Denpasar Conference

Denpasar Conference

Part of the Decolonization of Asia
The Denpasar Conference in session
Date	7–24 December 1946
Location	Hotel Bali, Denpasar, Great East Governorate
Cause	Previous agreements made in the Malino Conference
Outcome	Independence of East Indonesia

The Denpasar Conference was held from 7–24 December 1946 at the Hotel Bali, Denpasar and resulted in the establishment of the State of East Indonesia, part of the United States of Indonesia.

It was at this conference that the Dutch government stated its position that control of Western New Guinea would not be handed over at the same time as the rest of the Dutch East Indies.

Part of a series on the
History of Indonesia
Timeline
Prehistory Paleolithic Java Man 1,000,000 BP Flores Man 94,000–12,000 BP Neolithic Toba catastrophe 75,000 BP Buni culture 400 BCE
Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms Kutai Kingdom 350–1605 Tarumanagara Kingdom 400s–500s Kantoli 400s-500s Kalingga Kingdom 500s–600s Melayu Kingdom 600s–1347 Srivijaya Empire 600s–1025 Shailendra dynasty 600s–900s Mataram Kingdom 716–1016 Bali Kingdom 914–1908 Sunda Kingdom 932–1579 Kahuripan Kingdom 1019–1045 Kediri Kingdom 1045–1221 Dharmasraya Kingdom 1183–1347 Pannai Kingdom 1000s–1300s Singhasari Empire 1222–1292 Majapahit Empire 1293–1527
Islamic sultanates Spread of Islam 800–1600 Peureulak Sultanate 840–1292 Aru Kingdom 1225–1613 Ternate Sultanate 1257–1914 Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Pagaruyung Kingdom 1347–1833 Brunei Sultanate 1368–1888 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1405–1851 Cirebon Sultanate 1445–1677 Demak Sultanate 1475–1554 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Sultanate of Ternate 1486–1914 Sultanate of Bacan 1515–1946 Sultanate of Tidore 1500s–1967 Sultanate of Jailolo 1496–1903 Banten Sultanate 1526–1813 Banjar Sultanate 1526–1863 Kalinyamat Sultanate 1527–1599 Mataram Sultanate 1500s–1700s Johor Sultanate 1528s–1877 Kingdom of Kaimana 1600s–1926 Palembang Sultanate 1659–1823 Siak Sultanate 1725–1946 Surakarta Sunanate 1745–1946 Yogyakarta Sultanate 1755–1945 Deli Sultanate 1814–1946 Riau-Lingga Sultanate 1824–1911
Christian kingdoms Larantuka Kingdom 1515–1904 Kingdom of Bolaang Mongondow 1670–1950
Chinese Kongsi federations Heshun Confederation 1776–1854 Lanfang Republic 1777–1884 Santiaogou Republic 1777–1853
European colonization Portuguese 1512–1850 Spanish 1521–1677 Dutch East India Company 1602–1799 British 1685–1824 French and British interregnum 1806–1816 Dutch East Indies 1800–1942 1945–1949
Emergence of Indonesia National Awakening 1908–1942 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 National Revolution 1945–1949 United States of Indonesia 1949–1950
Republic of Indonesia Liberal democracy 1950–1959 Guided Democracy 1959–1966 Transition 1966–1967 New Order 1967–1998 Reform era 1998–present
Regions Jakarta Bali Bogor Bandung
By topic Agriculture Archaeology Currency Economy Education Religion Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism Mass media Military Sport Women
Indonesia portal
v t e

Background

The Malino Conference, organized by Acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Hubertus van Mook and held from 16–25 July 1946, resulted in an agreement among the delegates from eastern Indonesia, as well as Bangka and Belitung to work together to establish a federal United States of Indonesia which would comprise three constituent states: the Republic of Indonesia (Java and Sumatra), the State of Borneo, and the 'Great Eastern State' (the Great East or Groote Oost - which would include Western New Guinea).^[1][2] Due to ongoing instability in Borneo, as well as open conflict with the Republican forces in Java and Sumatra, van Mook decided to focus on the Great East, and to organize a conference in order to establish a state in this region.^[3] Before it was held, the Dutch concluded the Linggadjati Agreement with the Republicans. In this agreement, the Dutch recognized Republican sovereignty over Java, Sumatra and Madura, and both sides agreed to work together to establish the United States of Indonesia and its three component states.^[4] However, at the time of the Denpasar Conference, the Linggadjati Agreement had only been initialed by both sides, not formally signed, allowing the Dutch to claim that it was not yet valid.^[5] On 10 December 1946, the Dutch government announced its own interpretation of the Agreement in a statement from Foreign Minister Jan Jonkman. This stated that Western New Guinea would not after all be handed over to the United States of Indonesia, a statement at odds with Article 3 of the Linggadjati Agreement. This was the result of pressure from the Dutch Catholic Party, which wished to continue the missionary activities in the region, although van Mook claimed that financial and ethnic issues were the reason.^[6][7][8] Due to the fact that the request for any Papuan representatives in the conference was rejected by the Dutch authorities, on 12 December 1946, Nicolaas Jouwe, Marthen Indey, and Corinus Krey sent a telegram to van Mook in Denpasar to oppose the formation of the State of East Indonesia as it did not include Western New Guinea.^[9]

Delegates

The Great East was divided into thirteen regions, with each region selecting a number of delegates in proportion to its population. Van Mook set a limit of 55 regional delegates, with an additional fifteen representing minority ethnic groups, making a total of 70. Although the Dutch claimed that the regional delegates were elected, they were in fact selected by Dutch-appointed officials, and the majority of them were either colonial officials or regional aristocrats.

The composition was as follows:^[10][11]

Conference proceedings

The conference was due to be opened on 7 December by van Mook, but he was delayed by the complications associated with the Dutch interpretation of the Linggadjati Agreement. In his absence, General Government Commissioner van Hoven chaired the opening session and presented a draft legal basis for an independent State of the Great East. Discussions on this paper continued until van Mook's arrival on 17 December. It included the following provisions:^[12]

• the State of Indonesia would comprise the Great East except Western New Guinea;
• matters relating to foreign policy, defense and the supreme court, among a total of 40 areas others, would remain the responsibility of the central government;
• a Crown Commissioner would be appointed, with wide-ranging powers including ensuring the protection of the rights of ethnic and religions minorities as well as regional rulers;
• the state would be divided into 13 autonomous regions;
• the head of state would appoint ministers, who would be responsible to a Parliament.

On 9 December, conference delegates expressed support for the Linggadjati Agreement as a basis for the establishment of the United States of Indonesia, and called for it to be ratified immediately in cables sent to the Central Indonesian National Committee in Yogyakarta and to the Dutch parliament.^[13] On 18 December, following his arrival, van Mook officially opened the conference and an agenda was agreed on. Subsequently it emerged that the majority of delegates disagreed with the Dutch refusal to delegate complete authority to the new state, as this would that East Indonesia would not have equal status with the Republic of Indonesia, to which full authority had been delegated under the Linggadjati Agreement. There was also strenuous opposition to the non-inclusion of Western New Guinea.^[14] As more than 75% of the new nation would be autonomous regions headed by local rulers, delegates proposed the establishment of an upper house or a senate to represent regional interests. Finally, a majority called for the national anthem to be Indonesia Raya, and for the Indonesian red and white flag to be the national flag of East Indonesia.^[15]

On 22 December, van Mook gave his response to the proposals. He supported the establishment of the senate and the use of the Indonesian national anthem, but was more cautious about the flag. He expressed a wish for Western New Guinea to be an autonomous region with a special relationship with the United States of Indonesia.^[16]

In later discussions, van Mook refused to compromise on the status of Western New Guinea as the 10 December statement by Dutch Foreign Minister Jonkman had given him no room for maneuver. It was decided that the status of the territory would be decided later. On 23 December, the draft for the Regulations on Forming the State of Indonesia were drawn up, and approved the following day. This supplemented the existing Dutch colonial law dating from 1927, and would become the provisional constitution.^[15][17] Balinese noble Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati was elected head of state and Tadjoeddin Noor was elected chair of the Provisional Parliament, and subsequently took over the chairmanship of the conference. The conference delegates became the Provisional Parliament, and it was decided it would meet in Makassar, the capital, on 1 March 1947. Soon after, Soekawati was named first President of the State of East Indonesia and designated Nadjamoeddin Daeng Malewa as Prime Minister.^[11][18]

Aftermath

After the conference ended, President Soekawati and Prime Minister Designate Nadjamoeddin traveled to Jakarta to hold meetings to establish the first cabinet, which was announced on 13 January 1947. It was inaugurated the same day in the presence of Dutch officials, including van Mook. Their presence, as well as the fact the ceremony took place in Jakarta rather than Makassar promoted criticism of Nadjamoeddin for the continuing influence of the Dutch in the affairs of the new nation. This criticism intensified when the provisional legislature held its first session in Makassar, at which many Dutch-appointed delegates expressed support for the Indonesian Republic rather than the Dutch plans for the federal state.^[11][19] The regional rulers also became concerned at losing the power and privileges they had enjoyed under the Dutch, and pushed for the establishment of a senate with one member for each of the 13 regions, which would have a veto over the final constitution. Due to their control of the majority of these regions, the rulers had a guaranteed majority on the new body, which was established on 28 May 1949. However the constitution was never ratified before the State of East Indonesia was dissolved into the unitary Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1950.^[17][20] Exclusion of Western New Guinea from the State of East Indonesia would lead to the creation of Partai Irian Dalam Republik Indonesia Serikat (PIDRIS). Marthen Indey (as deputy leader of the party) managed to travel to Ambon on 7 January 1947 to meet with pro-Indonesian Moluccan figures, but he was caught by Dutch authorities on 23 March 1947 and later transferred to Hollandia from Biak and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Meanwhile, the party's founders, Corinus Krey and Petrus Wettebossy, were caught by Dutch authorities in Biak.^[9]

Notes

References

Further reading

• (In Dutch) Goudoever, W. A. van; Dutch East Indies. Regeringsvoorlichtingsdienst (1947), Denpasar bouwt een huis : een overzichtelijke bewerking van notulen en tekstueele redevoeringen ter conferentie van Denpasar, 7-24 December 1946, Regeerings Voorlichtingsdienst, retrieved 15 July 2018