Chronography of Indonesia
Page last modified 10 January
2023
For events of World War Two in Pacific,
S E Asia, see China-Japan-Korea
See also South-East Asia
Box Index
4.0, Timor L�Este gains independence
1999-2002 (see also Suharto 1967-1999)
4.0(a), President Adbrurrahman Wahid,
1999-2001
2.0, Attempted Communist takeover of
Indonesia, 1965-66
1.0, Assertive Indonesian Nationalism,
1955-1963
0.0, Indonesian struggle for
independence, 1945-49
-1.0, Dutch government colonisation,
1799-1927
-2.0, Dutch VOC colonisation, 1502-1799
2006, Timor L�Este reached an agreement with Australia over exploitation of oil
and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.
9
July 2006, Jose Ramos
Horta was nominated as Prime Minister of Timor L�Este.
26
June 2006, Mar� Alkatiri
resigned as Prime Minister of East Timor after weeks of political unrest.
2005, A peace
agreement was made between the Indonesian government and the Aceh
secessionists (GAM).
GAM
disarmed and the Indoensian Army withdrew from Aceh.
1 October 2005, The resort of Bali was bombed by terrorists.� 26 were killed and 100 injured.
18 July 2005, The European Union was planning
an operation to monitor the peace process in Aceh, Indonesia.
2004, Former
General, Susilo
Bambang, won the first ever Indonesian elections to choose a
president directly.
26 December 2004, A very large earthquake struck the
floor of the Indian Ocean just off Aceh Province, Indonesia. It was estimated
as magnitude 9.3 on the Richter Scale, and shifted parts of the sea bed
vertically by ten metres. It caused a very large tsunami to sweep across
the Indian Ocean, causing at least 165,000 casualties. In January 2005 the
Indonesian government raised its death toll to 166,320, bringing the total
estimated number of casualties to 232,010. The confirmed death toll on 18/1/05
stood at 162,705, including 115,229 from Indonesia, 30,920 from Sri Lanka,
10,714 from India, 5,291 from Thailand, 298 from Somalia, 82 from the Maldives,
68 from Malaysia, 10 from Tanzania, 2 from Bangladesh, and 1 from Kenya. The
secretive military regime in Burma reported just 90 deaths, a suspiciously low
figure. Many tourists from Europe, who had been on winter holidays, died, including
at least 400 Britons (possibly 2,000 Britons).
2003, Peace
talks between Indonesia and the Aceh secessionists broke down, and the
Indonesian army began an offensive.
4.0, Timor L�Este gains independence 1999-2002
(see also Suharto 1967-1999)
12 October 2002. A large
bomb hit the Sari nightclub in Bali, a popular holiday destination for
Australians and other Westerners, and the only Hindu island in the otherwise Muslim
republic of Indonesia. 202 died and over 300 were injured, mostly Australian
tourists. Al Qaeda, the organisation which hit the USA on '9-11', 2002, was blamed.
Australia had been instrumental in helping East Timor to achieve
independence from Indonesia, and the decadence of Bali did not fit with Islamic
ideals.
20 May 2002, East
Timor became independent from Indonesia, under President Gusmao. It had been a Portuguese colony, whereas the west of Timor,
along with the rest of Indonesia, had been a Dutch colony until gaining
independence in 1949. The Portuguese retained East Timor until 1975, when, with
majority support, the Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independente, or Fretelin, a Leftist organisation, took
control. Indonesia then invaded the former colony, and east Timor was declared
the 27th province of Indonesia in July 1976. However the UN refused to recognise
Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor, instead continuing to regard it as a
Portuguese colony. In 1991 pro-independence demonstrators were massacred by the
Indonesian Army in Dili, attracting international condemnation. Guerrilla
warfare between Indonesia and Timor independence fighters continued until 1999,
when Indonesia agreed to a plebiscite offering East Timor a choice between a
special autonomous regime within Indonesia or independence. There was a large
majority for independence, and President Xanana Gusmao, leader of Fretilin, became President of the newly independent state.
4.0(a), President Adbrurrahman Wahid, 1999-2001
23 July 2001, President Wahid
was removed, amidst allegations of corruption and incompetence; Megawati
Sukarnoputri
became the 5th President of Indonesia.
29/1/2001, Thousands
of student protestors stormed the Indonesian Parliament building to demand the
resignation of President
Adburrahman Wahid due to corruption scandals.
1999, Free elections in Indonesia were
won by the opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. Adburrahman Wahid elected
President, and Megawati
became Vice-President. Wahid offered Aceh greater autonomy.
20
September 1999, Timor L�Este appealed
for help from the international community.
30 August 1999, In a
referendum, East Timor voted for indeoendence from Indonesia. Pro-Indonesian
militias then went o the rampage, with the connivance of the Indonesian Army,
until UNH peacekeepers arrived on 20 September 1999.
21 May 1998, President Suharto of Indonesia resigned as the country�s economy worsened and civil unrest grew. 21
May 1998, Thursday (+19,371) President Suharto of Indonesia resigned as the
country�s economy worsened. He had ruled since 1967. He was replaced by Bacharuddin Habibie.
1997, Economic recession hit Indonesia, and the Rupiah plummeted. Indonesia
was also hit by smog from large forest fires.
1996, Timor�s exiled resistance
leader, Jose Ramos Horta, and the Bishop of Dili, Carlos
Belo,
were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, thereby raising global awareness of
the Timor secessionist movement.
1993, Timor secessionist
leader Gusmao was imprisoned for life by an
Indonesian Court. In 1994 the Indonesian military held talks with him in prison
on the possibility of a Unuted Nations referendum on independence.
1992, Fretilin
independence leader Jose Xanana Gusmao was captured near Dili.
17 October 1992, Hermann Johannes, Indonesian
politician and independence fighter against the Dutch, died.
1991, Indonesian troops
opened fire on a crowd of funeral mourners in Dili, killing at least 50.
1991, Indonesia agreed
to allow a delegation from Portugal to visit East Timor, however the vist was
cancelled at the last minute when Indonesia objected to a member of the
delegation.
1989, Indonesian Foreign Debt reached US$ 50 billion. Western credit was
offered on conditions of domestic austerity measures and coincessions to
Western companies.
1988, Suharto re-elected for a 5th term.
1986, Fretilin and UDT
agreed to co-ordinate their resistance efforts against Indonesia.
1984, Muslim
protests in Jakarta.
1979, Indonesia began implementing the Transmigrasi
(Transmigration) Project. Over 2 million people were moved from overcrowded
Java to less densely populated islands. This
would change the ethnic makeup of the region; whereas Indonesia is 90% Miuslim,
East Timor is 90% Catholic.
7 December 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor. See 28/11/1975. The United
Nations Security Council called on Indonesia to withdraw from East Timor. On 17
July 1976 East Timor was declared the 27th
province of Indonesia. Portugal broke off diplomatic relations with Indonesia.
28/11/1975, Portuguese Timor declared independence from Portugal, as East Timor.
See 7 December 1975.
16 October 1975,
Indonesian forces on a raid into Portuguese Timor killed 5 Australian-based journalists.
11 August 1975, Mario Lemos
Pires, Governor of Portuguese
Timor, was forced to abandon the capital, Dili, due to civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
15/1/1974, Riots in Jakarta, Indonesia, in protest at
a visit by the Japanese Prime Minister.
1971, Student protests against government corruption.
3 July 1971, The first
elections in Indonesia for 16 years. The incumbent government won a clear
victory.
21 June 1970, Achmed Sukarno,
President of Indonesia, died aged 69.
18 September 1968, Indonesia claimed sovereignty over most of Sabah. On
19 September 1968 Malaysia withdrew its diplomats from Manila.
1967, Indonesia played a leading role in the formation of
Asean, the Association of South East Asian Nations.
22/2/1967, Suharto
replaced Sukarno
as President of Indonesia. Indonesia rejoined the United Nations.
25 October 1966, A military court in Jakarta sentenced Indonesia's ex-foreign minister Subandrio to death, on charges of being involved in the 30 September Movement.
The sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on the intervention of the
British government.
11 August 1966. Malaysia and Indonesia ended a 3 year war.
2.0, Attempted
Communist takeover of Indonesia, 1965-66
16 March 1966, Anti-communist demonstrations in Indonesia.
12 March 1966, General Suharto
assumed power in an army coup in Indonesia. He forced Sukarno,
held under armed guard in the Presidential Palace, to sign an order giving him
executive authority Suharto swiftly moved to annihilate the Communist Party,
resulting in a massacre of between 250,000 and 500,000 people. Not only
Communists were killed, but also many ethnic Chinese, who had gained a powerful
economic position in Indonesia.
1 October 1965, General Suharto
quickly took control of the insurrection and now proclaimed the Communist Party
(which Sukarno
had relied on as a counterweight to the Army) as guilty for the rebellion.
Within a few weeks the extermination of the PKI (Communists) had begun. The PKI
had been the largest Communist Party in the world outside Russia
and China, with 3 million members.
30 September 1965, A group
of middle-ranking Army officers in Indonesia seized power, led by Lieutenant-Colonel
Untung of Sukarno�s Presidential Guard. They killed several top
Generals and took President Sukarno to an airbase near Jakarta
where they proclaimed a Revolutionary Council.
7/1/1965. Indonesia
left the United Nations, under President
Sukarno. This was in protest at Malaysia becoming a Security Council
member.
1965, The alliance between the PKI (Communist Party of Indonesia)
and the military ended.
1963, President Sukarno made himself �President for
life�.
1.0, Assertive Indonesian
Nationalism, 1955-1963
31 October 1963, Britain
suspended aid to Indonesia.
1 May 1963, Indonesia
took control of the Netherlands New Guinea province from UN administration, and
renamed it Irian
Jaya, and also announced a policy of �konfrontasi� with Malaysia.
15 August 1962, The
Netherlands agreed to hand over Irian
Jaya (West Papua) to Indonesia after a transition period asministered
by the United Nations.
1960, Indonesia�s Land
Reform Bill limited land holdings to a maximum of 7.5 hectares, breaking up
the old large estates. Tenant farmers bought the smallholdings they had
previously rented.
1960, President Sukarno suspended parliament, making
himself dictator.
9/2/1959. The UK
supplied arms to Indonesia. There were fears of Communist takeover, from
Vietnam.
31 December 1958, President
Sukharno proclaimed a state of Emergency in Sumatra. Western Sumatra had attempted to secede
5 December 1957. All Dutch
nationals were expelled from Indonesia.
3 December 1958. Indonesia
nationalised Dutch businesses.
3/2/1958, Indonesian President
Sukarno took over and nationalised the assets of oil company Royal
Dutch Shell imn his country.
4 August 1956, Indonesia
repudiated its debts to The Netherlands.
3 March 1956, Harahap
took control of the Indonesian government.
11 August 1955. Muslim right
wing government took over in Indonesia.
20 September 1953, Tengku Daud Beureh, Military Governor of Aceh
(Achin, Atjeh) province, began a rebellion against Indonesia. The province,
mainly Muslim, did not wish to be part of the new Indonesian State under President
Sukarno. Guerrilla warfare continued until a ceasefire was arranged
in 3/1957, wich Achin being granted autonomy in areas of religion and local
law. Other Indonesian islands also sought greater autonomy.
1950, Chancellor
Suomokil declared the Moluccas Islands independent. The Indonesian
Army quickly suppressed the secessionist movement.
0.0, Indonesian struggle
for independence, 1945-49
28 December
1949, Ahmed Sukarno, aged 48, leader of the Indonesian Nationalist Party, arrived in Batavia
(Djakarta) to take up residence on the former Dutch Governor�s Palace.
Since the end of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in 1945, Sukarno had
fought hard for independence from the Netherlands.
27 December 1949. The Netherlands recognised the independence of
Indonesia.
16 December
1949, Ahmed Sukharno was elected President of
Indonesia.
15 December
1948. In Indonesia,
Dutch troops seized Jakarta.
10/1948, The Madiun Rebellion in the Philippines was fiercely suppressed by
Dutch forces. The rebellion was started by the PKI (Partai Komunis Indonesia),
the Communist
Party of Indonesia. The PKI disagreed with other Indonesian forces as to
the final path towards independence. The defeat of the PKI paved the way for
greater US support
for independence, which persuaded the Dutch to withdraw in 1949.
26/4/1948, South
Molucca declared independence from Indonesia.
3 August 1947, Ceasefire
in Indonesia between Dutch troops and Indonesian nationalists took effect.
1 August 1947. The UN
Security Council asked for a ceasefire in Indonesia.
20 July 1947. Dutch
troops attacked Indonesian forces in Java.
29/11/1946, The last
British troops, who had been assisting the Dutch colonial government in
Indonesia, now left as Indonesia prepared for independence.
17/11/1945, Sukarno
became de facto leader of Indonesia
15/11/1946, In
Indonesia the Dutch signed the Cheribon Agreement, recognising that Indonesia
would be granted independence.,
8/11/1945, British
commander E.C. Mansergh ordered all Indonesians to surrender their arms by 6
a.m. Saturday or face �all the naval, army and air forces under my command�. That
night President
Sukarno of the unrecognized Indonesian Republic appealed to President
Truman and Prime Minister Attlee to intervene in the conflict
to prevent bloodshed.
17 August 1945, Indonesia was proclaimed an
independent republic, under Dr Sukarno,
after its liberation from Japanese forces.� The PNI (Indonesian Nationalist Party)
proclaimed a Republic in the city they called Jakarta, and the Dutch called
Batavia.� The Dutch and the PNI began
fighting.
1942, Japanese forces occupied Indonesia, until 1945. For more events
of World War Two in the Pacific see Japan.
-1.0, Dutch government colonisation, 1799-1927
4 June 1927. In
Indonesia, Ahmed
Sukarno founded the Indonesian Nationalist Party.
12/11/1926,
Nationalist revolt against Dutch rule in Java, Indonesia.
3 December 1918, Abdul Haris
Nasution, Indonesian general, was born (died 2000).
1910, Dutch colonial control now extended fully to the
more remote islands of the Indonesian archipelago.
1907, End of the Achinese
War 1873-1907. The Dutch finally gained control of Aceh. They had mounted a
military expedition to pacify the area in 1873, and after prolonged conflict,
in 1903 the Sultan of Aceh, Muhammad daud, signed a treaty recognising Dutch
soivereignty. However guerrilla warfare sontinued, with the Achinese people
refusing to acknowledge Dutch rule. The Dutch established secuere bases for
their troops in Aceh and from these�
finally won control by 1907.
5/4/1904, Dutch
troops defeated rebels in Sumatra, Indonesia.
6 June 1901, Sukarno,
President of Indonesia, was born (died 1970).
1882, The Dutch occupied northern Bali, overthrowing the
Madjapahit rulers.
10 August 1845, British
naval forces destroyed a pirate�s lair on the Maradu River, Borneo, which had
previously harassed British shipping.
1830, Dutch colonisers implemented the �Culture System�,
forcing the cultivation of commercial crops for export in Indonesia.
28 March 1830, A
rebellion in Indonesia against Dutch rule ended with victory to the Dutch. This
day the Indonesian rebel leader, Diponegoro ceremonially surrendered his kris
(dagger) to the Dutch Governor, Hendrik Merkus de Kock.
1825, The Java
Wars began; an unsuccessful indigenous attempt to end Dutch colonial rule.
Conflict was over by 1830.
1799, The VOC
Charter expired; the Dutch Government took control of the colony of
Indonesia.
-2.0, Dutch VOC colonisation, 1502-1799
1799, The VOC
Charter expired; the Dutch Government took control of the colony of
Indonesia.
1660, Celebes became a Dutch colony.
1646, Death of Sultan Agung, ruler of the Mataram Kingdom from 1613. The Mataram
Kingdom became priominent in the early 17th C as it waged military
camapaigns to expand its territory. However it then came up against the Dutch
colonisers. Under Agung�s incompetent son, Amangkurat I, Mataram came close
to toal collapse as internal rivalries tore its government apart. Finally,
Mataram was divided under the Giyanti
Settlement of 1755.
1609, The VOC� (Dutch East India Company) founded
Batavia (now Jakarta).
1602, The VOC established a monopoly over the
regional spice trade.
1520, Dutch colonisers established a
post on Timor.
1502, Dutch colonisers arrived at
Ternate, and gained control of the clove trade.
1300s, Islamic principalities began to emerge
along the sea lanes and coastal areas of Indonesia.
1293, The Sri-Vijaya Empire Empire was replaced by the Hindu-Buddhist Java-based
Majapahit Empire.
1100s, Islam began penetrating the Indonesian Archipelago.
700, The Buddhist Sumatra-based Sri Vijaya Empire was becoming prominent; the earliest-known Indonesia
kingdom.
100 CE, Earliest known contacts between
India and the peoples of Indonesia.