Establishment The Dutch authorities, after various changes to the administration of the eastern islands of the East Indies, established the
Great East region in 1938. Four years later, the
Japanese invaded, and this area was placed under the control of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Following the
Japanese surrender and the
Indonesian declaration of independence in August 1945, Indonesian republicans began
fighting to secure Indonesian independence from
Dutch colonial control. However, Dutch administrators backed by Australian troops arrived in the area previously controlled by the Japanese Navy, and prevented republicans from establishing an administration. From 16 to 25 July 1946, the Dutch organized a conference in the town of
Malino on
Celebes (Sulawesi) as part of their attempt to arrange a federal solution for Indonesia. The
Malino Conference resulted in plans for a state in
Borneo and another in eastern Indonesia, areas where the Dutch held both
de facto and
de jure control. Later that year, the
Republic of Indonesia agreed to the principle of a federal Indonesia in the
Linggadjati Agreement of 15 November. The
Denpasar Conference of 18–24 December was held to work out the details of a state which to be called the
State of the Great East (). That state was established on 24 December and, on 27 December, renamed the State of East Indonesia (
Negara Indonesia Timoer or 'NIT'). Also at the conference, Balinese nobleman
Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati was elected president. Although opponents joked that "NIT" stood for
negara ikoet toean or 'state which goes along with the master', i.e. the Dutch, nevertheless, it was recognized by the Republic of Indonesia as a state within the United States of Indonesia on 19 January 1948.
Part of the United States of Indonesia With the realization of the United States of Indonesia on 27 December 1949, East Indonesia became a constituent state of the new federation. In much of Indonesia, the federal USI was seen as an illegitimate regime foisted on the islands by the Dutch, and many of the federal states began to merge with the
Republic of Indonesia. However many in East Indonesia, with its non-Javanese population and sizable number of Christians, opposed moves toward a unitary state. At the end of 1949, elections were held for a parliament to replace the previous
Provisional Representative Body. This resulted in almost half the seats being won by supporters of a unitary Indonesian state. When President Soekawati tried to form a new cabinet, the unitarists refused to participate unless it was committed to dissolving the state. On 16 March 1950, two days after its formation without any unitarist representation, the new cabinet bowed to pressure and lifted the ban on demonstrations. The following day, there was a huge demonstration in Makassar calling for the dissolution of the NIT into the Republic of Indonesia. As a result, restrictions were reimposed, and Justice Minister Soumokil ordered the arrest of non-parliamentary unitarist supporters.
Uprising and independence proposal In the second week of March Soekawati asked cabinet director J.C. van Krieken to prepare an NIT declaration of independence, although van Krieken advised against this. Soekawati and Soumokil, along with former cabinet minister Dolf Metekohy, began to draw up plans to separate the NIT from the USI. Because of rumours of republican troops from the USI army (APRIS) being sent from Jakarta, ex-soldiers of the Dutch colonial army, the
KNIL became increasingly concerned about their future within the Java-dominated KNIL. On 23 April the Jakarta government announced it was sending APRIS troops to the NIT. This was part of the central government's plan to establish military control over the whole of the country. Soekawari held meetings with the soldiers and told them they had his support, but told them that if they wanted to take any action to prevent the landings, it would have to be on their own initiative as he was constitutionally unable to order any action. On 3 April there was a mass meeting of 700 KNIL troops, at which a motion was passed opposing any landings before the KNIL troops had been fully incorporated into APRIS. On the evening of the next day, Soumokil appointed former KNIL lieutenant
Andi Aziz to lead any action against the landings. On 5 April, the day the troops were due to land, in response, Andi Aziz
took control of the city, deployed artillery and successfully turned the troopships away. The NIT government refused to support Azis. On 13 April, Soekawati, Prime Minister
Jan Engelbert Tatengkeng,
Parliament Speaker Hoesain Poeang Limboro, federalist legislators and Azis held a meeting at the presidential palace and discussed breaking away from the RUSI in order to save the NIT. However, it was realised that federalists would not be able to secure the two-thirds majority necessary in parliament for an independence declaration. A declaration by the cabinet alone, backed up by Azi's troops was also considered, as was a coup, again with support from Azis as well as Soumokil and Matekohy, who was particularly keen on the plan, but there was no agreement to proceed. The following day, following a guarantee of his safety from the USI government, Azis travelled to Jakarta, where he was arrested. On 19 March his troops surrendered to the NIT APRIS commander, and the next day, the troops from Jakarta landed unopposed. It subsequently emerged that the Azis affair had been part of a four-part plan, known as the Metekohy Plan, to secure independence for the NIT. The four stages were: • The NIT government would express no support for Azis's actions • The government would produce documentary evidence of the USI plan to dissolve the NIT • Having garnered local and global support, the NIT government would formally express support for Azis • If the RIS government did not back down, the NIT would declare independence
Dissolution Following the events in Makassar, the cabinet lost parliamentary support. Following the failure to attract any support for independence, President Soekawati accepted the end of the NIT. On 21 April, he agreed to the NIT being dissolved into the United States of Indonesia if the
Republic of Indonesia would do the same. The formation of East Indonesia's last cabinet in May 1950 with the intention implementing this led to open rebellion in the largely Christian
Moluccas and the proclamation of an independent
Republic of the South Moluccas (RMS). The USI was dissolved on 17 August 1950 and the rebellion in the Moluccas was crushed in November of the same year. ==Government==