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 (), also known as 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 ...

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 Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

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 Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

). At that point he joined the bodyguard of

Sukarno Sukarno (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 the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

and was with him during his surrender at

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

. 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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n troops during at the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET, ), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades-long East Timorese crisis in the area occupied by Indonesian military. UNTAET provided an int ...

after the

Indonesian occupation of East Timor The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...

. 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 Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

during the 1 March 1949 offensive on

. History books had claimed that Lieutenant Colonel Suharto was the instigator of the

General Offensive of 1 March 1949 The General Offensive of 1 March 1949 () was a military offensive during the Indonesian National Revolution where the city of Yogyakarta was held by Indonesian troops for six hours. This played an important role in causing international pressure ...

, 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 The (; NOS or rarely ; ) is one of the broadcasting organisations making up the Dutch public broadcasting system. It has a special statutory obligation to make news and sports programmes for the three Dutch public television channels and the ...

reporter Sukotjo asked 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 ...

government to acknowledge the 17 August 1945

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

, 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

fluently.

References

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