Sukarno
Sukarno ( 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was the first President of Indonesia, serving in office from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for Independence from the Netherlands. He was a prominent leader of Indonesia's nationalist movement during the Dutch colonial period, and spent over a decade under Dutch detention until released by the invading Japanese forces. Sukarno and his fellow nationalists collaborated to garner support for the Japanese war effort from the population, in exchange for Japanese aid in spreading nationalist ideas. Upon Japanese surrender, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, and Sukarno was appointed as first president. He led Indonesians in resisting Dutch re-colonization efforts via diplomatic and military means until the Dutch acknowledgment of Indonesian independence in 1949.
After a chaotic period of parliamentary democracy, Sukarno established an autocratic system called "Guided Democracy" in 1957 that successfully ended the instability and rebellions which were threatening the survival of the diverse and fractious country. The early 1960s saw Sukarno veering Indonesia to the left by providing support and protection to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) at the expense of the military and Islamists. He also embarked on a series of aggressive foreign policies under the rubric of anti-imperialism, with aid from the Soviet Union and China. The 30 September Movement (1965) led to the destruction of the PKI and his replacement in 1967 by one of his generals, Suharto (see Transition to the New Order), and he remained under house arrest until his death.
Soekarno (film)
Soekarno (Indonesian: Soekarno: Indonesia Merdeka — "Indonesia's Independence") is a 2013 Indonesian biographical film directed by Hanung Bramantyo and written by Ben Sihombing. This film tells the story of the life of the late Sukarno (the modern spelling of Soekarno), the first president of Indonesia. Sukarno, who was born with the name "Kusno", was one of the major figures who played an important part in the fight for Indonesia's independence from Dutch colonial rule. This film stars Ario Bayu as Sukarno.
On 13 December 2013, the Central Jakarta Business Management Court (PTUN) acceded to a request made by one of Sukarno's daughters, Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, to halt the film's release. Some film critics had criticised the film for being too commercialised and taking liberties in its depiction of historical events and characters. Subsequently however, on 7 January 2014, the PTUN decided to overturn its earlier decision and allow the film to be shown.
The film was selected as Indonesia's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
