TB Simatupang
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Tahi Bonar Simatupang (28 January 1920 – 1 January 1990) was a soldier who served in the
Indonesian National Revolution 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 A ...
and went on to become
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
of the
Indonesian Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (''TNI-AD''), Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Air Force (''TNI-AU''). The President of Indonesia is the Supreme ...
.


Early life

Simatupang was born in
Dairi Dairi may refer to: * The , the Japanese Imperial family's official residence in the capital. In Kyoto, this was the Heian Palace or later, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the latter considered a "town palace". Each of the former capitals, Fujiwara-kyō, ...
,
North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...
, then part of the Dutch East Indies to a
Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
family. Simatupang attended a Dutch colonial school and then 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 ...
in 1937 for further study. Among his friends in the Batak youth in Batavia during that time were
Oloan Hutapea Oloan Hutapea, also known as B. O. Hutapea (born 1920s?, died in the Blitar area in 1968), was a high-ranking member of the Indonesian Communist Party and one of its major theoreticians during the height of its power, and was leader of a clandesti ...
and
Josef Simanjutak Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura and is the only company in Japan spec ...
, future high-ranking
Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia ( 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 violent disbandment in ...
(PKI) members Lintong Mulia Sitorus, future
Indonesian Socialist Party The Socialist Party of Indonesia (, PSI) was a socialist political party in Indonesia which existed from 1948 until 1960, when it was banned by President Sukarno. Origins In December 1945, Amir Sjarifoeddin's Socialist Party of Indonesia (P ...
secretary general. In 1942, he gained entry to the Dutch Military Academy, but his studies were interrupted by the Japanese invasion.Jakarta Encyclopedia During the Japanese occupation, Simatupang rented a house with Sitorus and Hutapea in the Tanah Tinggi district of Batavia. He notes that other Batak youth called them ''De Drie Musketiers'', that they were often together attending lectures by people such as
Sutan Sjahrir Sutan Sjahrir (5 March 1909 – 9 April 1966) was an Indonesian statesman and independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, prime minister of Indonesia from 1945 until 1947. He played a key role during the Indonesian Na ...
and collecting books about independence movements in other countries.


Military career

During the
Indonesian National Revolution 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 A ...
, Simatupang, now a colonel, joined the
Siliwangi Division Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi () is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province. The division was formed during the Indonesian National Revolution by what was then known as the People's Secu ...
in
Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
, and by January 1950, following the death of General
Sudirman Sudirman (; 24 January 1916 – 29 January 1950) was an Indonesian military officer and revolutionary during the Indonesian National Revolution and the first commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Born in Purbalingga, Dutch East Ind ...
, he was acting chief of staff of the Indonesian Armed Forces (''Angkatan Perang'').Kahin (1952) pp 185, 455 Like Army Chief of Staff General
Nasution Abdul Haris Nasution (; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000) was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution and remained in the military during the subsequent turmoil of ...
, he was an "administrator", committed to the reduction in size of the armed forces after independence had been won to bring about a professional military. He opposed efforts by a disgruntled rival, Colonel Bambang Supemo, to replace Nasution, but was himself criticized for apparent political bias after articles he wrote in 1952 were perceived as favoring the
Socialist Party of Indonesia The Socialist Party of Indonesia (, PSI) was a socialist political party in Indonesia which existed from 1948 until 1960, when it was banned by President Sukarno. Origins In December 1945, Amir Sjarifoeddin's Socialist Party of Indonesia (P ...
(PSI). After the incident on 17 October 1952, in which the army brought demonstrators and troops to the
Merdeka Palace The Merdeka Palace (; also known in Indonesian as and during the Dutch colonial times as ), is one of seven presidential palaces in Indonesia. It is located on the north side of the Merdeka Square, Jakarta, Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta, In ...
to persuade President
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 ...
to dissolve parliament, Simatupang's days were numbered, and on 4 November 1953, his post as chief of staff was abolished, effectively dismissing him.Feith (2007) pp 171–396 He then took a position as an adviser to the Ministry of Defense and then became a lecturer at the Army Staff College and the Military Legal Academy before resigning from the military altogether in 1959.


Post-military life

After his resignation, Simatupang devoted his life to religious duties and writing. He died in Jakarta on the first day of 1990. In November 2013, Simatupang, together with
Rajiman Wediodiningrat Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung (K.R.T.) Radjiman Wedyodiningrat (21 April 1879 – 20 September 1952) was an Indonesian physician and one of the founding figures of the Indonesia, Indonesian Republic. He was a member of the Budi Utomo organization, in 1 ...
and Lambertus Nicodemus Palar, was declared a
National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia () is the highest-level Orders, decorations, and medals of Indonesia, title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual de ...
.


Legacy

T.B. Simatupang is now used as a street name in Cilandak, South Jakarta, and his face was depicted in 2016-issue 500 rupiah coins.


Selected works

*''Peloper delam perang peloper dalem damel'' (1954) *''Soal-soal politik militer di Indonesia'' (1956) *''Pemerintah, masjarakat, Angkatan Perang. Pidatopidato dan karangan-karangan 1955-1958'' (1960) *''Laporan dari Banaran : kisah pengalaman seorang pradjurit selama perang'' (1961) Released in English in 1972 as Report from Banaran: Experiences during the people's war, translated by
Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...
, E. Graves, John Smail. Released in
Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...
in 1985 as ''Het laatste jaar van de Indonesische vrijheidsstrijd, 1948-1949 : een authentiek verslag door de voormalig chef-staf van de Indonesische strijdkrachten'' *''Capita selecta masalah hankam
leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...
T.B. Simatupang'' *''Pembangunan : soal hidup atau mati bagi negara Pantjasila'' (1968) *''Pengantar ilmu perang di Indonesia'' (1968) *''Komunikasi, konfrontasi, modernisasi dan negara Pancasila yang membangun'' (1972) *''Kejakinan dan perdjuangan'' (1972) *''Dari Edinburgh ke Jakarta'' (1974) *''Ketahanan nasional dalam situasi baru di Asia Tenggara'' (1976) *''Het laatste jaar van de Indonesische vrijheidsstrijd, 1948-1949 : een authentiek verslag door de voormalig chef-staf van de Indonesische strijdkrachten'' (1985) *''Harapan, keprihatinan dan tekad; Angkatan 45 merampungkan tugas sejarahnya.'' (1986) *''Kehadiran Kristen dalam perang, revolusi, dan pembangunan : berjuang mengamalkan Pancasila dalam terang iman'' (1986) *''Dari revolusi ke pembangunan'' (1987) *''Indonesia : leadership and national security perceptions'' (1987) *''Saya adalah orang yang berhutang'' (1990) *''Membuktikan ketidakbenaran suatu mitos : menelusuri makna seorang prajurit generasi pembebas bagi masa depan masyarakat, bangsa dan negara'' (1991) Released in English in 1996 as The fallacy of a myth *''Iman Kristen dan Pancasila'' (1995)


Notes


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simatupang, T. B. 1920 births 1990 deaths Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie Indonesian generals Indonesian Lutherans Indonesian Protestants People from North Sumatra People of Batak descent National Heroes of Indonesia Commanders of the Indonesian National Armed Forces 20th-century Lutherans