Dutch Waste At Rawagede Massacre In History Today, December 9, 1947

Portrait of NICA's troops in the revolutionary war. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA History today, 75 years ago, December 9, 1947, Dutch troops carried out a massacre in Rawagede Village (now: Balongsari Village). Dutch troops shot dead all the male residents in the village. As a result, 431 residents were killed.

Previously, Dutch troops were furious with the actions of republicn fighters in various regions often against them during the revolution. The Dutch also responded. However, the Dutch attack did not only target freedom fighters, villagers who did not want to attack were often affected.

The Dutch desire to colonize Indonesia continues to grow. Especially after Japan surrendered to allies in 1945. The Dutch also struggled to ride an ally - England - to re-enter Indonesia. This strategy became an opportunity for the Dutch to bring troops under the banner of the Dutch East Indies Civil Government, NICA on a large scale.

The Dutch troops were equipped with adequate weapons. They tried to play terror. They entered the villages to search for freedom fighters. Thejian was to emphasize to the bumiputras that Indonesia was not ready to be independent.

The republican fighters responded differently. The intimidation that the Dutch carried out was actually considered a marker of war and had just begun. They no longer want to live colonized. Independence fighters also fought back. The resistance arose everywhere.

They sacrificed everything so that the Dutch would no longer colonize them. In Jakarta, especially. Every day there is no day without a fight. The Dutch did not remain silent. They also lowered their complete strength to fight the bumiputras.

Indeed, NICA is getting wilder. To do cleaning' in Sawah Besar, NICA uses armored cars, heavy weapons, while the Pioneer Youth who survives there with the people only has pointed bamboo, machetes, swords, several pistols, rifles, and grenades seized from Japan.

In Asem Reges, around the Kali Got Gang, in Molenvliet (now Jalan Hayam Wuruk) NICA put the weapons of the partners. The NICA traders attacked the youths who had been locked up in Sawah Besar. Even though the Pioneer Youth gave resistance, they were forced to back down," said Rosihan Anwar in the book Petite Histoire Indonesia Volume 7(2015).

Dutch military operations even entered the village. They are looking for republican fighters. Captain Lukas Kustario, one of them. The republican fighter was considered slippery and troubled by the Dutch. He was always able to escape when chased by the Dutch.

The Dutch also did not want to be missed. The Dutch are looking for the whereabouts of Lukas Kustario, who is known to often hide in Rawagede Village, West Java. In the village between Karawang-Bekasi, the Dutch brought a large troop on December 9, 1947.

Lukas Kustario is known not to be there. Instead of resigning, the Dutch troops actually arrested all the men who were in the village. They were taken to the field for questioning regarding Lukas Kustario. However, no one answered. The Dutch also exported 431 residents who made Rawagede covered in blood.

Since dawn, at around 04.00, Dutch troops surrounded Rawagede Village to search for Republican fighters, Captain Lukas Kustario. Under the leadership of Alphons Wijman, about 300 Dutch soldiers ransacked people's homes.

Men's residents were gathered in the fields to be asked about the whereabouts of Lukas. Because none of the residents had announced the whereabouts of Lukas, the leader of the Dutch army ordered to shoot dead all the male residents from teenage to adult age. A total of 431 residents died as a result of the shell and stab wounds of Dutch troops, "explained Suryani Ika Sari and Kalim, in a report in Tempo Magazine entitled Trage in Rawagede and Mystery Captain Lukas (2011).