The Pasenstelsel — het passenstelsel — was the pass system introduced in Groot-Atjeh in the period van medio September tot 28 October 1896 — from mid-September to 28 October 1896 — for the regulation of movement between the Dutch-held geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) and the Acehnese-held territories beyond. The system required all inhabitants of the Dutch-held area to obtain a pas (pass) in order to travel beyond the geconcentreerde linie, and all inhabitants of the Acehnese-held area to obtain a pas in order to enter the Dutch-held area. The pasenstelsel (pass system) was a critical innovation of Stemfoort’s second tenure as Civiel en Militair Gouverneur, and represented a significant extension of Dutch administrative control beyond the military sphere — a step in the slow transformation of the Dutch presence in Atjeh from a military occupation into a civil administration.
The Policy Framework
The pasenstelsel (pass system) was introduced under the modified postenstelsel (system of posts) policy of the 18 July 1896 telegram of Governor-General Van der Wijck, which had authorised the bezetting (occupation) of points beyond the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) on condition that voortdurende aanvulling van troepen en dwangarbeiders steeds mogelijk zullen zijn (continuous replenishment of troops and forced labourers would always be possible). The telegram had further laid down that aan die hoofden mogen geen wapens worden verstrekt, en vuurwapens zelfs slechts tot zeer gering aantal in hun bezit gelaten worden (no weapons may be furnished to those chiefs, and firearms even may be left in their possession only in very small numbers), and that het beperken van de gemeenschap tusschen de buiten de linie wonenden, met het gebied daarbinnen, ongewenscht [is] (the restriction of communication between those living outside the linie and the area within is undesirable). The pasenstelsel (pass system) was thus the administrative instrument by which the Dutch sought to regulate — but not to prohibit — the movement between the two areas.
The Operation of the Pasenstelsel
The pasenstelsel (pass system) operated as a system of registration and identification. Every inhabitant of the Dutch-held area who wished to travel beyond the geconcentreerde linie (concentrated line) was required to obtain a pas from the Dutch authorities, which specified the traveller’s identity, destination, and the duration of the authorised absence. Every inhabitant of the Acehnese-held area who wished to enter the Dutch-held area was likewise required to obtain a pas — and, on entering, was required to deposit his weapons at the Dutch post, waar de wapens tijdelijk worden afgelegd (where the weapons are temporarily laid down). The system was designed to facilitate the identification of woelgeesten (troublemakers) and the regulation of trade, but it also represented a significant restriction on the freedom of movement of the Acehnese population — a restriction which was justified by the Governor-General’s beheersching (domination programme) programme of 18 July 1896.
The Period of Introduction (mid-September to 28 October 1896)
The pasenstelsel (pass system) was introduced in the period van medio September tot 28 October 1896 — a period which coincided with the construction of the Blang Bintang camp (begun 7 September 1896), the first Selimoen expedition (6–11 September 1896), and the temporary occupation of Indrapoeri (28 October 1896). The pasenstelsel (pass system) was thus introduced in the same period as the Dutch forward movement into the XXII Moekims and the Selimoen — the geographical and administrative extensions of Dutch control which the pasenstelsel (pass system) was designed to regulate. The system was fully in place by 28 October 1896, when the temporary occupation of Indrapoeri opened a new forward position which would also be subject to the pasenstelsel (pass system).
Significance
The pasenstelsel (pass system) is significant in the documentary record of ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel as the principal administrative innovation of Stemfoort’s second tenure. The system represented a significant extension of Dutch administrative control beyond the military sphere — a step in the slow transformation of the Dutch presence in Atjeh from a military occupation into a civil administration. The pasenstelsel (pass system) would remain in force, with modifications, throughout the remainder of the Atjeh-oorlog and into the civil government period, and would be one of the principal instruments of Dutch administrative control in the early twentieth century. The system’s introduction in the second semester of 1896 — under the modified postenstelsel (system of posts) policy of the 18 July 1896 telegram — placed it within the beheersching (domination programme) programme which characterised the second semester of 1896 under Stemfoort’s second tenure, and prepared the ground for the more systematic administrative reforms which would be undertaken under Van Vliet and his successors.
See Also
- ATJEH ‘96 — Tweede Deel (book by A. Kruisheer)
- J. W. Stemfoort
- Jhr. C. H. A. van der Wijck
- Stemfoort’s Second Tenure as Civiel en Militair Gouverneur (11 July – 17 November 1896)
- Notulen der conferentie van 18 Juni 1896
- Construction of Blang Bintang Camp (7 September 1896)
- First Selimoen Expedition (6–11 September 1896)
- Temporary Occupation of Indrapoeri (28 October 1896)
- Geconcentreerde Linie
- Beheersching
- Woelgeesten
- Uleebalang
- Civiel en Militair Gouverneur
- Groot-Atjeh
- Aceh War
- 1896
- 1913
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. 8, 113–116.