History of All Places in the World

Bali History-Indonesia

2013-02-12T21:04:00.001-08:00

Sri Kesari Warmadewa was considered to be founder of the Warmadewa dynasty which ruled Bali for more than 350 years. The most well known ruler from this dynasty was the King Udayana Warmadewa who married the great-granddaughter of the king of East Java. Her name, Gunapriya Dharmapatni comes before that of her husband in documents. This may be because she had a higher status than him and may have been more powerful, she.brought about a Javanization of the Balinese court. After 989 AD royal decrees were written in Old Javanese. It is thought that she introduced Tantric rites and sorcery to Bali, beliefs which are still evident in witches and witchcraft.

Udayana had two sons, Erlangga (sometimes spelt Airlangga) and Anak Wungsu inherited the right to rule. Airlangga was sent to Java and worked for his grandfather in East Java. He succeeded in uniting East Java, ruling it from 1037 to 1049, while Anak Wungsu ruled Bali. The last king of this dynasty was King Adidewa Lancana who was conquered by King Kertanegara from the Kingdom of Singasari in East Java in 1286. Kertanegara was murdered in 1292 and Bali was independent again for another 50 years.

The fall of Singosari Empire after Kertanegara assaination was followed by the rise of the new dynasty of Majapahit. Gajah Mada, the grand vizier of majapahit was sent to Bali in 1343 to subjugate the King Astasura Ratna Bumi Banten of Balinese Pejeng Dynasty. after Gajah Mada conquered Bali, a young Brahman nobleman, Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan was appointed King of Bali and a colony of Javanese settlers was dispatched. He founded a dynasty that would last until the 20th century. Kepakisan was born a Brahman, but had to change his status to a Satria, in order to rule. It is noteworthy that caste can be changed. He had the full support of Javanese administrators, who were located strategically throughout the island. Kapakisan subdued most of Bali but there were a few areas that were difficult. He asked Gajah Mada for help. He sent his powerful, magical kris, Ki Lobar, and at the sight of it, the last two areas of opposition, Pejeng and Bedulu, were defeated.

When Sri Aji Kresna Kapakisan died, his eldest son became the king, but he was weak and was replaced by his younger brother, I Dewa Ketut Tegal Besung, who moved the court to Gelgel, near Klungkung, on the southeast coast in 1383 and founded the Gelgel dynasty. Gelgel became an artistic centre. He died in 1460 and was succeeded by his son, Waturenggong, and the court flourished.

Over in Java, in the late 15th century, disputes sparked off civil wars and the Majapahit Empire was declining. Islam had entered through Sumatra in the 13th century and at the beginning of the 16th century was making headway in the coasts of Java. They pressed inland and dealt the Empire a fatal blow between 1515 and 1528. The aristocracy, priests, jurists, artists, artisans and those unwilling to be islamised moved to the easternmost parts of Java and Bali. The descendants of the former vassal Balinese kings stayed in power and eased the process.

King Waturenggong succeeded in integrating the aristocracy and the people. The empire extended beyond Bali to include parts of East Java, Lombok and Sumbawa and there was peace and prosperity.

Government, caste and religion were reformed under King Waturenggong’s priestly teacher and poet, Nirartha, who came from East Bali in 1537. He travelled throughout Bali and went to Lombok and Sumbawa and established many temples. He concentrated on rituals connected with death, soul purification, weddings, pregnancy, birth and maturity and is responsible for the supremacy of the Siwa cult and the Brahman priests. Nirartha is regarded as the father of all Brahmans.

With King Waturenggong’s death around 1558, the Golden Age went into rapid decline. There were tremendous rivalries, much scheming and inevitable decay. This state of affairs continued for about 100 years until eventually a new king, Dewa Agung Jambe came to power.

Gelgel seemed to have lost its power and was polluted spiritually, so the capital was moved to neighbouring Klungkung. The Gelgel period is therefore roughly 1400 - 1700 and the time of its dissolution was about the same time that the Dutch were becoming solidly established in the rest of the country.

Dewa Agung Jambe became the first king of Klungkung in 1686 and was known as Dewa Agung, a title inherited since then by all kings of Klungkung. For the next 200 years the Dewa Agung was the nominal, supreme king of Bali.

Allegiances were withdrawn from Gelgel and a number of tiny autonomous states grew up, ruled by powerful aristocrats, who claimed to be descendants of the nobles who accompanied Kapakisan from Java in 1343. They ruled as kings or princes. In the end Bali became nine small kingdoms: Karangasem, Badung, Mengwi, Gianyar, Tabanan, Buleleng, Bangli, Negara and Klungkung. Yet they all regarded Klungkung as the highest spiritual authority. These nine small kingdoms were constantly at war throughout 18th and 19th centuries and ended only when various kingdoms were forced to integrate into Netherlands East Indies in the early 20th century in bloody suicidal battles of Puputan.

In contrast to the violent and bloody campaigns to subdue the island, the Dutch colonial administration after Bali conquest can only be described as benign, even enlightened. Governance of the island was reorganized along the same hierarchical lines employed by the kings. In 1929, the former kingdoms of Bali were restored to their hereditary ruler as self governing territories in a grandiose ceremony at Besakih.

On 10 January Japanese invaded Dutch East Indies, Denpasar airfield was taken on 20 February, cutting communications with Australia and Indies. During the ensuing three years of Japanese occupation, while the rest of eastern islands were subject of oppressive arrogant control of Javanese Navy, the occupiers treatment of Balinese was comparatively indulgent, Balis population suffered critical food and medical supply shortages, while the islands transport system was almost totally disrupted.

On 17 August 1945, 11 days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Sukarno proclaimed Indonesia independence in Jakarta. Balinese militants moved to seize weapons from the Japanese. The subsequent war of independence against Dutch lasted for more than four years. After the Dutch left the Indonesian archipelago Bali become part of Indonesia.

Following the exit of Dutch came constant bickering between the military, secessionists, communists, conservatives, and religious fanatics. The new country experimented with a democratic constitution; cabinets turned over every six months. To stop the chaos, the President Soekarno declared in 1959 his policy of a Guided Democracy, involving the creation of national Council made up of members handpicked by himself. He declared the age-old Indonesian tradition of Mufakat, or decision through consensus, would best suit Indonesia as a method of decision-making. Political parties and legislative bodies were abolished. On Bali, the old power arrangements continued, with the various principalities converted into kabupaten and the rajas or members of their families assuming the office of mayor.

In the waning days of Soekarnos reign, conflict increased between the high caste capitalist class and communists pursuing more militant role in land reform and harvest-sharing policies. Balis governor, Anak Agung Bagus Suteja, increased the participation of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and other leftist in the islands administration and administrative bodies. The PKIs aggressive policy toward land reform understandably had tremendous appeal to landless peasants and poor tenant farmers. Land was seized unilaterally from which the landowners; landlord-employed thugs destroyed sharecroppers crops and razed their huts, government offices were burned, scuffles, and armed attacks broke out, religious ceremonies were disrupted. A full-scale civil war, drawn along class lines, was underway.

A serious of ominous natural catastrophes also weighed in: rat and mouse plagues, insect infestation, crop failures, and finally, the violent eruption of Gunung Agung in 1963. the mountain exploded during the holiest of Balinese ceremonies, Eka Dasa Rudra, a purification rite in which harmony and balance in people and nature are restored in all 11 directions. The ceremony, held only once every 100 years, was precipitously held some 10 years early at the behest of Sukarno, apparently to impress a convention of travel agents. Midway through opulent proceedings, Gunung Agung began to shower the whole area with ash and smoke, finally exploding in its violent eruption in 600 years. Earthquake toppled temples, hot ash ignited thatched roofs, volcanic debris rained upon the earth. As the molten lava moved toward them, Hindu priests prayed frantically, hoping to appease the angry gods, assuring the worshippers they had nothing to fear. In the end, 1600 Balinese were killed, 86,000 left homeless, and 100,000 hectares removed from production. A layer of hot choking dust lay over the whole island for a week, covering fields, houses, and streets. One-quarter of Bali was turned into black lava dessert.

Catastrophes, failure of crops, the uprooting of many villages, and forced evacuation of masses of people contributed substantially to the communal clashes and massacre of tens of thousands of Balinese during the purge of Indonesian communist in 1965 and 1966. Internal refugees poured into Denpasar and Singaraja where, together with large numbers of unemployed urban poor formed a restive, disaffected underclass ripe for mobilization by communist mass organizations.

Finally, all hell broke loose. On the night of 30 September 1965, six high ranking army leaders were kidnapped, tortured, and killed in Jakarta attempted coup detat, suppressed skillfully within days by a little known general named Soeharto, led directly to an archipelago bloodbath.

The Indonesian Communist Party was immediately banned, and Soekarno was forced to delegate wide powers to Soeharto. Mass arrests followed. On 8 october fanatical Muslim youths attacked and burned the communist party headquarters in Jakarta, initiating a bloody wave of anti-communist reprisals that rolled over Java and Bali, leaving whole villages devastated and in many cases obliterated. The killings on Bali started in earnest in December 1965 and soon began to take on dimensions of mass purgation, an essential exorcism of the island. Devout Balinese murdered godless communists whom they believed mocked their religion and threatened their pious way of life. In the witch hunt for communists old scores were settled and many noncommunists wiped out. Wealthy businessmen took advantage of the chaos to murder their Chinese or Balinese competitors

On Java the people had to be egged on to kill the communists; on Bali they had to be restrained. The trance of killings reached a fever pitch in 1966, when whole groups of Balinese were rounded up and slashed, clubbed, and chopped to death by communal consent. The purge in Bali became so indiscriminate commandos finally had to step in to store order. From then on the killing was coordinated by the military and police, working with civilian authorities to make sure only the right people were executed. Of the two million population more than 50,000 people were killed.

Soehartos pro-Western New Order ushered in a long period of relative stability and rampant capitalist development. On Bali, economic growth has been achieved by huge expansion in the tourist industry, which has transformed the southern part of the island. While there have been dramatic improvements in infrastructure, roads, telecommunications, electricity, and water supply; the downside has been displacement of local populations and disruption of many traditional communities.

The fall of Soeharto began in early 1997, South-East Asia began to suffer a severe economic crisis. A year later 76-year-old Soeharto was re-elected unopposed into a seventh five-year presidential term, much to anguish of Anti-Soeharto and pro-democracy activist. Soeharto then appointed his protegae, the 61-year-old Habibie, as vice president.

To help deal with the continuing crisis, Soeharto grudgingly agreed in May 1998 to International Monetary Funds demand to increase the government-subsidized price of electricity and petrol, resulting the in immediate increases in the cost of most public transport. The price of rice and other food staples also increased and the Indonesian-Chinese community, which owns many shops, bore the brunt of riots which broke out across Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan. Many students were killed during clashes with police, causing a seemingly unstoppable momentum of protests and looting across Java but none of the strife spilled over to Bali, although ferries from Java were temporarily cancelled by officials to ensure that Javanese protesters did not start troubles on Bali.

Soeharto resigned on 21 May 1998 after 32 years in power, and handed the presidency to Habibie. Habibie soon made a few encouraging moves, such as releasing political prisoners and arranging a democratic election. Abdurahman Wahid was elected as president, but his presidency did not last long, he was replaced by Megawati, daughter of Soekarno. In 2004 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected as President of Indonesia. ( Baliwww.com )

History of Borobudur

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Borobudur temple, the biggest Buddhist temple and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is full of story of life, built with great effort in fifty years.

The Borobudur Temple is considered as one of the seven wonders of the world. This temple is located at Borobudur District, South of Magelang, Central Java.

The expression of experts who had been studying Borobudur Temple varied someway. Bernet Kempers' expression was: “Borobudur is Borobudur”, meaning that Borobudur Temple is very unique in her own way. Nieuwenkamp (an artist) imaginated Borobudur as “a big lotus flower bud ready to bloom” which was “floating” on a lake. Nieuwenkamp’s imagination was supported by N. Rangkuti (1987) that from the air, the Borobudur Temple looks floating. From the geological studies, experts were able to prove that Borobudur area was one time a big lake. Most of the villages around Borobudur Temple were at the same altitude, 235 meters above the sea-level. The same altitude included the Pawon and Mendut temples. Thus the area under 235 meter altitude was below the lake water level.

Based on the inscription dated 842 AD, Casparis suggested that Borobudur was one time a place for praying. The inscription stated a phrase such as: “Kawulan i Bhumi Sambhara”. Kawulan means the origin of holiness, “bhumi sambhara” is a name of a place in Borobudur. Paul Mus stated that Borobudur Temple had the structure of stupa (conical form) with double expression. As a whole, the Borobudur Temple was an open-flat stupa, but on the other hand, the temple expressed the idea of a “closed world”. The latter expression could be felt when one is already inside the temple. Whenever person is inside the temple, his or her view will be limited to high walls full on relieves, the verandah is always squared in such a way that one could not see other parts of the temple, even in a same floor. The same feeling happened if one stood on arupadhatu round platform, he or she will have a wider view only on that level, but are not able to see the lower level nor the upper level like the one on rupadhatu and kamandhatu. It could be said that Borobudur is a symbol of cosmic mountain covered by the sky roof, a specific world that could be reached through isolated alleys as stages. The closed structural design of the temple expressed the concept of a closed world, not just a technical reasons as had been suggested by other experts ( Daud AT, 1987)

Borobudur was built by Sanmaratungga in the 8th century, and belongs to Buddha Mahayana. Borobudur was revealed by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1814. The temple was found in ruined condition and was buried.

The overall height was 42 meters, but was only 34.5 meters after restoration, and had the dimension of 123 x 123 meters (15,129 square meters). There were 10 floors. The first floor up to the sixth floor was square form, the seventh to the tenth floor were round form.

Borobudur is facing to the East with a total of 1460 panels (2 meters wide each). Total size of the temple walls was 2500 square meters, full of relief. The total number of panels with relief was 1212. According to investigations, the total number of Buddha statue was 504 including the intact and damaged statues. The temple undergone restoration from 1905 to 1910, and the last restoration was done in 1973 to 1983.

by http://borobudur7.tripod.com/id1.html

History of Medan Sumatra-Indonesia

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In 1590 Raja Guru Patimpus founded the settlement Medan Putri in the fertile lowlands between the rivers Sungai Deli and Sungai Babura. Between the end of the 16th century and early 17th century this area became a battlefield (medan perang) between the Aceh and Deli rulers. Medan was only a small village up to the 19th century. In 1823 it had a population of only 200 persons. After the arrival of the Dutch, Medan started to grow fast. In 1865 tobacco was introduced and Medan became a center for rich plantations. In 1886 it became the capital of what then was North Sumatra. In 1910, approximately 18.000 people lived here and ten years later 45.000. By the end of the Dutch rule, 1942, the population consisted already of 80.000 people. By that time it had become the richest and most productive area of the Dutch East Indies. Today there are almost three million inhabitants in Medan.

The Deli Sultanate

In the 16th century there was a kingdom called Aru, with its center where Deli Tua is now (South of Medan Town). In 1612 the famous Acehnese Sultan Iskandar Muda defeated Aru. The Acehnese appointed Hisyamsudin (later he changed name to Gocah Pahlawan) as their representative in this kingdom of East Sumatra. In 1632 Aceh established the Deli Kingdom and Tuanku Panglima Gocah Pahlawan became the first king. He died in 1669 and was followed by Marhum Kesawan who moved the center of the Kingdom to the location where Medan is now. The third king, Tuanku Panglima Padrap, (ruled 1698-1728) moved the kingdom to Pulo Brayan. The forth king, Tuanku Panglima Pasutan, (ruled between 1728-1761) moved the kingdom to Labuhan Deli. He organized the kingdom in four tribes, each led by a Datuk (a Malay title for high ranking persons). The fifth king, Tuanku Panglima Gandar Wahib, ruled in the period 1761-1805. During his time the Datuks increased their power.

The sixth ruler was Sultan Amaluddin Mengedar Alam, (ruled 1805-1850). The Siak Kingdom, during his years, became a stronger influence in Deli than the Acehnese Sultanate. The king was given the title Sultan. Sultan Osman Perkasa Alam ruled from 1850 to 1858. During his leadership the Deli sultanate became autonomous. Sultan Mahmud Al Rasyid Perkasa Alam (ruled 1858-1873) started the relationship with the Dutch, a relationship that became rather intimate. Sultan Ma’mun Al Rasyid Perkasa Alamsyah ruled from 1873 to 1924 when the tobacco trade expanded. He moved the kingdom to Medan and finished the construction of the Maimoon Palace in 1888. He also built the Grand mosque Al Mashum in 1907. He became known as the builder. Sultan Amaluddin Al Sani Perkasa Alamsyah (ruled 1924-1945) built harbors and commerce increased during this period. At the declaration of Indonesian Independence the Sultan recognized the sovereignty of the republic and was in return given an important function as administrator of Deli-Malay traditions and culture.

The Paris of Sumatra

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 meant strongly intensified traffic between Europe and the Far East. The Dutch started the shipping company ‘Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland’ that quickly expanded to 43 steamships in 1877. The English, however, had already 3.000 ships in those days. A journey from Europe to Indonesia took app. 40 days. After the opening of the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, Genoa in Italy became the new transit harbor for passenger ships. Now the journey only took 23 days and 20 hours to Batavia (Jakarta). The ships also became bigger and more comfortable. In 1890 Sabang (Aceh) became a bunker harbor. Belawan got its harbor in 1923. Before this, the exports were very dependent on British shipping. The shipping company Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM) was established for the purpose of shipping the valuable Deli tobacco, which was shipped over Batavia. This cargo was almost as valuable as gold and stringent rules regulated the handling. It was strictly forbidden to stow anything on top of the tobacco. The coolies were not even allowed to walk on it when they worked in the hatches.

Cleaning of roads in Medan was, until 1912, done by prisoners. After that free coolies got the job. In 1917 the authorities started to use horse drawn carts, equipped with brooms for the cleaning. In 1928 the horse drawn carts were replaced by motorized vehicles. The first newspaper was the ‘Deli Courant’, established in 1885. It did not appear daily. In 1898 the German Joseph Hallermann established the daily ‘De Sumatra Post’, which survived until 1939.

There were planters in Medan from many countries: England, the Netherlands, USA, France, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland. Many of them became very rich and led an affluent life style. Medan became known as the Paris of Sumatra. Still today, the area in downtown where the present airport is located, is called Polonia, a name given by a Polish aristocrat who once owned a plantation here. One area of Medan is still called Helvetia (the old name of Switzerland). This name was given by a plantation owner from Switzerland.

General History of Indonesia

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Indonesia was linked to the mainland Asia during the Pleistocene period approximately four million years ago. The first people (the Java Man) arrived during this period. The Archipelago was formed approximately 3.000-500 BC when the ice age ended and sea levels rose. The proto Malays (Caucasoid Malays) with a Neolithic culture arrived to Indonesia during this period. It was the first of two big waves of immigration. They assimilated with the indigenous peoples. The Bataks is one of the ethnic groups descending from these people. The second wave brought Noro Malays (more of a Mongoloid type) who carried bronze civilization from Indochina. Their descendants are today all over Indonesia. Both waves came from the same stock, but the first wave came in an earlier stage of civilization. Both waves mixed with earlier non-Malay immigrants.

There are very few records about the early history in Indonesia and not enough have been researched about the subject. Only the history of the coastal areas is partly known. The inland were unknown and there were not much exchange of contacts except for trade. Records of the time were made on palm leaves and other perishable material. In year 100 Indian scholars reported about a kingdom in Sumatra and Java called "Dvipantara" or "Jawa Dwipa". China sent envoys to Sumatra and Arabs and Persians traded in Sumatra. The Egyptian pharaohs bought camphor from Barus on the west coast. Even the Greeks mention Sumatra.

Around the 2nd century AD Indian traders brought in Hinduism to Sumatra. Hinduism spread only in parts of Sumatra, but had had a big influence on science and culture, for example the use of wet rice cultivation. In the 6th to the 13th century the Malay trading nation Sriwijaya in South Sumatra controlled Malacca Straits and the trade between India, China, and Indonesia.

The first Muslim ruler in Indonesia was Sultan Malek Saleh in Pasai, Aceh in the end of the 13th century. Both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta visited Pasai and North Sumatra in the 12th-13th century. In these period there was a kingdom called Aru in the area of present Medan. In 1350 the North Javanese Majapahit kingdom conquered the Pasai and Aru kingdoms. In the end of the 14th century Majapahit started to lose its power.

The Arabs expanded their trade considerably with Indonesia in the 14th century and Islam spread along the coasts of Sumatra. It was a new revolutionary concept that made all men equals. Islam also became an important concept for coastal areas in countering the threat of Portuguese and Dutch colonialism.

The Acehnese were traders and expanded their sphere of interest south and eastward. Aceh became an important trading power, but also a religious and educational center. See more under HISTORY OF ACEH.

In 1602 the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded and granted monopoly east of South Africa with a right to make war and peace. In 1694 the VOC had its first contacts with the Batak people around Lake Toba.

When France occupied Holland during the Napoleon war the British East India Company temporarily took over from VOC in Indonesia (1811-1816). Under this period Sir Stamford Raffles introduced partial self-government, abolished the slave trade, and introduced a modern land-tenure system. He even was the first European to visit the Borobudur temple in central Java. The Dutch, when they came back to Indonesia, intensified their colonial rule. But this sparked widespread revolts for freedom. The revolts were however suppressed one after the other. The London agreement between the Dutch and the English of 1824 had given the Dutch more free room in Indonesia and made them more aggressive.

In the 1820's Aceh began again to emerge as a commercial and political power. Aceh became the biggest black pepper exporter in the world. In 1858 the Dutch took Siak in North Sumatra through a treaty in order to prevent British interests from succeeding. They claimed the oil rich Langkat and Deli, infringing on Acehnese territory. Between 1870 and 1910 the Dutch tried to take complete control over all areas they claimed. This era was the height of their imperialism. Indonesia, or "The Netherlands Indies" was vital to the Dutch industrialization. In 1904 a Dutch military expedition takes control over the Batak region.

In 1861 European missionaries start spreading Christianity around Lake Toba. Tobacco cultivation is introduced in the Medan area in 1865. In 1871 the English and the Dutch sign the Treaty of Sumatra and The Dutch gets a free hand. In 1873 they declared war on Aceh. The Batak war begins in the same year and lasts until 1894. King Sisingamangaraja XII united all local Batak leaders and led the Bataks in the field. The war in Aceh became very expensive for the Dutch. Aceh was the richest, best armed and best organized opponent to ever face colonial expansionism. Aceh fell officially into Dutch hands in 1913 after heavy losses on both sides.

In 1906 rubber plantations with new varieties start to develop fast. The plant was brought in from South America to Java in 1876. In 1922 the new harbor Belawan starts to serve northern Sumatra. In February 1942 a revolt starts against the Dutch in North Sumatra and Aceh, with Japanese support. On March 1 the Japanese make an air raid on Medan. On March 28 the last Dutch force in Sumatra surrenders to the Japanese in Kutacane, Aceh. After World War II British troops land in Indonesia as a contingent of the Allied Forces to disarm the Japanese. Dutch troops came along with the British with the ultimate aim of regaining control of Indonesia. They landed in North Sumatra on June 10, 1945.

On August 17, 1945, Soekarno (1901-1970) reads a unilateral Declaration of Independence. This date is now the Indonesian National Day. On November 10, 1945, fighting broke out between British troops and the newly formed Indonesian Republic Army. The British turned to an all-out combat from the sea, air and land. The Indonesian forces had to withdraw from urban battles. Instead they formed guerrilla units. The Dutch sent in more troops to attack Indonesian strongholds. In February 1949 the Dutch were threatened by the Americans to be excluded from the Marshall plan, because of its war in Indonesia. A Round Table conference started in The Hague on August 23, 1949, under the auspices of the UN. On November 2 Holland recognized the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia. On December 27, 1949 the Dutch East Indies ceased to exist. On December 1949 the Dutch formally transferred sovereignty to Indonesia.

It is a popular belief that the Dutch ruled Indonesia for 350 years. However, most areas of present day Indonesia came under Dutch control in the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The Dutch built only limited infrastructures and were not very interested in educating the Indonesians. Their two major and lasting Dutch accomplishments in Indonesia were the introduction of a national language, Indonesian, and the formation of one nation, Indonesia. Considering how much they took, it is amazing how little they gave.

Before independence all of Sumatra was called "Gouverment Van Sumatra" headed by a governor sitting in Medan. In 1950 Sumatra was organized in three provinces where Aceh became incorporated under Medan. This led to a rebellion in Aceh in 1953. In 1957 Aceh became its own province, as once was promised before they joined the Republic.

In February 1958 a rebellion started in Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra. It called itself Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia (PRRI). They were joined by rebellions in Sulawesi and got training, weapons, and active involvement from CIA. They did however not get sufficient local support in North Sumatra and in Aceh. The foreign oil companies continued to pay their taxes to Jakarta. Later in 1958 the Indonesian army landed in Medan. They secured the oil fields and prevented a planned American intervention. The rebels were driven out of Medan on March 17 and a month later Padang and Bukit Tinggi were cleared. Only some guerilla fighting in remote areas continued. The American involvement badly hurt its relations with Indonesia and made the Indonesian communist party more popular. The Indonesian communist party became the biggest outside the communist world.

In 1965, after a failed communist coup attempt, Soeharto starts to squeeze out Sukarno and in 1967 he became the second president. Soeharto stabilized Indonesian politics with harsh methods and made the economy start growing. However, democracy was set aside, the economy came under domination by huge monopolies, and the corruption developed into extreme proportions. Civil law was paralyzed. In Aceh a rebellion was crushed and a martial law in the eastern and northern parts of Aceh was in force for 10 years until 1998. Soeharto politics finally lead to a total economic collapse in the beginning of 1998. Medan, like Jakarta and other major towns, was hit by riots that forced the president to step down.

In May 1998 the protégée of Soeharto, B.J. Habibie becomes president. In 1999 Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) becomes the new President with Soekarno's daughter Megawati Sukarnoputri as Vice President, appointed by a democratically elected parliament.
In Aceh martial law war once more broke out ian martial law was introduced once again in 2002. Not until after the Tsunami in the end of 2004, a peace accord could be worked out and finally signed in Helsinki. App. 120.000-150.000 people were killed by the tsunami in Aceh.

In 2004, in the first direct presidential elections ever, Megawati lost power to the present President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who also won the following election in 2009. Elections are held every fifth year and the next one is scheduled to 2014.

History of Java Island

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History of Java Island - The Javanese are mostly descended from migrants who settled the island in waves from about 4000 BC. Sawah - or wet rice - agriculture was developed gradually from 2000 BC, and trade with South India began as early as the 3rd century AD. It's believed that this contact led to the adoption of Hinduism in coastal kingdoms, while Southeast Asian Buddhism was also an influence and developed side by side with Hinduism, along with older beliefs.

In 732 AD the Hindu King Sanjaya founded the kingdom of Mataram, Java's first major political entity, which controlled much of central Java and built the Borobudur temple complex. By the 10th century, King Sendok's East Javanese kingdom was dominant; it was later extended by Airlangga and split into two, the eastern Janggara and the western Kediri, after his death.

Mongols invaded Java in 1292, bringing to the throne a new king, Wijaya, and a new kingdom, the Majapahit Empire, which would become the most powerful and famous of Javanese kingdoms until it fell in 1400. By which time Islam was making serious inroads, especially in coastal ports. Coinciding with Islam's rise was the arrival of the Portuguese in 1511, soon followed by the Spanish, British and Dutch.

In the course of the 17th century, the Dutch became increasingly militaristic and played their rivals off one another. By the early 19th century the Dutch had extended their influence over the sultanates of the interior and claimed Java as Dutch territory.

During the Second World War, in 1942, the island came under the control of Japanese. When the Japanese left the island in 1945, Sukarno proclaimed independence but the Dutch returned and an armed struggle ensued. Ultimately, Indonesia achieved independence in 1949.

by: http://chasmair.blogspot.com

Palace Green

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http://www.history.org/almanack/places/hb/hbpalgr.cfm

Nicholson plan called for space that reinforced power of colony's capital

Palace Green focuses eye and mind to source of executive authority

Green provided residents of official residence with view to the heart of community

Governor's Palace shared green with modest homes and businesses

Governor Gooch planted two rows of catalpa trees down the length of green

Community celebrations in honor of treaties and visiting dignitaries held here

Source of city pride among first places to be restored

Palace Green an important part of original Williamsburg city plan

When Governor Francis Nicholson drew the plan of Williamsburg in 1699, he arranged its streets and spaces with attention to the relationships of purpose and power in the colony's new capital. Thus the city's main north-south axis commands twice the breadth of its central east-west thoroughfare and rolls imperiously 900 feet to the gates of the Governor's Palace.

Focus of Executive Authority

Palace green was intended to focus the eye as well as the mind on the source of executive authority in Virginia and to provide the stately official residence at its head with an unimpeded vista to the heart of the community and beyond. In its progress from the College of William and Mary, Duke of Gloucester Street slips past the foot of the green at Bruton Parish Church and moves on to the Capitol.

At first the governor's residence shared Palace green with modest homes like the Brush-Everard House, with craftsmen's shops, with a tavern, and with America's first theater. Governor William Gooch improved appearances in 1737 by planting two rows of catalpa trees 100 feet apart down the length of the green.

Fine homes built on green in 18th century

After the middle of the 18th century, Palace green was further enhanced by the erection of such fine homes as Robert Carter's rambling residence and the George Wythe House. Still, piles of coal and slag stood in the foundry yard at the James Geddy House on the corner, lead was smelted beyond Mr. Wythe's house, and harnesses were made behind Elkanah Deane's home.

Community celebrations held on Palace green

Palace green was a likely location for celebrations like the one attending the renewal of a treaty of friendship with the Indians in 1752. The Virginia Gazette reported that after the "emperor and the Empress of the Cherokee Nation, with their son the young Prince" arrived, "several beautiful Fireworks were exhibited in Palace Street."

Restored green stands as originally intended

Always a source of city pride, the green nevertheless suffered some encroachment in the 19th century. Two schools rose on the grounds of the vanished Palace and a Victorian home cut off the vista at the southern end. Restoration of the area was among the first of Colonial Williamsburg's goals, and Palace green stands today as it was described in the 18th century – "a big lawn that forms a pretty avenue."

History of Aceh

2013-02-10T02:01:00.001-08:00

In the wake of East Timor's August 1999 referendum, hundreds of thousands have marched in support of a similar act of self-determination in the Indonesian region of Aceh, a region which also has endured decades of brutal military operations. Aceh is a province in Northern Sumatra, which, like most of Indonesia, is overwhelmingly Muslim. It has a population of around five million, and a long tradition of resistance to outside powers.

Islam likely first entered the Indonesian archipelago through Aceh sometime around the 12th century. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the port of Aceh became entangled, along with the rest of what now comprises Indonesia, in the European colonial powers' competition for worldwide political and economic dominance.

The British and Dutch were in competition for spices produced in Eastern Indonesia, for which Aceh was an international trading center. In an attempt to undermine Aceh's hold on the international spice trade, the British and Dutch carried their business (and rivalry) to West Java. After many parliamentary debates on the wisdom of attacking a sovereign state, in 1873 the Netherlands issued a formal declaration of war and invaded Aceh. One of their primary rationalizations for this aggression was to counter what they perceived as Acehnese piracy, especially attacks on trading ships. The Acehnese resisted occupation and fought a war of resistance which lasted intermittently from 1873 to 1942. The conflict was the longest the Dutch ever fought, costing them more than 10,000 lives.

In March 1942 Japan conquered the colonial forces in the Dutch East Indies. In August 1945, just days after the Japanese surrendered to the Allies, the Republic of Indonesia proclaimed its independence. Soon, however, both the British and Dutch were back in the region, though the Dutch did not return to Aceh.

Under the Linggarjati Agreement, mediated by Great Britain and signed by Indonesia and the Netherlands in March 1947, the Dutch recognized Indonesian sovereignty over the islands of Java, Sumatra, and Madura. Many Indonesians viewed the deal as a violation of Indonesia's independence proclamation of August 1945, which implied sovereignty over the whole territory of the Republic. The agreement sparked guerrilla fighting and led to another four years of violence and territorial disputes between the Netherlands and Indonesia.

Many Acehnese see the 1949 Round Table Conference Agreements as the first serious betrayal of their homeland. Brokered through the United Nations, the agreements provided for a transfer of sovereignty between the territory of the Dutch East Indies and a fully independent Indonesia. On December 27, 1949, the Dutch East Indies ceased to exist and became the sovereign Federal Republic of Indonesia, which in turn became the Republic of Indonesia when it joined the United Nations in 1950. The Kingdom of Aceh was included in the agreements despite not having been formally incorporated into the Dutch colonial possession. The Indonesian government then used armed troops to annex Aceh.

Although Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country, it is not an Islamic state. Most Acehnese have a less secular vision of Islam than Indonesians elsewhere in the archipelago, but compared to Iran, Afghanistan, and other more fundamentalist countries, Acehnese Islam tends to be relatively respectful of the rights of women. Its focus on community also stresses the importance of social and economic justice to an extent that runs contrary to Indonesian military hegemony.

The precursor to Aceh's independence movement began in the 1950s when the Darul Islam ("House of Islam") rebels on the major Indonesian island of Java tried to establish an Islamic state. The Acehnese lent support to this rebellion, which took years to crush.

In 1959, Jakarta gave Aceh "special territory" status, which ostensibly conferred autonomy in religious, educational, and cultural matters. In practice this policy ignored the two major complaints of the region's indigenous population: Javanese and foreign control of natural resources and a repressive military presence.

Resentment over those cruel realities contributed to the 1976 creation of the armed resistance group Gerekan Aceh Merdeka (GAM-Free Aceh Movement), which the TNI refers to as Gerombolan Pengacau Keamananan (GPK), or "gang of security disturbers." In the late 1970s, Indonesian authorities conducted mass arrests of Aceh Merdeka members and killed many of its leaders. The movement's leader, Hasan di Tiro, fled to Sweden in 1979 and created a government in exile.

After GAM re-emerged with broad popular support in the late 1980s, Jakarta officially declared the province a Military Operational Area (Daerah Operasi Militer, or DOM) and launched a counter-insurgency campaign code-named Red Net. The regional commander at the time spelled out his military's basic policies by saying, "I have told the community, if you find a terrorist, kill him. There's no need to investigate him ... if they don't do as you order them, shoot them on the spot, or butcher them." Amnesty International reported that between 1989 and 1992 about 2,000 people were killed by military operations in Aceh.

After international capitalism's "Asian financial crisis" and Suharto's downfall, Acehnese had high hopes for a new era of demilitarization and true democracy. Unfortunately the military proved unwilling to do much beyond make cosmetic changes: announcing an end to DOM status for Aceh on August 7, 1998, then Armed Forces Chief Wiranto said "although human rights violations took place, the soldiers were only doing their job of annihilating the armed security disturbers," and General Feisal Tanjung told reporters that accusations of TNI abuses were merely folk-tales.

Since Suharto's rise to power in the 1960s Aceh has been one of the archipelago's most profitable areas for international investment. The province includes most of Indonesia's liquid natural gas; Mobil Oil Indonesia heads the country's largest liquefied natural gas production project in Arun, North Aceh. In its report "A Reign of Terror, Human Rights Violations in Aceh 1998-2000," the U.K.-based Indonesia Human Rights Campaign TAPOL notes that "the extent to which DOM in Aceh provided government officials and military personnel with limitless opportunities to profit financially from this economically fertile region cannot be underestimated." Such vested interests will not be easily swayed by the soothing rhetoric of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, who has repeatedly promised more than he can deliver to the Acehnese people. On December 18, Wahid visited Aceh and called on military commanders not to be "an enemy of the people," but resistance activist Amni Achmad Marzuki responded, "We have heard him say this many times. Where is the implementation of those words? His military makes no effort to obey his orders."

The TAPOL report also notes that "The response of the security forces to the withdrawal for DOM can be divided into four phases, which more or less coincide with the different security operations launched." These are "intimidation, overt massacres, war of attrition and the return to shock therapy, and targeting of civilian activists."

That last phase is unfortunately still ongoing. In one of the more disturbing recent examples, Munarman, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) accused three policemen of being responsible for the December 6 murders of three activists from Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh (RATA). The three humanitarian workers were killed while helping victims of military violence in North Aceh.

As in West Papua, where a massive crackdown on a liberation movement and many thousands of civilians is also underway, the TNI and police seem to have learned one essential lesson from last year's vote in East Timor: keep out the international observers. Few reporters or international human rights activists have been allowed access to either area, making the plight of those under siege even graver. Such conditions are yet another reason the emergence of the Indonesia Human Rights Network is timely and necessary; please see related story on page 4 and contact IHRN for more information.

by www.etan.org

The Kabaa: Its Size and History

2013-02-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.soundvision.com/info/hajj/kaba.asp

The small, cubed building known as the Kaba may not rival skyscrapers in height or mansions in width, but its impact on history and human beings is unmatched.

The Kaba is the building towards which Muslims face five times a day, everyday, in prayer. This has been the case since the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) over 1400 years ago.

The Size of the Kaba:

The current height of the Kaba is 39 feet, 6 inches and total size comes to 627 square feet.

The inside room of the Kaba is 13X9 meters. The Kaba's walls are one meter wide. The floor inside is 2.2 meters higher than the place where people perform Tawaf.

The ceiling and roof are two levels made out of wood. They were reconstructed with teak which is capped with stainless steel.

The walls are all made of stone. The stones inside are unpolished, while the ones outside are polished.

This small building has been constructed and reconstructed by Prophets Adam, Ibrahim, Ismail and Muhammad (peace be upon them all). No other building has had this honor.

Yet, not very much is known about the details of this small but significant building.

Did you know the Kaba was reconstructed as recently as close to four years ago?

Did you know that the Kaba has been subjected to danger by natural disasters like flooding, as well as human attacks?

If you didn't keep reading. You'll find some rarely heard of information discussed below and discover facts about the Kaba many are unaware of.

The other names of the Kaba

Literally, Kaba in Arabic means a high place with respect and prestige. The word Kaba may also be derivative of a word meaning a cube.

Some of these other names include:

Bait ul Ateeq-which means, according to one meaning, the earliest and ancient. According to the second meaning, it means independent and liberating. Both meanings could be taken

Bait ul Haram-the honorable house

The Kaba has been reconstructed up to 12 times

Scholars and historians say that the Kaba has been reconstructed between five to 12 times.

The very first construction of the Kaba was done by Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). Allah says in the Quran that this was the first house that was built for humanity to worship Allah.

After this, Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) rebuilt the Kaba. The measurements of the Kaba's Ibrahimic foundation are as follows:

-the eastern wall was 48 feet and 6 inches

-the Hateem side wall was 33 feet

-the side between the black stone and the Yemeni corner was 30 feet

-the Western side was 46.5 feet

Following this, there were several constructions before the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be uponj him) 's time.

Reconstruction of Kaba by Quraish

Prophet Muhammad participated in one of its reconstructions before he became a Prophet.

After a flash flood, the Kaba was damaged and its walls cracked. It needed rebuilding.

This responsibility was divided among the Quraish's four tribes. Prophet Muhammad helped with this reconstruction.

Once the walls were erected, it was time to place the Black Stone, (the Hajar ul Aswad) on the eastern wall of the Kaba.

Arguments erupted about who would h ave the honor of putting the Black Stone in its place. A fight was about to break out over the issue, when Abu Umayyah, Makkah's oldest man, proposed that the first man to enter the gate of the mosque the following morning would decide the matter. That man was the Prophet. The Makkans were ecstatic. "This is the trustworthy one (Al-Ameen)," they shouted in a chorus. "This is Muhammad".

He came to them and they asked him to decide on the matter. He agreed.

Prophet Muhammad proposed a solution that all agreed to-putting the Black Stone on a cloak, the elders of each of the clans held on to one edge of the cloak and carried the stone to its place. The Prophet then picked up the stone and placed it on the wall of the Kaba.

Since the tribe of Quraish did not have sufficient funds, this reconstruction did not include the entire foundation of the Kaba as built by Prophet Ibrahim. This is the first time the Kaba acquired the cubical shape it has now unlike the rectangle shape which it had earlier. The portion of the Kaba left out is called Hateem now.

Construction After the Prophet's Time-Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr

The Syrian army destroyed the Kaba in Muharram 64 (Hijri date) and before the next Hajj Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, reconstructed the Kaba from the ground up.

Ibn az-Zubayr wanted to make the Kaba how the Prophet Muhammad wanted it, on the foundation of the Prophet Ibrahim.

Ibn az-Zubayr said, "I heard Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) say, 'The Prophet said: "If your people had not quite recently abandoned the Ignorance (Unbelief), and if I had sufficient provisions to rebuild it [the Kaba], I would have added five cubits to it from the Hijr. Also, I would make two doors; one for people to enter therein and the other to exit." (Bukhari). Ibn az-Zubayr said, "Today, I can afford to do it and I do not fear the people.

Ibn az-Zubayr built the Kaba on Prophet Ibrahim's foundation. He put the roof on three pillars with the wood of Aoud (a perfumed wood with aroma which is traditionally burned to get a good smell out of it in Arabia).

In his construction he put two doors, one facing the east the other facing the west, as the Prophet wanted but did not do in his lifetime.

He rebuilt the Kaba on the Prophet Ibrahim's foundation, which meant that the Hateem area was included. The Hateem is the area adjacent to the Kaba enclosed by a low semi-circular wall.

Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr also made the following additions and modifications:

-put a small window close to the roof of the Kaba to allow for light.

-moved the door of the Kaba to ground level and added a second door to the Kaba.

-added nine cubits to the height of the Kaba, making it twenty cubits high.

-its walls were two cubits wide.

-reduced the pillars inside the House to three instead of six as were earlier built by Quraish.

For reconstruction, ibn az-Zubayr put up four pillars around Kaba and hung cloth over them until the building was completed. People began to do Tawaf around these pillars at all times, so Tawaf of the Kaba was never abandoned, even during reconstruction.

During Abdul Malik bin Marwan's time

In 74 Hijri (or 693 according to the Gregorian calendar), Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Thaqafi, the known tyrant of that time, with the approval of Umayyad Khalifa Abdul Malik bin Marwan, demolished what Ibn az-Zubayr had added to it from the older foundation of Prophet Ibrahim, restore its old structure as the Qura ish had had it.

Some of the changes he made were the following:

-he rebuilt it in the smaller shape which is found today

-took out the Hateem

-walled up the western door (whose signs are still visible today) and left the rest as it was

-pulled down the wall in the Hateem area.

-removed the wooden ladder Ibn az-Zubayr had put inside the Kaba.

-reduced the door's height by five cubits

When Abdul Malik bin Marwan came for Umra and heard the Hadith that it was wish of Prophet for the Kaba to be constructed the way Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr had built it, he regretted his actions.

Imam Malik's advice to the Khalifa Harun al Rasheed

Abbasi Khalifa Harun al Rasheed wanted to rebuild the Kaba the way the Prophet Muhammad wanted and the way Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr built it.

But when he consulted Imam Malik, the Imam asked the Khalifa to change his mind because constant demolition and rebuilding is not respectful and would become a toy in the hands of kings. Each one would want to demolish and rebuild the Kaba.

Based on this advice, Harun al Rasheed did not reconstruct the Kaba. The structure remained in the same construction for 966 years, with minor repairs here and there.

Reconstruction during Sultan Murad Khan's time

In the year 1039 Hijri, because of heavy rain, flood and hail, two of the Kaba's walls fell down.

The flood during which this occurred took place on the 19th of Shaban 1039 Hijri which continued constantly, so the water in the Kaba became almost close to half of its walls, about 10 feet from the ground level.

On Thursday the 20th of Shaban 1039 Hijri, the eastern and western walls fell down.

When flood receded on Friday the 21st of Shaban, the cleanup started.

Again, a curtain, the way Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr established on 4 pillars, was put up, and the reconstruction started on the 26th of Ramadan. The rest of the walls except for the one near the Black Stone, were demolished.

By the 2nd of Zul-Hijjah 1040 the construction was taking place under the guidance of Sultan Murad Khan, the Ottoman Khalifa. From the point of the Black stone and below, the current construction is the same as that done by Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr.

The construction which was done under the auspices of Murad Khan was exactly the one done at the time of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan which is the way the Quraysh had built it before Prophethood.

On Rajab 28 1377, One historian counted the total stones of the Kaba and they were 1,614. These stones are of different shapes. But the stones which are inside the outer wall which is visible are not counted in there.

Reconstruction of the Kaba In 1996

A major reconstruction of the Kaba took place between May 1996 and October 1996.

This was after a period of about 400 years (since Sultan Murad Khan's time).

During this reconstruction the only original thing left from the Kaba are the stones. All other material has been replaced including the ceiling and the roof and its wood.

What is inside the Kaba?

Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi is the president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He had the opportunity to go inside the Kaba in October 1998. In an interview with Sound Vision, he described the following features:

-there are two pillars inside (others report 3 pillars)

-there is a table on the side to put items like perfume

-there are two lantern-type lamps hanging from the ceiling

-the space can accommodate about 50 people

-there are no electric lights inside

-the walls and floors are of marble

-there are no windows inside

-there is only one door

-the upper inside walls of the Kaba were covered with some kind of curtain with the Kalima written on it