The history of the proclamation of Indonesia’s independence involves a long series of events.This history began much before the proclamation was made on August 17, 1945. “The important moments in Indonesia’s independence were very simple, but it was very crucial,” Indonesian historian Asep Kambali told ANTARA here on Tuesday (August 15). The history of Indonesia’s independence proclamation began with Japanese Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso promising to grant freedom to the nation at the 85th Teikoku Henkai Special Session in Tokyo on September 7, 1944. Koiso conveyed the Japanese Emperor’s promise that Indonesia would be granted independence at a later date and this promise was fulfilled by the Japanese through the establishment of the Investigating Agency for the Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPKI) on April 29, 1945. The agency was formed with the aim of establishing the foundation and form of the state. And, in turn, a number of tools needed for the establishment of the nation were also prepared at meetings held by the BPUPKI, including the formulation of the Pancasila state ideology on June 1, 1945. The Japanese surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945, after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on August 6 and 9. Prior to their defeat, the Japanese summoned Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta to Dalat, Vietnam, on August 12 to inform them that Japan wanted Indonesia to determine its own destiny, and that the proclamation of independence could be carried out within a few days. “It means that Indonesia should be handed over (to the Netherlands) because, according to the law of war, an area of power that had previously belonged to the enemy, when the enemy was defeated, that area was like an inventory. So humans and their territory will be handed over,” said Asep. Japan, at that time, should have surrendered the territory of Indonesia and the people in it to the Dutch.
Source: Antara News Agency