Supriyadi, older spelling Soeprijadi full name Fransiskus Xaverius Soeprijadi (born 13 April 1923 – disappeared 14 February 1945,

declared dead A presumption of death occurs when a person is thought to be dead by a group of people despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a pr ...

9 August 1975), was an Indonesian

national hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

who rebelled against the occupying Japanese in 1945.

Early life

Supriyadi was born in

Trenggalek Trenggalek Regency is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' in East Java, Indonesia. This regency has an area of 1,261.40 km2 and had a population of 674,411 residents at the 2010 Census and 731,125 at the 2020 Census. It is located on the southern sho ...

on 13 April 1923. He attended junior high school, then a training school for civil service in

Magelang Magelang () is one of six cities in Central Java that are administratively independent of the regencies in which they lie geographically. Each of these cities is governed by a mayor rather than a ''bupati''. Magelang city covers an area of 18. ...

. However, the Japanese invaded Indonesia before he graduated. He then switched to high school and underwent youth training (''Seimendoyo'') in

Tangerang Tangerang ( Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city ...

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Bante ...

.Sudarmanto (1996), pp. 231-232

Involvement with PETA

In October 1943, the Japanese established a militia,

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, ...

() to assist Japanese forces against the Allies. Supriyadi joined PETA, and after training was posted to

Blitar Blitar is a landlocked city in East Java, Indonesia, about 73 km from Malang and 167 km from Surabaya. The area lies within longitude 111° 40' – 112° 09' East and its latitude is 8° 06' South. The city of Blitar lies at an altitud ...

. He was tasked with overseeing the work of the Romusha forced laborers. The plight of these workers inspired him to rebel against the Japanese. When Supriyadi joined PETA, he was given the rank of ''shodancho'' or platoon commander.

The Blitar rebellion

When nationalist leader

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 ...

visited his parents in Blitar, PETA officers told him that they had begun to plan a rebellion and asked for Sukarno's opinion. He told them to consider the consequences, but Supriyadi, leader of the rebels, was convinced the uprising would succeed. In the early hours of 14 February 1945, rebels attacked Japanese troops, causing heavy casualties. However, the Japanese defeated the rebellion and put the ringleaders on trial. Six (or eightRicklefs (1982) p 196) people were sentenced to death and the rest were given jail sentences ranging from three years to life. However, Supriyadi reportedly was not executed. Some said Supriyadi escaped and hid from the Japanese.Mutiara (1999), p 90 He was not seen again after the failure of the rebellion.Cribb (2008), p 93

Disappearance

On 19 August 1945, in a government decree issued by the newly independent Indonesia, Supriyadi was named Minister for Public Security in the

Presidential Cabinet A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

. However, he failed to appear, and was replaced on 20 October by acting minister Muhammad Soeljoadikusuma. To this day his fate remains unknown.Simanjuntak (2003), p18 Numerous sightings before his disappearance had been reported. Ronomejo a ''kamituwo'' of Ngliman village in Nganjuk reportedly accompanied Supriyadi to his hiding place in a cave near Sedudo waterfall. However, when Supriyadi's father, Damardi visited the place he already left. According to M. Nakajima, director of Taisei International Corporation, Supriyadi and his two companions stayed for a day in his place in Salatiga around February and March 1945, but then left before Kenpeitai from Semarang arrived. If he was alive during his appointment and took the office, he would have been aged 22 and became the youngest ever minister in the nation's history. He was officially bestowed the title of

National Hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

on 9 August 1975, thus legally declaring him dead as the title is only given posthumously.

References

Bibliography