Dismission of Teuku Oemar (26 April 1896)

Properties2
tagsevent, dutch, achehnese, colonial, diplomacy, treaty, aceh-war
aliasesDismission of Toekoe Oemar, Dismissal of T. Djohan Pahalawan, Besluit No. 159, Ontslag van T. Djohan Pahalawan, 26 April 1896

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The Dismission of Teuku Oemar (26 April 1896) — Besluit No. 159 of the acting Civiel en Militair Gouverneur — was the formal act by which the Dutch colonial government dismissed Teuku Umar — Toekoe Djohan Pahalawan, Panglima Prang Besar of the Government — from his twin posts as Panglima Prang Besar of the Government and as territorial chief of Lepong, with the stipulation that he would henceforth be officially designated by his original name Toekoe Oemar — a symbolic stripping of the honours conferred by the subjection of 30 September 1893. Authorised by Government Telegram of 26 April 1896, No. 409, the dismissal was the official response to the defection of approximately 26 March–29 March 1896 and the legal foundation for the proclamation of 27 April 1896 announcing military operations against the former ally.

Background

The defection of Teuku Umar on approximately 26 March–29 March 1896 had been answered, on 30 March 1896, by Umar’s first letter to the Governor of Atjeh — a letter setting out his grievances (chiefly, alleged insults by the Controleur te Oleh-leh and the hoofddjaksa Mohamad Arief) and his demands (a Royal decoration — “kruis” — and a monthly subsidy of ƒ150,000). The second letter of 12 April 1896 had repeated and amplified the demands. The Regeeringscommissaris, Lt.-Gen. Vetter, had arrived on 7 April 1896, had ordered the relief of Biloel and Lamkoenjit, and had presided over the evacuation of the two posts on 12 April 1896. The strategic situation had been stabilised; the political response was now required.

The legal instrument chosen was a Government Resolution of the acting Civiel en Militair Gouverneur — at this point the civil-military government was being exercised provisionally, with Resident van Langen in charge of civil affairs and Kol. Stemfoort in charge of military command, under the supreme authority of the Regeeringscommissaris. The resolution was numbered 159 and was issued under the authority of the Government Resolution of 5 September 1893 — the same resolution that had conferred the titles on Umar in September 1893 and that the new resolution now formally revoked. The dismissal was authorised by Government Telegram of 26 April 1896, No. 409 — a telegram from Batavia conveying the Governor-General’s authorisation for the act.

The Resolution

The Besluit No. 159 of 26 April 1896 — preserved in the Bijlagen of ATJEH ‘96 — declared, in substance: first, that Teuku Umar was dismissed from the post of Panglima Prang Besar of the Government of Nederlandsch-Indië — a post he had held since the confirmation act of 30 September 1893; second, that he was dismissed from the post of hoeloebalang of Lepong — a post that, while hereditary in Achehnese customary law, had been formally recognised by the Dutch government in 1893 and was now formally withdrawn; third, that he would henceforth be officially designated by his original name Toekoe Oemar — a symbolic stripping of the honour name Toekoe Djohan Pahalawan conferred by the Government Resolution of 5 September 1893.

The act was, in legal terms, the formal unwinding of the subjection of 30 September 1893. In political terms it was the public declaration that the Dutch government no longer regarded Umar as an ally, a hoeloebalang, or a Panglima Prang Besar — that he was, henceforth, simply an enemy chief, to be dealt with by military means.

The Proclamation of 27 April 1896

The dismission of 26 April 1896 was followed, on 27 April 1896, by the proclamation of the Regeeringscommissaris announcing military operations against the former ally. The proclamation — addressed to the population of Atjeh and to the hoeloebalang of the mukims — declared that the Government, having dismissed Umar from his posts, would now undertake military operations against him; that those who had cooperated with Umar could expect protection; and that those who continued to follow him would be treated as enemies. The proclamation is preserved, in Dutch, in the Bijlagen of ATJEH ‘96.

The Aftermath

The dismission of 26 April 1896 and the proclamation of 27 April 1896 inaugurated the offensive phase of the spring campaign. On 27 April 1896 the bombardment of Lampisang began. On 28 April–29 April 1896 the night surprise of Benting Batoe was executed. On 1 May–4 May 1896 the naval demonstration in the Kroeng-Rababaai was conducted. On 2 May 1896 the diversie to Montassik was mounted. On 23 May–25 May 1896 the three-day offensive was launched, culminating in the capture of Lam-Pisang and the destruction of Umar’s house on 24 May 1896. The dismission of 26 April 1896 was the legal foundation on which all of these operations rested.

Significance

The Dismission of Teuku Oemar on 26 April 1896 was the formal political response of the Dutch colonial government to the defection of 29 March 1896. It was, in legal terms, the unwinding of the subjection of 30 September 1893 — the dissolution of the native-allied policy of Gen.-Maj. Deykerhoff and the formal acknowledgment that the 1893–1896 experiment in war-by-proxy had failed. In political terms it was the symbolic stripping of the honour name Toekoe Djohan Pahalawan — a public humiliation that, while it could not undo the defection, marked the Government’s definitive repudiation of its former ally. In military terms it was the legal prerequisite for the proclamation of 27 April 1896 and the offensive that followed. The dismission of 26 April 1896 was, in this sense, the political pivot of the first semester of 1896: the moment at which the Dutch government ceased to regard Umar as a wayward ally and began, instead, to regard him as an enemy to be destroyed.

See Also

Source

ATJEH ‘96, door A. Kruisheer, Kapitein der Infanterie O.I.L., met 2 kaarten en 4 portretten (Weltevreden: N.V. Boekhandel Visser & Co, 1913). Instituut Kern, Leiden. OCR-filename: 20260715_163243_DLP-89-Atjeh_96_Met_2_kaarten_en4_DOORA_KRUISHEER_Kapiteinder_Infanterie_nemoretriever-ocr-v1_OCR.txt, pp. 142, 346, 676.

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