Mustafa Soepardjo

Mustafa Sjarief Soepardjo (EYD: Mustafa Syarief Suparjo; 23 March 1923 – 16 May 1970), also known as Supardjo, was a Brigadier General in the Indonesian Army. He was one of the leaders of the 30 September Movement, a group that killed six of the army's top generals and launched a failed coup attempt on 1 October 1965.

Soepardjo was regimental commander of the Siliwangi Division which was stationed in West Java. As a result of his pro-Communist sympathies and actions, he was sent to Kalimantan, away from the centres of power on Java, and took part in the Indonesian actions against British and Malaysian troops in Borneo (see Konfrontasi). Based at Menggaian in West Kalimantan, he led the Fourth Combat Command of KOSTRAD, the army's strategic reserve.

On 28 September 1965, he left his post without the knowledge of then KOSTRAD commander, Suharto (later President of Indonesia). He had received a telegram from his wife stating that his child was sick. At Soepardjo's trial in 1967, an ex-Communist official testified that the cable was code between Soepardjo and Communist participating in the coup, and that the real reason for his return to Java was to help command the coup.

Some Soepardjo's military colleagues reported he was resentful over his slow pace of promotion and may have had a grudge against army commander, General Yani, who was one of the 30 September Movement's principal victims. According to General Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, commander of the fiercely anti-communist RPKAD para-commandos, Soepardjo requested RPKAD reinforcements be sent to Kalimantan on 1 October. When Sarwo Edhie heard of the coup attempt, the sailing orders to Kalimantan were cancelled.

After the failure of the coup, Soepardjo went into hiding. He was eventually arrested on January 12, 1967. He was found guilty of treason, sentenced to death and executed by firing squad on May 16, 1970.

In the years following the failure of the 30 September Movement, General Soepardjo wrote an analysis of the movement, titled Some Factors That Influenced the Defeat of ‘the September 30th Movement’ as Viewed from a Military Perspective. A copy of these personal notes, now known as the ‘Soepardjo Document’, was intercepted by military officers and added to the records of the military court that tried Soepardjo in 1967. In the document, Soepardjo reflects on what may have caused the September 30th Movement to fail, based upon his military experience and what he witnessed throughout the event.

Soepardjo wrote this document while on the run as he had already been stripped of his rank and dismissed from the military. This key fact is what gives the document its importance, and historian John Roosa notes that the document may be the most important primary source on the movement. The Soepardjo Document is the only primary source which was written by a participant of the September 30th Movement before his arrest. The fact that the document was written before he was arrested means that there was no chance for the military to influence his testimony unlike those from other generals, which led to many unreliable narratives as most of their stories were either coerced through torture or fabricated by the media.

Before the movement, Soepardjo was a highly decorated military officer. He was the highest ranking officer to participate in the movement as Commander of the Fourth Combat Command of the Mandala Vigilance Command. Many are quick to assume that Soepardjo had a significant role in planning the movement due to the fact that he was the highest ranking officer; however, he confesses in the document that he only arrived in Jakarta three days before the event.