Semaun Suara Merdeka 5 February 1955 P2
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Semaun (1899–1971), also spelled Semaoen, was the first chairman of the
Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its Indo ...
(PKI) and was a leader of the
Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...
branch of the
Sarekat Islam Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam ( 'Islamic Association' or 'Islamic Union'; SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of ...
.


Early life

Semaun was born in 1899 in Curahmalang, Jombang,
East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...
. Semaoen was the son of Prawiroatmodjo, a bricklayer in the railway ministry. Although not the son of a rich man, Semaoen managed to get into the Tweede Klas school (a second-class native school) and obtained additional education in
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
by attending a kind of afternoon course. After completing primary school, he was unable to continue to higher education. Therefore, he worked at the Staatsspoor (SS) Surabaya as a small clerk.


Politics

His emergence on the political stage of the movement began at the age of 14. At that time, in 1914, he joined the
Sarekat Islam Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam ( 'Islamic Association' or 'Islamic Union'; SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of ...
(SI) afdeeling
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
. A year later, in 1915, he met Sneevliet and was invited to join the Indische Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging, the
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
organisation of the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. Thus by the age of sixteen, he was elected as one of the first
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n members of the Union of Train and Tramway Personnel (VSTP), soon quitting his job as a railway worker to become a
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
activist full-time. At the same time, he was elected vice-chairman of the
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
office of the Indies Social Democratic Association (ISDV), which was to become the Indonesian Communist Party or PKI. A good command of the Dutch language, especially in reading and listening, his interest in continuing to expand his knowledge by studying on his own, and a fairly close relationship with Sneevliet, were important factors why Semaoen was able to occupy important positions in both Dutch organisations. In Semarang, He left his job at Staatsspoor in 1916 in line with his move to Semarang because he was appointed as a salaried VSTP propagandist. he also became editor of the Malay-language VSTP newspaper, and ''Sinar Djawa-Sinar Hindia'', the newspaper of Sarekat Islam in
Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...
. Semaoen was the youngest figure in the organisation. In his teens, he was known as a reliable and intelligent journalist. He also had an eye that was often used as a powerful weapon in attacking colonial policies. In 1918 he also became a member of the leadership council at Sarekat Islam (SI), then the dominant
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
political organization in the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. As Chairman of SI Semarang, Semaoen was heavily involved with labour strikes. The largest and most successful strike in early 1918 was launched by 300 workers in the furniture industry. In 1920, there was another massive strike among print industry workers involving SI Semarang. This strike succeeded in forcing employers to increase workers' wages by 20 per cent and food allowances by 10 per cent. On 23 May 1920, the Communist Party of Indonesia (originally the Partai Komunis Hindia, changed to 'Indonesia' a few months later) was founded after the deportation of the
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
founders of the ISDV. Semaun became its first chairman. The PKI initially was a part of Sarekat Islam, but political differences over the role of
class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...
and of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
in nationalism between Semaun's PKI and the rest of SI led to an organizational split by October. At the end of that year he left Indonesia for
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, and
Tan Malaka Ibrahim Simabua Datuak (posthumous) Sutan Malaka also known as Tan Malaka (2 June 1897 – 21 February 1949) was an Indonesian statesman, teacher, Marxism, Marxist, Philosophy, philosopher, founder of Struggle Union (Persatuan Perjuangan) and Murb ...
replaced him as chairman. Upon his return in May 1922, he regained the chairmanship and tried, with limited success, to restore PKI influence over the sprawling SI organization. Together with
Alimin Alimin bin Prawirodirdjo (1889 – 26 June 1964)Utamakan Persatuan dan Dialog'', 2002–2010 Situs TokohIndonesia, 2 October 2010. Diakses 2 February 2011 was an Indonesian independence movement figure and also Indonesian communist. Since he wa ...
and Darsono, Semaoen realised Sneevliet's ideals to enlarge and strengthen the communist movement in the Dutch East Indies. The attitude and principles of communism adopted by Semaoen made his relationship with other SI members tenuous. On 23 May 1920, after deporting the initial ISDV cadres, Semaoen changed the ISDV to the Indies Communist Party. Seven months later, the name was changed to the Indonesian Communist Party with Semaoen as its first chairman. The PKI was originally part of Sarekat Islam, but differences in understanding led the two major forces in SI to split in October 1921. At the end of that year he left Indonesia for Moscow, and Tan Malaka succeeded him as Chairman. After returning to Indonesia in May 1922, he regained the position of Chairman and tried to regain influence in the SI but was unsuccessful.


Exile

In 1923 VSTP, the railway union, organized a
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
. It was soon crushed by the Dutch government, and Semaun was exiled from the Indies. He returned to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, where he was to remain for more than thirty years. He remained involved as a nationalist activist on a limited basis, speaking a few times to Perhimpunan Indonesia, a
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
-based organization of Indonesian students. He also studied at the
Communist University of the Toilers of the East The Communist University of the Toilers of the East (, KUTV; also known as the Far East University) was a revolutionary training school for important communist political leaders. The school operated under the umbrella of the Communist Internatio ...
for a time. He travelled extensively in Europe, and played a role in leadership in
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
in the Soviet era. He wrote a novel, Hikayat Kadirun, which combined communist and Islamic ideals, and produced a number of pamphlets and newspaper articles. Upon his return to Indonesia after its independence, Semaun moved to
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, where from 1959 to 1961 he served on a government advisory board. He was rejected by the new leadership of the PKI, and was affiliated to the
Murba Party Murba Party (, Proletarian Party) was a 'National communism, national communist' political party in Indonesia.Harold Crouch, Crouch, Harold A. The Army and Politics in Indonesia. Politics and international relations of Southeast Asia'. Ithaca, N.Y ...
(Proletarian Party), which was opposed to the PKI. Spared from the aftermath of the
30 September Movement The Thirtieth of September Movement (, also known as G30S, and by the syllabic abbreviation Gestapu for ''Gerakan September Tiga Puluh'', Thirtieth of September Movement, also unofficially called Gestok, for ''Gerakan Satu Oktober'', or Fir ...
, he taught economics at
Universitas Padjadjaran Padjadjaran University (; ), abbreviated as UNPAD) is a public university located in Sumedang Regency and Bandung, which is the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It was established on 11 September 1957. UNPAD has gained the most appli ...
in
Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
. He died in Jakarta in 1971.


References

*Jarvis, Helen (1991). Notes and appendices for Tan Malaka, ''From Jail to Jail''. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies. *Kahin, George McT. (1952) ''Nationalism and revolution in Indonesia''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. *McVey, Ruth. (1965) ''The Rise of Indonesian Communism''. Ithaca, Cornell University Press. *Ricklefs, M.C. (2001) ''A history of modern Indonesia since c.1200'' 3rd ed. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. *Vickers, Adrian (2012) ''A history of modern Indonesia'' 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. {{Authority control 1890s births 1971 deaths Communist Party of Indonesia politicians Indonesian expatriates in the Soviet Union People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union Indonesian newspaper editors Newspaper editors from the Dutch East Indies Political prisoners in the Netherlands Sarekat Islam politicians