Indonesia: 63 years of independence
(photo: Antara-IPPHOS) The railways: A witness of a young nation’s optimism The photo was taken on 12 February 1948 at Tugu railway station in Yogyakarta. The young men on the train are members of the Siliwangi Division from Bandung. As a result of the Renville Agreement signed on 15 January 1948, they had been forced to withdraw from Bandung. They arrived at Tugu at midday under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Mokoginta. They were part of the 35,000 man strong Republican forces which had been obliged to leave the regions which had now been placed under Dutch authority under the terms of the Renville Agreement. The train had been considered the most practical form of transport; it allowed the Good Offices Committee to keep a close eye on the movements of troops, which is what had been agreed during the negotiations. It was the journey of an army defeated, not on the battlefield but at the negotiating table. The girls welcome the defeated war heroes. But the meeting – whatever t...