INDONESIAN YOUTH GROUPS

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Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
20
Document Creation Date: 
December 9, 2016
Document Release Date: 
February 26, 2001
Sequence Number: 
1
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 29, 1966
Content Type: 
REPORT
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PDF icon CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1.pdf792.67 KB
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FORM 2024_ AJ' l4 i S? 1 G7 R .~a7 ' 2. sz L CI -1~5T1 E OF SPECIAL PAPER No. proved For Relase 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00626A0bttf0041 0001 -1 SUBJECT la'' e` 'romth Groups REQUESTED BY PURPOSE DESIRED LENGTH SPECIAL DISSEM COORDINATION OUTSIDE OCI STATINTL ASSIGNED TO i OAD REVIEW 1. O/DCI 4. CS/II gid acterrafRAPHICS? 6. WA 7. AA 8. SSBA 2* Rp Pci For Release 2001 /0O3t69 -CIA-RDP79T0"0826A000 410001-1P/A Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 BEST COPY Available THROUGHOUT FOLDER Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 STATINTL Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Release 2001/03/'~CFDP79T00$6A000900410001-1 DISTRI1~UTION LIST INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM CATEGORY E - ROUTINE OCI Special Paper Notice No. _--Control No.~~ 18/ _ SUBJECT: n4epjgtk ' !tb ul Da t o .rises INTERNAL 1-6 DDI 18-22 OD/OCI STAFF 23,24 MCO DCI 25 D/( )NE 39 DCI Briefers DDCI 26 -28 PICL 40,41 INDICO EXEC. REG. 29--37 OPSCEN 25X1 C EXEC. DIR. 38 DD' Duty Ofcr. 42,43 D/NIPE 44 G. COUNS. 45 I. G. 46,47 DD/S&T 25X1A 48 DD/S&T 3gX]A 49-61 DDP 62 DIR 63,64 ONE 78 Chief, DD/OCR(COLLATERAL)-1 79-81 DIR/NPIC (LS/PID) -3 82 DDI/CGS -1 83 NMCC (OPSCEN) -1 84 DDI/RS -1 -2 -1 -1 -2 -1 COLLATERAL) -l: 65 ONE Reading Room 66-70 D/ORR (CSS) 71-75 D/OSI 76,77 D/OSI (SR/OCR) TIIE WHITE HOUSE Smith -5 Vice President -1 Gen. Maxwell Taylor -1 TREASURY USIA Fowler -1 Marks - 1 USIB (Distribution Point) 25X1A BROWN (AEC) NON-USIB Intelligence Distribution Points) Distribution Authorized by 2' 'k1 A To be released by-OW 30 J n* I 85 DDI -1 86 DDI -1 87-92 DDI -6 93 CIA -1 94 SA/R -1 95,96 CA/EUR 2~X1A 97,98 CA/MEA 99,100 CA/WH -2 101,102 CA/FE -1 103 CD/West -3 104-106 CS/Pres -2 107 ADMIN (VM) -1 108 25X1A 109,110 prig. Div -2 1.11,112 Orig. Br. -2 AID BeTl -l DEFENSE Ha nd-- NS -1 DIA (COLLATERAL) -44 Sullivan (FBI)-1 17Lv l.1VJ l 111O ? -OpiU y unnumbered Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79TOQ826A000900410001-1 C MEMO NO.: SUBJECT: 40-rou-Ps REQUESTED OR ORIGINATED BY: DISSEMINATION: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: CLASSIFICATION Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 OFFICE OF CURRENT INTELLIGENCE Approved For Rele a 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79TO08' A000900410001-1 I?C Y)REJCN DISSEM a';I"I2.~TON (WFJCF or CUPfE' TT INTELLIGENCE MEMO TIO.: 1586/66 JHJEC'I' Indonesian fi"wtt i G Soups I1EQUE TED OR ORIGINATED B": Self-initiated to provide a brief back ;round on the ro _c o" s udent and youth groups in the Indo- ne,,;ian nationalis-; mr,vcm 'nt and to assess the current status and alignments of t.lir, -na for groups now operating. i' TSSET' INATI?N: P -c ?. min try to DDI, D/OCI, and their ;;taf is . ADI)ITIONAAL COMMENTi : i D/OCI : Suggest routine internal and eternal disscminati,) 1 . f t) F Y!7r:I ;Iv DI SSEM .e. L .,,A LION Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 NO FO r y I Re a 20D 1 /( (P79T00A000900410001-1 INDONESIAN YOUTH GROUPS DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE 29 June 1966 No; 1586/66 Copy No. 2 GROUP I Excluded from automatic downgrading and d.c a~tiifi etion Approved For Release 2001/0 pJ79T00826A0009OO41OO - 614 INTELLIGENCE REFERENCE AID Approved For Rel a 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79TO0 A000900410001-1 This Document contains information affecting the Na- tional Defense of the United States, within the mean- ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited. Approved For Release 2001/03/09 : CIA-RDP79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Relbdse 2001&BCIP79T00'9+!'6A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM No. 1586/66 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Directorate of Intelligence 29 June 1966 Indonesian Youth Groups Non-Communist Indonesian student groups played a significant role in the massive purge of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) following the abortive Communist-oriented coup on 1 October 1965. They also helped create the climate which made pos- sible the subsequent curtailment of President Su- karno's power. In performing these functions, the student groups displayed an unprecedented degree of unity, and more normal divisive tendencies now are beginning to reassert themselves. Student and youth elements mirror their parent political and religious groups in their complexity and diversity; under normal circumstances, they cannot of them- selves be said to constitute a coherent, unified national political force. However, another national crisis could cause them to submerge their differ- ences again to push for specific common objectives. The purpose of this niemorandum is to provide a brief background on the role of student and youth groups in the Indonesian nationalist movement and to assess the current status and alignments of the major groups now operating. *Prepared by the Office of Current Intelligence Approved For Release 2M I 9T00826A000900410001-1 oprehlIr Approved For Ret ase 2001 CBLEP79T00W16A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM Background 1. Student and youth groups have been active in Indonesia since the early days of the preinde- pendence nationalist movement. Their significance increased during the Japanese occupation and the subsequent four-year struggle against the Dutch. After independence was achieved, they maintained themselves and even proliferated. 2. Most of these groups are affiliates of po- litical parties, and as such they reflect the three major orientations that are found in Indonesian political life--religion, nationalism, and socialism or Marxism. 3. Prior to October 1965, the three major Indo- nesian parties were the Moslem Nahdatul. Ulama (NU), the Indonesian National Party (PNI), and the Indo- nesian Communist Party (PKI). President Sukarno's gradual move toward the left facilitated the growth and influence of Communist and leftist national groups while moderate nationalist and religious groups found themselves increasingly on the defen- sive. In 1963 the move to the left greatly intensi- fied, and by mid-1965 only the army offered resist- ance--and that was relatively slight--to the nation's move into a Sukarnoized version of Communism. 4. Communist elements were deeply involved in the abortive coup of 1 October 1965, and the army used this involvement to justify a campaign to de- stroy the PKI. The most active support for the army's anti-Communist program came from the reli- gious--predominantly Moslem--youth and student groups. Sometimes spontaneously and sometimes with army encouragement, youth and students demonstrated or took physical action against the Communists, Com- munist Chinese installations, and the Overseas Chi- nese community. 5. By December 1965 the PKI and its front groups, including the Communist youth front, Pemuda Rakjat, had been destroyed as overt national organi- zations. Army leaders and their supporters believed they should turn their attention to reorganizing the Approved For Release 2U-01/9,; 9T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Rel ase 200 18 U l F P79T0 6A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM government and attacking economic problems. Again the youth groups were in the forefront in dramatizing the need for reform. In March 1966 the students briefly emerged as a highly significant political force, having been a major factor in preparing the way for army demands to Sukarno which, in turn, re- sulted in a reorganization of the government. 6. The unity that characterized the anti-Communist student movement from October through March, however, now is giving way to internal dissension and fragmen- tation. With the PKI rendered ineffective and the government at least partially reorganized, anti-Com- munist elements are thinking in terms of strengthening their respective roles within the general political movement. Dissension appears to have begun within the youth movement and is spreading into the political parties themselves. 7. Present disputes both within and among youth groups and political parties are fragmenting the sup- port available to military and civilian government leaders and complicating their task of recasting Indo- nesian domestic and foreign policy. Present domestic complexities, however, are likely to characterize the Indonesian scene for the foreseeable future. Major Student and Youth Groups 8. The following is a descriptive list of today's major youth and student organizations, grouped accord- ing to their religious, nationalist, or socialist orientations. It attempts to show those groups that were important after the coup attempt and their major activities, and points out the present sources of contention which are causing realignment of loyalties, revival of old antagonisms, and intraparty feuding, factors which have always been. much a part of Indo- nesian political life. For the most part membership figures have been omitted since there are few avail- able and they are often open, to question. NO FOREIG D Approved For Release 2001/ rTiNT00826A00090041 Approved For ReF a 2001/4ff&CD79T0DW6A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM NATIONALIST ORGANIZATIONS (Both KAMI and KAPPI, although drawing their strength from religious youth organizations, appear to regard themselves as nationally rather than re- ligiously motivated. Official guidance and support appear to have come from the army and from Deputy Prime Minister Adam Malik, one of Indonesia's tri- umvirs.) KAMI--University Students Action Command ("Kesatuan Aksi azasiswa Indonesia"). This is a confederation of Indonesia's university student groups which grew out of the anti-Communist movement following the 1 October incident and appears to have been organ- ized in December 1965. It has a rotating leadership; the present secretary general is Kosmos Batubara, who is also chairman of The Catholic University Students Association. The bulk of KAMI membership is made up of Moslem and Catholic elements. KAMI proved to be quite effective in the Dja- karta area but less so in Central and East Java owing to the pro-Sukarno and pro-leftist sympathies of police and army units in the area. It now has been generally accepted that KAMI in the Djakarta area had the early support and encouragement of the army, which protected KAMI demonstrations and supplied the students with certain small arms. Although the government's assessment of the hard-core membership of KAMI in February 1966 was only 7,500, the group was effective in rallying thousands of students and gaining the support of many labor and professional groups. President Sukarno banned the organization as of 26 February, but KAMI simply refused to accept this, and the ban did little to restrict its ac- tivities. Many members melded into the high school counterpart, KAPPI, and took a strong role in guiding its activities during this period. In the Surabaja area, following the ban, KAMI elements formed the Progressive Revolutionary Students Co- operation Group (PRSCG) which was, in effect, merely Approved For Release 2069/C 79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Ret' wse 2001, C IEl P79T00 `6A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM a renaming of the organization. The only KAMI mem- ber group failing to participate was the local branch of the Christian ULii`er.sity Students Movement. On the whole, the PRSCG proved rather ineffectual in the face of strong opposition from the National Stu- dents Movement and the military. With the reorganization of the Indonesian cabinet and the downgrading of Sukarno in March, KAMI resumed activities under its own name. KAPPI--Secondary School Students Action Command ("Kesatuan Aksi Perhimpunan Perhimpunan Indonesia") is the high school counterpart of KAMI. It became particularly active when KAMI was banned, and it worked in close unison with moderate university stu- dent forces. The bulk of its membership, like that of KAMI, was made up of Moslem and Catholic forces. Although quite effective in carrying out its programs in the Djakarta area, it suffered the same diffi- culties as KAMI in Central and East Java in the face of military antagonisms, leftist, pro-Sukarno senti- ment, and competition from other. Moslem groups. It has recently suffered from an internal feud that threatened to spread throughout the entire student movement, affecting KAMI and other organizations as well. Factionalism was prompted in late May when a. proposal by the Islamic Students (.PII) for a perma- nent committee to govern KAPPI, rather than a ro- tating committee, was rejected, Other groups saw this proposal as a threat by a single Moslem group to take over the organization, On 25 May the PH was expelled from KAPPI on charges that it was trying to intimidate and dominate KAPPI. The situation was further aggravated by the arrest on 28 May of former KAPPI chairman Husni Thamrin, a member of the PH and a vehement anti- Sukarnoite. During this period PII was supported by the Moslem university student group and student affiliates of the National Party. ANSOR and Catholic factions stood in opposition, and the Protestant students took a neutral stand. Approved For Release 201 IT ~ 1 *9T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For ReF se 2001/X' W79T0O 6A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM Recent reporting has announced a settlement of the conflict, largely in favor of the PII. A char- ter of unity signed by member groups on 13 June reinstated Husni Thamrin as KAPPI chairman. GMNI--Indonesian National Students Movement ("Gerkan Mahasiswa Nasional Indonesia"). This :is the university students' affiliate of the Indonesian National Party (PNI). During the period following the attempted coup, the GMNI was aligned with the leftist, pro-Sukarno Ali-Surachman faction of the PNI, which brought it into direct confrontation with Moslem forces. Factionalism within the PNI led to a victory for the moderate Osa-Usep group, led by Osa Maliki and Usep Ranuwidjaja, and brought about a realign- ment of GMNI elements. A newly aligned GMNI in East Java split from the leftist faction of the PNI and pledged its support, within reason, to KAMI. On 24 May the GMNI formally renounced its affilia- tion with the leftist PNI, and on 25 May the new general chairman of the Surabaja branch, Imam San- toso, declared that "all GMNI members now are mem- bers of KAMI and support all KAMI programs and actions provided they benefit the people." However, the realignment of the GMNI is by no means completed. Die-hard leftist elements, ap- parently infiltrated by the PKI, are violently chal- lenging moderates in the Jogjakarta area where the issue is still centered around supremacy for Su- kgrno rather than party maneuvering for political advantage. This new deveLopment casts some doubt on how far the new GMNI leadership will be able to go. It is not completely loyal to KAMI, and its coopera- tion will probably always be limited, especially since KAMI in East Java is dominated by Moslem stu- dents. BANRA--The GMNI paramilitary organization, pre- sumably drawn from militant youth elements within the organization, They reportedly were armed and trained by leftist military units of the police and marines. Approved For Release 20t V/ &&"T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For ReIse 2981 rr79T00926A000900410001-1 Pemuda Pantjasila ("Youth of the Five Pillars") is the youth a i iate of IPKI, the Association of Supporters of Indonesian Independence, a minor po- litical party with strong army connections. The Pemuda Pantjasila was particularly active in PKI purges and anti-PKI and anti-Chinese demonstrations in North Sumatra after 1 October. At present it is in some danger of being eclipsed by other, more significant groups in the current scramble for political advantage. GERMINDO--Indonesian University Students Movement ("Gerakan Mahasiswa Indonesia"), is an affiliate of Partai Indonesia (Partindo), a party which has been Communist-penetrated almost since its inception in the 1950s. GERMINDO must be assumed to be similarly infiltrated. It was active through mid-March of this year during the period of Sukarno's brief come- back, and as late as May, its East Java headquarters appears to have been a center for clandestine PKI activities in that area. In mid-May the East Java Partindo and GERMINDO were banned. Members will pre- sumably work with Communist youth to develop an underground organization. NO FOREIGN DISSEM Approved For Release 2001 LW R 0P79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For R se 200,V. 3~ CE6-WDP79T00 16A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM ANSOR--The youth affiliate of the Nahdatul Ulama (NU) Party, the Moslem Scholars' Party. Al- though active throughout Java and North Sumatra, it has most of its strength in East Java, where it has taken a strong anti-PKI., anti-Chinese position. Before 1 October, ANSOR took a far more forthright anti-Communist position than did its parent or- ganization, the NU, which has a long record of opportunism. ANSOR youth elements participated in and some- times led the bloody purges of the PKI in East Java. They also took advantage of the situation to move against other opposition elements, including mem- bers of the leftist faction of the National Party (PNI). The bloodbaths antagonized marine (KKO) and police (Mobrig) elements in the area,,since members of these units were strongly pro-Sukarno and many had relatives in the PKI and PNI who were lost in the purges. Military support for leftist nationalists in the area has added to present complexities in East Java. In recent weeks ANSOR has been feuding with other Moslem youth groups. If it follows the lead of the NU it can be expected--particularly in East Java, an area of strong pro-Sukarno sentiment--to swing more in line with this sentiment as one means of maintaining an ascendancy over other Moslem organi- zations. BANSER--The NU's paramilitary organization, pre- sumabTy drawn from militant elements of ANSOR. It has been principally mentioned as active in East Java and North Sumatra. HMI--Moslem University Students Association ("Himpun'an Mahasiswa Islam")--is a leading member organization of KAMI, the confederation of university student organizations. The student affiliate of the banned Masjumi Party, HMI retained its legality and has maintained an effective organization. Its strong anti-PKI position never led it to the extremes of ANSOR. NO FOREIGN DISSEM Approved For Release 20011jfLJDP79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Release 2004RIEWDP79T026A000900410001-1 NO FOREIGN DISSEM HMI elements have been most effective in the Djakarta area where they have been a guiding force in general student activity. They have been active but relatively ineffective in Surabaja, East Java. Countered by ANSOR and the leftist sympathies of marine and police units in that area, they have been forced into competitive tactics and have been unable to concentrate on their own objectives of political and economic reform. In May and June the HMI found itself involved in a dispute over control of KAPPI, the confedera- tion of high school students, and has sided with its high school counterpart, the PII. PII--Islamic Students of Indonesia ("Peladjar Islam Indonesia")--is the still-legal high-school- student affiliate of the banned Masjumi Party. It is the largest and one of the most militant of high school groups and--until its expulsion last May-- was the largest single group within KAPPI, the con- federation of high school student organizations. Following its expulsion, clashes--involving kidnapings and beatings--between its members and ANSOR youths threatened the entire moderate sttident movement with factionalism. Masjumi affiliates, supported by IPKI, an army-supported political party, backed the PH while NU and Catholic-elements stood in opposition. The moderate Osa-Usep faction of the PNI, sympathetic to the Masjumi elements, refrained from taking an active stand. It remains to be seen just how effective the present settlement will prove to be. PKRI--Catholic Students Association of the Republic of Indonesia ("Perhimpunan Katholik Republic Indo- nesia"). The high school affiliate of the Catholic Party (PK), it forms one of the larger and more in- fluential groups within KAPPI and, along with the Moslem students, was instrumental in leading the protest activities in Djakarta. Sukarno accused both it and the HMI of being dupes of the US Central Intelligence Agency and threatened both groups with dissolution. Despite the fact that NO FOREIGN DISSEM Approved For Release 2001/QtVv" lP79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Reiedse 2W f44ff9T0*'26A000900410001-1 the, Catholic Party is a minor party in Indonesian politics, the PKRI and its university counterpart wield an influence on the student scene out of proportion to that of their parent organization. PMKRI--Catholic University Students Association of the Republic of Indonesia ("Perhimpunan Mahasiswa Katholik Republik Indonesia")--is the university affiliate of the Catholic Party and one of the stronger elements within KAMI. It is especially strong in West Java where, along with other moderate and rightist student movements, it enjoyed military sympathy and tacit military support. Its chairman, Kosmos Batubara, is also currently secretary general of KAMI. GMKI--Christian University Students Movement ("Gera an Mahasiswa Kristen Indonesia")--is an af- filiate of the Indonesian Christian Party (Parkindo), a minor party in Indonesian politics, and the party of the Protestant Christian minority. The GMKI, while a member organization of KAMI, failed to take any effective role in that organization. It partici- pated in anti-Communist Djakarta demonstrations during the early post-October period but has been considerably less active since then. In other parts of Indonesia it had even less influence than in Djakarta. NO FOREIGN DISSEM Approved For Release 5BLOW-Y _ P79T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Reuse 20 IG j9T0e'26A000900410 001-1 SOCIALIST/MARXIST ORGANIZATIONS CGMI (banned)--Concentration of Indonesian Uni- versity Students Movements ("Consentrasi Gerakan Mahasiswa Indonesia")--is controlled by the PKI. Most of its members are believed to be non-Communist, but it is suspected of having been a proving ground for young Communists and an active recruiting arm for new members. It was banned early in 1966; many of its overt activities were taken over by GERMINDO. Since 1 October, the CGMI has proved most effec- tive in East Java where marine and police units were sympathetic to the leftist position. Pemuda Rakjat (banned)--Peoples Youth--is the youth affiliate of the PKI. Before 1 October, it was active in leading demonstrations and infiltrating other student organizations. After the coup it ap- parently lost a sizable number of its members in the Army-Moslem purges of the party and its front groups. It was officially banned in March along with the PKI and other front organizations. Many of its mem- bers reportedly went into the CGMI and GERMINDO. At its peak, Pemuda Rakjat claimed three million members. It is now said to be developing an under- ground organization. Approved For Release 200 9T00826A000900410001-1 Approved For Rele 2001/039 C&'RDP79T008000900410001-1 Approved For Release 2001/03ft6-P79T00826A000900410001-1