Saturday, July 27, 2024

THE UK COLD WAR & NATO IN THE PACIFIC

Labour’s imperialist role in Indonesia’s freedom fight

The 1945-51 Labour government fought to restore Dutch colonial rule to Indonesia


By John Newsinger
Friday 26 July 2024Issue
S0CIALIST WORKER 


Indonesian freedom fighters, Solo, Java, 1949. (Picture: National Museum of World Cultures)

The Labour government of 1945-51 has a wholly undeserved reputation for being progressive as far as British imperialism is concerned.

But nothing demonstrates its imperialist role better than the British intervention in Indonesia to restore Dutch colonial rule in 1945-46.

After Japan surrendered in August 1945 at the end of the Second World War, Indonesia’s nationalist movement proclaimed independence.

It was determined not to be reoccupied by the Dutch colonialists who had been driven out by the Japanese. On 19 September over 200,000 people demonstrated in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, demanding independence.

Throughout much of the country nationalist militias took control. Restoration The Labour government was absolutely committed to the restoration of imperial rule, but not just in British colonies that had fallen to the Japanese.

It was also committed to French rule of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos and Dutch rule of Indonesia.

The first British troops arrived on 29 September to be greeted by nationalist demonstrations and banners, written in English, demanding independence.

Within a very short time there were armed clashes that soon developed into full-scale warfare as the British set about attempting to break the nationalist movement.

Eventually over 60,000 British and Indian troops were to be sent to crush the nationalists. From the very beginning this intervention was not popular with many British soldiers.

The government was worried that Britain suffering a large number of deaths while restoring Dutch colonial rule would cause problems at home.

Accordingly, the government decided to rely as much as possible on Indian troops whose lives apparently did not count so much and to rearm the surrendered Japanese garrison.

Soon there was fierce fighting across much of Indonesia with the decisive engagement being the battle for the port city of Surabaya.

Here over 20,000 British troops fought the poorly armed nationalist militia from the end of October into November. British warships shelled the city and British aircraft relentlessly bombed it.

A Scottish woman Muriel Walker who was living in the city, worked with the nationalists, broadcasting on a rebel radio station to the British troops and urging them to stop fighting.

She was known as “Surabaya Sue”. She described how “hundreds upon hundreds were killed”. “The streets ran with blood, women and children lay dead in the gutters… But the Indonesians did not surrender.”

The British drove most of the population out of the city, which was left in ruins. During the war, at least one British unit refused to fight and had to be redeployed.

Australian troops on a number of occasions took part in nationalist demonstrations and even gave the rebels their weapons.

Back in Australia, the trade unions refused to handle the shipping of troops and munitions to Indonesia with over 500 vessels eventually stopped.

To break the boycott, the British government brought in Indian sea workers with the king’s brother, Prince Henry, personally addressing them and praising them for their loyalty to the British Empire.

Boycott The translator, however, changed his speech into a passionate plea to support the boycott and the sea workers all walked out to join the picket lines.

Even British troops on the British warships held collections for the strikers. Some 600 Indian soldiers actually went over to the rebels, taking their weapons with them.

By the time the last British troops were withdrawn at the end of 1946, imperialist troops had killed more than 20,000 Indonesians.

No one can doubt the Clement Attlee government’s commitment to imperialism. It was written in blood.

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