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----- Original Message -----
From: grupv
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002
Subject: [hankam] The Jakarta Axis (bagian 1)
Lanjutan Bagian 1.
Indonesia and the wars in Indochina
Indonesia's involvement in the murky world of Southeast Asian politics spanned more
than 30 years.
BY KENNETH CONBOY
Vietnam Magazine, Volume 15 Number 2, August 2002, p 42-47.
Indonesia and the former states of Indochina have much in common.
All were colonialized by European nations - the Dutch in the case of Indonesia, the
French in the case of Indochina's Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - and all were occupied
by the Japanese during World War II.
Similarly, Indonesia and most of Indochina prematurely declared independence during
the closing days of that war, only to be subjugated once again by returning Europeans.
And ultimately, Indonesia and Vietnam became the only nations of Southeast Asia to
successfully wage bloody revolutionary struggle to assert their national sovereignty.
On the political front, too, there was much they shared. Indonesia's President Achmed
Sukarno was a neutralist of a decidedly leftist and anti-Western bent. The same could
be said of Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who never lost an opportunity to tweak
the West's nose. At least some of the leaders in the varied political landscape of
Laos claimed the same mindset, while North Vietnam's Socialist leader, Ho Chi Minh,
made no pretense of neutrality but still retained warm ties with Sukarno on the
grounds of their common revolutionary heritage.
During early 1964, Sukarno attempted to translate that political affinity into
military co-operation. At the time, the Indonesian military was in the midst of a
heated confrontation - in Indonesian, Konfrontasi - over control of the northern
portion of Kalimantan (encompassing Brunei and insular malaysia). Opposing the
Indonesians were the British, Australian and New Zealand forces of the Commonwealth.
Despite numerically larger forces and the use of some of their most elite units, the
Indonesians were having only fleeting success. One of the few formations to make a
decent showing was the army's airborne ranger regiment (Resimen Para Komando Angkatan
Darat, or RPKAD). Headquartered in Jakarta, the RPKAD totaled two battalions at the
time. In a reflection of the country's ostensibly neutralist stance, members of the
regiment had at various times been trained under U.S., British, Indian and Yugoslavian
auspices.
The RPKAD commander, Colonel Mung Parhadimulyo, was a toughened commando known for his
spartan and often bizarre edicts. In a country where officers were given considerable
perks, for example, Mung insisted on riding a bus. He also forbade his men to drink
milk - Indonesia had too many people living in poverty to justify such privileges, he
claimed - and he once even refused medical attention when he received a bullet wound
in battle. On another occasion, he wrestled a crocodile to prove his mettle.
Mung was also a proponent of learning from other elite units. Himself a ranger
graduate from Fort Benning, Georgia, U.S.A., he had instituted a mountain climbing
course for his regiment after returning from the United States. He also directly
adopted U.S. Army Special Forces doctrine for a specialized unconventional warfare
team within his airborne ranger regiment.
In May 1964, the opportunity arose for Mung to share his expertise with the North
Vietnamese. Out of economic necessity more than anything else, the People's Army of
Vietnam (PAVN) was Mung's equal in spartan outlook. This was especially true for the
PAVN's array of commando units, collectively known as Dac Cong ("Special Task"), which
were renowned for their innovation and physical conditioning.
For 20 days, Mung and a team of observers from the Indonesian army were guests at the
main Dac Cong training center near the town of Xuan Mai. The PAVN used the opportunity
to demonstrate their skills with booby traps (especially punji sticks) and survival
foods. They also showed Mung how to safely fire a mortar in the near vertical position
for extremely close support.
In addition, the PAVN taught the Indonesian commando how to wield an 82mm mortar
horizontally as a makeshift bazooka against hardened targets such as pillboxes or
tank. Claiming to have used this tactic to good effect against the French, the North
Vietnamese instructors demonstrated how to brace the mortar tube with sandbags, place
a rope across a round at the mouth of the tube and then yank the rope backward to
force the round toward the pin.
Returning to Indonesia, Mung attempted to put his PAVN training into practice. But
when he tried to demonstrate a mortar horizontally to visiting North Korean
dignitaries, the shell misfired. During a subsequent attempt, disaster struck. The
mortar tube dropped slightly, causing the round to land only five meters from the
crew. Five commandos died in the accident.
(Bersambung ke Bagian-2)
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