Sukotjo Tjokroatmodjo (also spelled Soekotjo) (18 December 1927 – 16 March 2017) was an Indonesian historian, civil servant and retired Major general. He saw combat in the

Indonesian War of Independence The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcoloni ...

of 1945–1949. He later became assistant for international co-operation to the Minister of Defence, serving between 1978 and 1984. After retirement he was one of the vice-chairmen of Indonesia's veteran association, Legiun Veteran Republik Indonesia.

Indonesian War of Independence and military career

Sukotjo was born on 18 December 1927 in Kertosono, Java. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

ese forces in Indonesia in 1945, Sukotjo obtained one of the rifles the Japanese left behind. "At the moment I just started fighting" he has said about the start of his involvement in the war. On 9 August 1947 he finished his training as an officer at the rank of vaandrig ( officer cadet). At that point he joined the bodyguard of

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

and was with him during his surrender at Yogyakarta. In 1952 Sukotjo had reached the rank of Lieutenant. He retired from the military at the rank of Major general.

Civil service

He later became assistant for international co-operation to the Minister of Defence, serving between 1978 and 1984. He then went on to become an inspector-general in the Department of Education, working there between 1984 and 1987.

Later life

In 1999 Sukotjo opposed the deployment of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n troops during at the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor after the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. He saw it as a decline in the Australian-Indonesian relations. In 2010 Sukotjo was one of the historians doubting the influence of former Indonesian president

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

during the 1 March 1949 offensive on Yogyakarta. History books had claimed that Lieutenant Colonel Suharto was the instigator of the General Offensive of 1 March 1949, but Sukotjo disagreed. Sukotjo claimed that Colonel Bambang Sugeng, the commander of the Army Division III was the main plotter. He, alongside other historians asked for the Ministries of Defence and Education to rewrite the history books. In a September 2013 interview with a Nederlandse Omroep Stichting reporter Sukotjo asked the Dutch government to acknowledge the 17 August 1945

proclamation of Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...

, as the Dutch government still only acknowledges the 17 August proclamation de facto. He currently is one of the vice-chairman of Indonesia's veteran association, Legiun Veteran Republik Indonesia.

Personal life

He married in 1953 and has three children. Sukotjo speaks Dutch fluently.

References

{{authority control 1927 births 2017 deaths Indonesian generals 20th-century Indonesian historians 21st-century Indonesian historians