Indonesia Colonized In The Past, Prabowo: That's Why Our Nation Needs a Strong Army

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto urged all parties not to forget history. It is recorded that Indonesia was colonized for hundreds of years. This was stated at the Operational Troops and Military Honors Ceremony.

"Our ancestors, our grandfathers, our grandparents, our parents were colonized, enslaved, and treated lower than animals. Never forget your history," Prabowo said at the Indonesian Army's Kopassus Special Forces Education and Training Center (Pusdiklatpassus) in Batujajar, West Bandung Regency, West Java, on Sunday, August 10.

Therefore, Prabowo believes that Indonesia's post-independence resilience requires protection by a strong military. "Therefore, our nation needs a strong military. No nation can be independent without a strong military," he continued.

According to Prabowo, the world is currently facing uncertainty. Wars between countries are occurring everywhere. The former Minister of Defense emphasized that Indonesia does not side with any bloc. Therefore, for Prabowo, Indonesia must have a strong defense system.

"That's why today I'm inaugurating six new regional military commanders, 20 new brigade commanders, and 100 new territorial development battalions. I've inaugurated the commanders, brigade commanders, and the chosen people," Prabowo explained.

Prabowo, wearing a black cap and safari suit, arrived at the Suparlan Field, Pusdiklatpassus Kopassus TNI AD, Batujajar, at 8:55 a.m. Western Indonesian Time, accompanied by Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, who also wore camouflage uniform complete with a red Kopassus beret. At the event, the President was then greeted by Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto.

During the ceremony, Prabowo inaugurated Lieutenant General Tandyo Budi Revita, previously the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff, as Deputy TNI Commander. Prabowo then confirmed and inaugurated Lieutenant General Djon Afriandi as Commander of the Indonesian Army's Special Forces Command (Kopassus), Lieutenant General Endi Supardi as Commander of the Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps, Air Marshal Deny Muis as Commander of the Indonesian Air Force's Rapid Response Force Corps, and Air Marshal Andyawan Martono Putra as Commander of the Indonesian Air Force's National Air Defense Command.

At the same location, Prabowo then conferred the rank of Honorary General (HOR) on several retired TNI officers, including Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) M. Herindra, President Director of Agrinas Palma Agus Sutomo, who is also a former Kopassus Commander, and the 1966 Governor of Jakarta Ali Sadikin, who was a lieutenant general in the Navy's KKO.

In the same ceremony, Prabowo continued by conferring the rank of Honorary 3-Star General to Soehartono Soeratman, Bambang Eko Suharyanto, Khairawan, Glenny Kairupan, Musa Bangun, and Tony SB Hoesodo. Prabowo will then confer the rank of Honorary 2-Star General on Taufik Hidayat. Finally, Prabowo will also confer the Bintang Sakti Medal of Honor on Lieutenant General (Ret.) Muhammad Alfan Baharudin, the Indonesian Marine, and Second Lieutenant (Ret.) Darius Bayani.

Prabowo awarded the Bintang Sakti Medal of Honor to Second Lieutenant (Ret.) Darius for his services and crucial role in Operation Mapenduma in 1996, which ultimately resulted in the release of Indonesian and foreign nationals held hostage by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in Papua.