Why the Dutch Army Burned Down Prambonwetan

A SHORT message came to my inbox that day from Marjolein van Pagee, a Dutch historical journalist, who informed me that the filming of the short documentary Patrouille Teeken: Reis naar Prambon Wetan (Teeken Patrol: The Journey to Prambon Wetan) has wrapped. "You can watch it on youtube.com now," Marjolein texted.

Released in 2016, Patrouille Teeken recounts Marjolein's investigation into the ambush of a Dutch marine brigade patrol outside Prambonwetan, a village situated in Rengel District, Tuban, East Java, 23 July 1949. The ambush, which was followed by the capture of the surviving Dutch marines, resulted in a ruthless retaliation by the Dutch military against the villagers.

"Approximately 60 people died and 50 houses were destroyed by fire due to the bombardment and cleansing operation carried out by the Dutch military," said Marjolein, who is also a photographer and history student at Leiden University, the Netherlands.

The same incident was depicted by Wim Hornman, a Dutch war novelist, in his novel Patrol Teeken which was published in 1996. Hornman's novel, however, only highlights the story from the Dutch's perspective. "The novel's message is mainly about the atrocity of the Indonesians when they killed the marines they ambushed," said Marjolein.

The Ambush

TUESDAY, 23 July 1949. That morning, a marine patrol led by First Lieutenant Leen Teeken was seen walking down the road between Punggulrejo and Banjararum. Coming from Rengel post, the marines were heading to Prambonwetan village which was deemed "problematic" by the Dutch military for its constant designation as a base for the guerrillas.

"I can still remember how the atmosphere was so quiet and calm," said Ben Reurling (88), a member of the marine patrol.

According to Marjolein, the group was quite unprepared. Without any planned coordination, Teeken suddenly decided to go to Prambonwetan only a day after the takeover of the Rengel post from a Dutch Army unit on 22 July 1949. "It seems that it was Teeken's initiative to show his authority over the area," said Marjolein.

Unbeknown to the group, a troop of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) led by Junior Lieutenant Noortjahjo from the Ronggolawe Brigade was monitoring their movements from behind a small river embankment between Karuman and Boro, two hamlets (dukuh) that were part of Banjararum Village. The TNI troop was also joined by some Prambonwetan villagers, among which was Josephus Antonius Soetjipto, then 12 years old.

"I was carrying a short carbine and was lurking behind the embankment near the hamlet boundary," Soetjipto (79), now a retired employee of the National Land Agency, told Historia. 

The TNI troop was waiting for the right moment. As soon as the marines reached the border of the Boro hamlet, Noortjahjo shouted loudly: "Salvooo!" and all at once, bullets were fired everywhere. The whizzing sounds of bullets were racing with the thundering noise of grenades and blood-curdling screams of the assailants.

Facing the sudden ambush, Teeken and his patrol were completely off guard and panicked, making them an easy target for the guerrillas. Four soldiers fell instantly, including Teeken whose skull was crushed by grenade fragments. "I saw his head scattered in the rice fields," recalled Soetjipto.

Horror-struck after knowing that their commander had been slain, the seven remaining marines and a guide named Teng Tjing Teek fled the scene in fear. They ran to the north passing the muddy rice fields while the village youth chased behind them with klewang (bladed weapon), machetes, spears, and bambu runcing (sharp bamboo spear) in each hand.

Before the desperate marines made it to the farming areas, the TNI troops came out from behind the rocky high ground. "They were part of Junior Lieutenant Sanyoto's division that was assigned to block the enemy's retreat route," as written in the book Pengabdian Selama Perang Kemerdekaan Bersama Brigade Ronggolawe which was compiled by the Committee for Compiling the History of the Ronggolawe Brigade.

The marines had no other choice than to surrender. However, Teng Tjing Teek, who was in a frenzy, fired his short carbine that quickly ran out of ammo. He frustratingly slammed his gun into a tree and raised his hands in surrender. Unfortunately, a bullet had been fired a second ago and had ripped through his chest, taking away Teng Tjing Teek’s life. The young villagers, who were enraged, ferociously chopped up his corpse afterwards.

In spitting distance from the infuriated butchers of Teng Tjing Teek's body, the villagers surrounded the seven surrendered Dutch marines. Trapped in a life-and-death situation, the drained and petrified soldiers could only await their grim fate.

" Pateni wae! (Kill them!)"

“Londo asuuu! (Damned Dutch!)”

"Just kill them!"

Aware of the dire situation, Junior Lieutenant Sanyoto immediately stepped in and ordered his troops to protect the Dutch soldiers. The villagers vented their anger by stripping the seven marines of their uniforms. "Everything was taken. Their clothes and their shoes. All they had on was their underpants," Soetjipto said.

Covered only by sarongs, the marines were herded to Prambonwetan where they were given proper clothes and several hours to rest before being taken to Jatirogo and Tempayang where they were held captive in a secret place.

"The Ronggolawe Brigade Commander Lieutenant Colonel Soedirman ordered the prisoners to be given special health care by an army doctor," told Lieutenant General (Ret.) Rukmito Hendraningrat, former Chief of Staff of the Ronggolawe I Brigade, in Bunga Rampai Perjuangan dan Pengorbanan Jilid 2.

The Ronggolawe soldiers were even tasked to find bread, cheese, and milk to feed the Dutch prisoners, despite the soldiers themselves often having to endure hunger, Rukmito said. "At first we were certainly angry and annoyed, but then we understood that Mr. Dirman wanted to teach us how to treat fellow human beings although they were our own enemies," he said.

The Cleansing Operation

After the Ronggolawe troops left, Prambonwetan was gripped by fear, especially when a rumor spread that there would be a 'cleansing' operation following the ambush. That night, some of the villagers decided to cross Bengawan Solo River towards the south, while the others chose to stay in the foxholes they’d built.

Their hunch was later proven true when the next day at around 6 am, loud whizzing and hissing sounds came from the village across Prambonwetan that was separated by the Bengawan Solo River. All of a sudden, Prambonwetan was bombarded by explosions from cannons and mortars.

After the shelling, the Dutch military personnel entered Prambonwetan and launched a barrage of shots destroying every corner of the village. Unable to find their missing comrades, the Dutch troops burned dozens of houses that were suspected of being the bases of the guerrillas.

"From the other side of Bengawan Solo, I saw smoke billowing, a sign that my village had been set on fire," said Soetjipto.

After the Dutch troops left, the villagers returned to their house at around 12 noon only to find that their houses had turned into rubble among which corpses of their relatives were lying.

"I found my grandfather's younger brother Sariban dead, then Pakde (Uncle) Samsi and his wife. I also saw my friend Buntoro near the toilet with a big hole in his chest," said Soetjipto.

From the other side of Bengawan Solo, I saw smoke billowing, a sign that my village had been set on fire.

Lilik (73) mentioned that Soekilan, who was serving as a village clerk back then, wrote the names of the victims and the number of houses that were burnt during the cleansing operation. "In total, 64 Prambonwetan villagers were killed and 54 houses were burned down," said Lilik, son of Suratni, former Prambonwetan headman who was shot dead by Dutch soldiers in June 1949.

In the 4 April 2015 edition of the NRC Handelsblad newspaper, Marjolein confirmed the infamous act of revenge to a number of Dutch military veterans who served around Prambonwetan area that year. One of them was Lieutenant Carel van Lookeren Campagne (90) who was tasked with searching for the missing members of the Teeken patrol.

Van Lookeren Campagne claimed he had never heard of any cleansing operation happening in Prambonwetan. However, he revealed that the soldiers were indeed enraged at that time, and they were overcome by a strong urge to take revenge. "It was very difficult not to get emotional at that time, so to prevent it, I repeatedly shouted harsh words at them," he said.

Ben Reurling, one of the marines who was captured by the TNI, also testified his nescience of the operation. He can only remember that in captivity, they were all treated well by the TNI. "If that act of revenge did happen, I would definitely feel ashamed," said Reurling, who is also the only surviving member of the captured marines.

The former Dutch soldiers could deny the story, but after years of researching the case, Marjolein has discovered the truth of the Prambonwetan cleansing operation.*