals of the transitional government, the details were yet to be discussed and the turmoil in Sumatra meant it had to be put on hold. The nature of the turmoil was a mistery to van Mook. It had the anti-bourgeouis sentiment of communist rebellion, but Atjeh had no history of communist activities. Was it Islamic? Was it nationalistic? Van Mook set up a team to counter any of those. The Atjehnese delegation was to be in an advisory role, their position of nobility meant they were not going to be heard. Islamic figureheads KH Wahid Hasjim and Ki Bagoes Hadikoesoemo were to reach out to the Islamic population, while Mohammad Hatta agreed to be the nationalist voice. Speeches aimed to prevent more people from joining the anarchy and to mantain the national unity were broadcast throughout Sumatra. While it had little effect on the insurgents that had already risen up, the success was visible in the rest of Sumatra. For one, it had labelled the insurgency as separatist, not nationalist. It was viewed as anarchy and murder, not jihad. When the British Indian armies launched major operations to pacify the large mobs concentrated in North Sumatra and even into Atjehnese soil, few made qualms about it.

The Atjehnese insurgency had been severely weakened, but definitely not ended. Daud Beureu'eh was still on the run, and many rebels went into hiding on the mountains of Atjeh. They had the guns, the people, but not the timing. Peace will be a luxury in Atjeh for decades, and seeds of future conflict had been spread. However, it changed the Dutch outlook of the Indies and how to give it independence while still being favourable on their terms. Imagery is key, van Mook realized that they cannot risk being viewed as a returning colonial power. Native participation was important in maintaining this image, one can only imagine if the same people had propagated against the Dutch. However, van Mook also saw a second factor. Time. The Indies was a ticking time bomb. He cannot risk to wait for an uprising on a nationwide scale. Stay here for too long, and Indonesia will be lost for good.
 
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I assume the rebels aren't communists, and that they're going after the nobles and landlords as collaborators rather than class-enemies. I wonder, though, if they might pick up communist ideology down the line - if there's a Malayan rebellion similar to OTL, then there might be some crossover between the two.

Hopefully this can be contained before the whole country goes up in flames.
 
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