Sumitro

Sumitro or Soemitro (13 January 1927 – 10 May 1998) was a prominent Indonesian general in the early years of General Suharto's New Order before suddenly falling from grace in January 1974 after the Malari incident.

Sumitro was born in Probolinggo, East Java on 13 January 1925. His father worked as a cashier for the Gending Sugar Factory and was also an activist with the Indonesian National Party whilst his mother was a housewife. As a child, Sumitro grew up at a Pesantren. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Sumitro joined the Defenders of the Motherland Army (PETA), an auxiliary force set up by the Japanese Imperial Army which consisted of Indonesians with the intention of assisting them should the United States invade Java. Sumitro undertook basic training in Bogor and developed a reputation as a cadet who regularly broke the rules. By 1944, Sumitro had achieved enough to have been appointed a PETA platoon commander at his hometown of Probolinggo.

After the Indonesian Declaration of Independence, Sumitro formed the People's Security Agency (BKR) militia in Probolinggo before becoming a platoon commander after the official formation of the Indonesian Military on 5 October 1945. By 1948, Sumitro was a Battalion Deputy Commander before being appointed military commander at the city of Malang. After Indonesia's independence had been recognized, Sumitro continued to be stationed in his home Province of East Java, which was now under the supervision of Military Territory (TT) V Brawijaya. Although he still did not have a lot of experience at this stage, Sumitro had already become quite successful. He had successfully applied a guerilla warfare strategy akin to what Orde Wingate did in Burma during the Indonesian National Revolution and he had also been successful in cleaning Sidoarjo, Mojokerto, and Pasuruan from wild militias. For the latter achievement, he was personally thanked by President Sukarno.

In 1952, Sumitro attended the Army Staff and Command College (SSKAD) in Bandung. He became involved with the 17th October Incident where Colonel AH Nasution, the Army Chief of Staff stationed tanks around the Presidential Palace to ask President Sukarno to dismiss the People's Representative Council (DPR). Sumitro recalled that a regiment led by Kemal Idris went after Sumito and other East Javanese officers but failed to capture him. Escaping to East Java, Sumitro was given command over 3 battalions and told to fight for the central Government should the situation spread to the province. The situation settled down and Sumitro went back to Bandung to complete his course.

After SSKAD, Sumitro continued to work his way up the ranks at TT V. In 1952, he was 2nd Assistant to the Commander of TT V, advancing to Regimental Chief of Staff in 1953 and Regimental Commander in 1955. Sumitro then returned to Bandung in 1956, becoming a lecturer at SSKAD and taking an Officers' continuers' course. In 1958, Sumitro left for the United States to attend the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. When he returned to Indonesia, Sumitro was once again stationed in Bandung as Commander of the Infantry Weapons Center. He held the position until 1963 where he became Chairman of the Army Planning Council. In the meantime, Sumitro also took opportunities to further his military education. In 1963, Sumitro attended the ABRI Staff and Command College. He also went abroad again, studying at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr in Hamburg, West Germany.

Sumitro's wealth of military education was recognized by his colleagues and they suggested that he try out to become a Commander. Sumitro would always reject the notion but in 1965, he accepted appointment as Commander of Regional Military Command (Kodam) IX/Mulawarman. As Commander of this Kodam, Sumitro was responsible for the security of East Kalimantan. Sumitro quickly developed a reputation as an anti-communist. He arrested officials whose organizations were affiliated with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). The news reached Sukarno, who summoned him to Jakarta to reprimand him.

In late 1965, Sumitro was transferred from East Kalimantan to Jakarta, where he became a staff member for Major General Suharto, the Commander of the Army. Suharto, who at this stage was on the path to an imminent power struggle with Sukarno, was wooing the support of Army Officers by appointing officers of different ethnicities as part of his staff. Sumitro, alongside Basuki Rahmat represented the East Javanese contingent. For his part, Sumitro stuck by Suharto and did not waver in his support.

By March 1966, the political situation had grown extremely tense. Sumitro recalled a meeting held by Suharto and attended by other Army Officers. During the meeting, Suharto told those who were present that there was a need to separate Sukarno from certain ministers in his cabinet such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Subandrio. Suharto decided to use a cabinet meeting on 11 March 1966 as the occasion in which the arrests could be made and delegated the task of making the arrests to the Army Paracommando Regiment (RPKAD).