At 10am on this day 64 years ago, just two days after the unconditional surrender of the Japanese to the allies, the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was made, beginning the struggle for independence known as the Indonesian National Revolution, which continued until the Netherlands finally gave up the fight in 1949. The proclamation was signed by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who became the first president and vice-president.
Sukarno presided with mixed success over the country’s transition to independence before Major General Suharto forced him out of office in 1967. Suharto then remained president for 30 years, during which time Suharto’s family amassed billions of dollars through corruption and the Indonesian military engaged in numerous human rights abuses, including those associated with the invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Indonesia consists of 17,508 islands and is the fourth most populous country in the world, with an estimated population of 237 million. There is a lot of diversity in ethnicity and culture between the islands, but a significant majority are claimed to be muslims, meaning that the country has the world’s largest muslim population. The country continues to struggle with sectarian tensions and numerous separatist movements.