Raymond Westerling

Raymond Westerling

Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (August 31, 1919 - November 26, 1987), nicknamed "the Turk", was a Dutch commander. He waged a bloody pacification campaign in the Sulawesi during the Indonesian National Revolution after the Second World War, and staged a coup in the city of Bandung in 1950.

South Sulawesi

Westerling was born in Istanbul, Turkey, as a child from a Dutch father and Turkısh mother. During the Second World War, Westerling would join the Dutch military service and receive his training in England. After the War, Westerling would be sent to Dutch Indies, where in 1946 he would command the Depot Special Forces (DSF) to pacify the southern Sulawesi, where the Nationalists tried to hinder the return of Dutch governance. The DSF consisted mostly of indigenous soldiers and was an elite unit of the KNIL, and were relentless in their ways to subjugate the population.

Bandung

After the 1949 Indonesian independence, Westerling commanded a force, the Angkatan Perang Ratu Adil (APRA, Army of the Just King) of deserted Regiment Special Forces (one of successors of the DSF), and KNIL soldiers, to stage a coup in Bandung in January, 1950, to overthrow the Sukarno government. [ [http://countrystudies.us/indonesia/16.htm Indonesia - The National Revolution, 1945-50 ] ] Poorly planned, the coup failed and Westerling had to flee to Singapore.Jayakumar, S.:"Public International Law Cases from Malaysia and Singapore", page 108. Singapore University Press, 1974]

Although the Indonesian government wanted to try Westerling on war crimes [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858732,00.html A Mild Little Boy - TIME ] ] , Westerling never had to stand trial for these allegations. He moved to the Netherlands, where he died in Purmerend in 1987.

ources

*
* Westerling, Raymond Paul Pierre (1952) "Mes aventures en Indonesie". - translated from the French to English by Waverley Root as - "Challenge to terror" London: W. Kimber.
*
*
*
*

Further reading

*Eric Ambler, "The Night-comers" or "State of Siege" (1956). Thriller set in the fictional "Republic of Sunda", which mentions "Turko" Westerling's attempt at Bandung as an example of the fragility of post-colonial states.

External links

* [http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/lemmata/bwn4/westerling Westerling biography in the Dutch language]
* [http://geschiedenis.vpro.nl/programmas/2899536/afleveringen/32522438/ "Celebes"] VPRO Documentary on the DSF troops in Sulawesi
* [http://members.chello.nl/pscheele/kapiteinwesterling.html Images of Westerling, his troops, his passport and gravestone]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Raymond Westerling — Raymond Paul Pierre Westerling (né le 31 août 1919 à Pera, Turquie, et mort le 26 novembre 1987 à Purmerend, Pays Bas), dit « Le Turc », est un citoyen néerlandais né à Istanbul dans une famille hollandaise installée …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Raymond Westerling — Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (* 31. August 1919 in Istanbul,Türkei; † 26. November 1987 in Purmerend, Niederlande) war ein niederländischer Kommandant. Während des indonesischen Unabhängigkeitskrieges nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg war er für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Westerling — Raymond Pierre Paul Westerling (* 31. August 1919 in Istanbul,Türkei; † 26. November 1987 in Purmerend, Niederlande; war ein niederländischer Kommandant. Während des indonesischen Unabhängigkeitskrieges nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg war er für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Le Turc — Raymond Westerling Raymond Paul Pierre Westerling (31 août 1919, Pera, Turquie 26 novembre 1987, Purmerend, Pays Bas), dit « Le Turc », est un citoyen néerlandais né à Istanbul dans une famille hollandaise installée en Turquie depuis… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Niederländisch-Indonesischer Krieg — Indonesien bei Erreichen der Unabhängigkeit 1949 (rot) Der Indonesische Unabhängigkeitskrieg war eine Auseinandersetzung zwischen den Niederlanden und der indonesischen Republik, die von 1945 bis 1949 dauerte und mit der indonesischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Makassar Uprising — This article is part of the History of Indonesia series See also: Timeline of Indonesian History Prehistory Early kingdoms …   Wikipedia

  • Indonesischer Unabhängigkeitskrieg — Indonesien bei Erreichen der Unabhängigkeit 1949 (rot) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Wes — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Angkatan '45 — Révolution indonésienne Cet article fait partie de la série Histoire de l Indonésie Voir aussi : Chronologie de l histoire indonésienne Préhistoire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pemuda — Révolution indonésienne Cet article fait partie de la série Histoire de l Indonésie Voir aussi : Chronologie de l histoire indonésienne Préhistoire …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”