battalions. Regiment One was the former Lasykar Rakyat; Regiment
Two was the former Barisan Banteng; Regiment Three was the former
Surakarta BPR.T; Regiment Four comprised the former L B I , Lasykar
Merah and PESINDO; Regiment Five was the former Salatiga BPRI;
89 Regiment Six was the former Lasykar Hizbullah.
Outside Brigade XXIV there was also a student organization,
the so-called Tentara Pelajar (Student Army) or TP. This TP was
rooted in a former student organization, the IP1 (Ikatan Pelajar
Indonesia - Indonesian Student Association), set up in September 1945. The Surakarta IPI branch consisted mainly of students from sixteen schools continued from the Japanese period, both Junior High School
(SMP) and Senior High School (SMT). The SMP students were from thirteen
to fifteen years old, and those of SMT from sixteen to eighteen. The IPI at both national and regional levels, including the Surakarta
87 A.H. Nasution, Sekitar Perang, vol.4, p.445; see also
Sedjarah Tentara Nasional Indonesia Komando Daerah Militer VII Diponegoro, op.cit., pp.111-12.
88 Interview with Sunarto Kusumodirdjo, 1 August 1979.
89 'Sedjarah TNI Didalam Daerah Karesidenan Surakarta: Periode
Pertama Tahun 1942-1948', Typescript, Surakarta, 15 September
1950, pp.26-29. One regiment comprises three or more
IPI branch, had a defence section, the so-called IPI Pertahanan 90
(IPI Defence).
The IPI Pertahanan changed its name into Markas Pertahanan Pelajar (Headquarters of the Student Defence) or MPP in February 1946. Thus, the MPP coordinated the student battalions of various student
organizations. As a result of the Presidential Decree of 3 June 1947,
the MPP was changed into the so-called MTP (Markas Tentara Pelajar -
Headquarters of the Student Army). This decree indicated that student
army battalions would bo integrated into one brigade, the so-called
Brigade XVII. However, the student battalions in Central Java and
East Java were organized under Hielt: names TP and TRIP (Tentara Republik Indonesia Pelajar - Student of the Indonesia Republican
91
Army) respectively. In West Java, battalions such as these were
under several names, Banten Battalion, Ceribon Battalion and Priangan Battalion.
The Surakarta TP consisted mostly of former students of Lasykar Kere and two small revolutionary student groups, Lasykar
92
Alap-Alap and Lasykar Garuda. By 1947 the members of the Surakarta
TP numbered some 500, and its leadership was in the hands of Achmadi
and Prakosa. Achmadi was a Central Javanese, born in 1927 at Ngrambe,
and a HBS graduate. During the occupation he joined the underground
1anti-Fascist1 movement. His close friend, Prakosa, describes Achmadi
as follows :
A c h m a d i 's personality is tough (keras) and he was
very disciplined in organization. He was at the
same time very friendly both in school and in the
organization. Like other Javanese young m^rj at that
time, Achmadi enjoyed watching the wayang.
90 in I oi view with mum! jura of TP; Sujctlima, 3 May 1979; Sunctruo, October
1979; Errol Sudibjo, June 1979.
91 For details about TP in Central Java, see Marsudi, 'Tentara
Peladjar di Djawa Tengah Dalam Sedjarah Revolusi Indonesia, 1945-1951', MA thesis Gadjah Mada University, Jogjakarta, 1970.
92 For details about Lasykar Kere see Kedaulatan Rakjat, 12 December
1945. They were mostly SMT students who had fought against the
British in Semarang, Central Java. Interview with Prakosa,
20 February 1979; Farodhal, 24 July 1979. Kere means beggar, reflecting
the student attitude to an austere life. Alap-alap means hawk and
garuda means eagle, both seen by Japanese as powerful, wild, and free.
In the last months of the occupation, Achmadi and Prakosa had spread the idea of a student union through their underground movement.
As leaders of the TP both men were constantly inspired by the wayang
teachings and the so-called watak satriyo (knightly manner). These
two leaders jointly represented a symbol of leadership for the TP members until the post-revolutionary demobilization.
Politically, the TP as a student organization had not
affiliated with any political organization. The TP members were
rather impelled by a sense of duty as expressed by their motto, be Lajar dan berjuang (to learn and to struggle). Their solidarity as students, as an army corps and as Solonese, all helped to strengthen the unity of the TP organization. This TP organization succeeded
in creating an esprit de corps among its members. Apparently the TP's neutrality between the political streams made it possible for the Hizbullah to work together with it. In fact the Hizbullah often shared its funds with the TP when they were fighting in the front
line. This partnership means that the TP in 1947 and 1948 was indirectly aligned with Hizbullah against the oppositionist element
94
increasingly composed of the Left. The TP was inclined to support the Government rather than the opposition, and the role of Achmadi as the security commander for Surakarta city further inclined the TP to the side of the Government. Despite the intention of the TP not to follow any political stream, its political role became clear after the implementation of Hatta's rationalization program in early 1948. In fact, the Siliwangi Division in Surakarta put the TP
directly under its own auspices. The TP was included in the Brigade 1W and functioned as Kesatuan Reserve Umum (General Reserve Unit) or KRU. Thus, the TP became openly on the side of the Government.
Brigade XXIV was under the leadership of the Senopati
Division. This Brigade was intended to contain various social forces, and therefore could not escape political tensions. One political phenomenon which sharpened the political tensions within the Surakarta
94 Interview with Prakosa, 20 February 1979; Haji B a k r i , 15 and 17 August 1979.
Brigade XXIV was the rise of the TNI Masyarakat. In early August