Declaration
Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, 1945
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence in Jakarta on 17 August 1945, two days after Japan's surrender in the Second World War, though the Netherlands did not recognise this and a four-year armed and diplomatic struggle followed.
What happened
On 17 August 1945, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence in Jakarta. The proclamation, in the English translation later given to historian George McTurnan Kahin by Foreign Minister Haji Agus Salim, read: "WE THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA HEREBY DECLARE THE INDEPENDENCE OF INDONESIA. MATTERS WHICH CONCERN THE TRANSFER OF POWER AND OTHER THINGS WILL BE EXECUTED BY CAREFUL MEANS AND IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME," dated "DJAKARTA, 17 AUGUST 1945" and signed "IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA, SUKARNO—HATTA."[1] The Netherlands did not recognise the proclamation, and the Indonesian National Revolution followed until the transfer of sovereignty in December 1949.
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesian independence in Jakarta on 17 August 1945. The proclamation, in the English translation given to historian George McTurnan Kahin, read: "WE THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA HEREBY DECLARE THE INDEPENDENCE OF INDONESIA. MATTERS WHICH CONCERN THE TRANSFER OF POWER AND OTHER THINGS WILL BE EXECUTED BY CAREFUL MEANS AND IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME," dated "DJAKARTA, 17 AUGUST 1945" and signed "IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA, SUKARNO—HATTA." The Netherlands did not recognise the proclamation, and armed and diplomatic conflict followed until 1949.
- Kahin, George McTurnan, Sukarno's Proclamation of Indonesian Independence (Wikisource) link, proclamation text. Source record