Beheersching

Properties3
descriptionBeheersching — the domination programme — was the policy of Dutch domination of the XXV Moekims laid down by Governor-General Van der Wijck in his telegram of 18 July 1896, which supplemented the pacificatie framework of the conference of 18 June 1896. The beheersching programme authorised the bezetting (occupation) of points beyond the geconcenteerde linie and governed Dutch operations in the second semester of 1896.
tagsconcept, dutch, colonial, military, policy, aceh-war, 1896, van-der-wijck, pacificatie, kruisheer-vol3, administration
aliasesBeheersching, the beheersching programme, the domination programme, the Van der Wijck beheersching policy

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Beheersching — domination — was the policy of Dutch domination of the XXV Moekims laid down by Governor-General Van der Wijck in his telegram of 18 July 1896, which supplemented the pacificatie (pacification) framework of the conference of 18 June 1896. The beheersching (domination programme) programme — eene nadere uiteenzetting zijner bedoelingen omtrent de verdere actie (a further exposition of his intentions regarding the further action) — was the policy within which Stemfoort’s second tenure as wd. Civiel en Militair Gouverneur was conducted, and governed the Dutch forward movement of the second semester of 1896.

The Telegram of 18 July 1896

The telegram of 18 July 1896 laid down the beheersching (domination programme) programme in the following terms: De XXV Moekims moeten in haar geheel door ons beheerscht worden, wij moeten de woelgeesten en de hen volgende benden onschadelijk maken, minstens verdrijven, vervolgens moet er naar gestreefd worden, de medegesleepte kampongbevolking en hare traditioneele hoofden te doen terugkeeren; aan die hoofden mogen geen wapens worden verstrekt, en vuurwapens zelfs slechts tot zeer gering aantal in hun bezit gelaten worden, maar hun worde dan ook alleen de eisch gesteld om tegen dieven en roovers enz. op te treden, terwijl wij de woelgeesten en benden á faire moeten nemen en langzamerhand van hoofden en bevolking gedaan moeten krijgen, daarin geholpen te worden, door geheime inlichtingen en aanwijzingen hunnerzijds. The beheersching (domination programme) programme thus comprised five elements: (1) the beheersching (domination programme) of the XXV Moekims in their entirety by the Dutch; (2) the onschadelijk maken, minstens verdrijven (rendering harmless, or at least driving out) of the woelgeesten (troublemakers) and the bands following them; (3) the terugkeeren (return) of the medegesleepte kampongbevolking en hare traditioneele hoofden (dragged-along kampong population and their traditional chiefs); (4) the prohibition on furnishing weapons to those chiefs, and the restriction of firearms in their possession to very small numbers; and (5) the demand that those chiefs act against thieves and robbers, while the Dutch á faire (take on) the woelgeesten (troublemakers (woelgeesten)) and bands, and gradually gedaan moeten krijgen (dispose of) them with the help of the chiefs and population.

The Authorisation of Bezetting

The telegram further specified that omenent het bezetten dezer moekims, kan niet beslist worden, voordat eerst door leger-bestuur mij verzekerd is, dat voortdurende aanvulling van troepen en dwangarbeiders steeds mogelijk zullen zijn — the occupation of these mukims could not be decided until the army administration had assured him that continuous replenishment of troops and forced labourers would always be possible. The authorisation of bezetting (occupation) — which modified the geen postenstelsel policy of the conference of 18 June 1896 — was the principal policy shift of the second semester of 1896, and was the legal basis for the occupation of Kroeng-Raba (Lok-Nga) of 15 July 1896, the construction of the Blang Bintang camp of 7 September 1896, and the temporary occupation of Indrapoeri of 28 October 1896.

Significance

The beheersching (domination programme) programme of 18 July 1896 is significant in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel as the policy framework within which the Dutch forward movement of the second semester of 1896 was conducted. The beheersching (domination programme) programme — which supplemented but did not replace the pacificatie (pacification) framework of the conference of 18 June 1896 — was the most explicit statement of Dutch colonial intentions in Atjeh in the second semester of 1896, and the authorisation of bezetting which it contained was the legal basis for the three permanent Dutch forward positions established in the second semester. The beheersching (domination programme) programme would be ingetrokken (withdrawn) by the Instruction for Civiel en Militair Gouverneur Van Vliet (Bijlage III) of November 1896, which consolidated all prior policy documents into a single instruction.

See Also

Source

ATJEH ‘96. Tweede Deel (2c Deel), door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 3 kaarten en 6 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-90-Atjeh_96_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_3_kaarten_en_6_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt., pp. 29, 162–167 (Bijlage II — Notulen der conferentie van 18 Juni 1896), 168–172 (Bijlage III — Instruction for Civiel en Militair Gouverneur Van Vliet).

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