Indonesia's 78th independence

The history of the proclamation of Indonesian independence began on August 17, 1945, when the Indonesian nation officially declared its independence. Even though Japan's defeat in World War II became one of the important backgrounds that accelerated the process, Indonesian independence was not a gift given directly by Japan.
On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan by the United States, which lowered the morale and morale of Japanese soldiers around the world. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, forcing Japan to surrender to the United States and its allies. This moment was used by Indonesia to declare its independence.
On August 10, 1945, Soekarno, Hatta, and Radjiman Wedyodiningrat were flown to Dalat, Vietnam, to meet with Marshal Terauchi. They were told that the Japanese troops were on the verge of defeat and would give independence to Indonesia. On August 12, 1945, Marshal Terauchi announced to Soekarno, Hatta, and Radjiman that the Japanese government would soon grant independence to Indonesia and the proclamation of independence could be carried out in a few days.
Two days after the meeting in Dalat, when Soekarno, Hatta and Radjiman returned to their homeland from Dalat, Sutan Syahrir urged Sukarno to immediately declare independence. However, Soekarno was not convinced that Japan had truly surrendered and the proclamation of independence at that time could lead to a major conflict. On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies, but still held power in Indonesia.
On August 16, 1945, the Rengasdengklok incident occurred. The young fighters, including Chaerul Saleh, Sukarni, Wikana, Shodanco Singgih, and others brought Soekarno, Fatmawati, and Guntur (their only 9 month old child) to Rengasdengklok. The aim was that Soekarno and Hatta would not be influenced by the Japanese. There, they convinced Soekarno that Japan had surrendered and the Indonesian fighters were ready to fight the Japanese.
After the Rengasdengklok incident, Soekarno and Hatta returned to Jakarta. They met with Major General Oosugi Nishimura, head of the General Affairs Department of the Japanese military government. Nishimura argued that Japan must maintain the status quo and could not give permission to prepare the proclamation of Indonesian independence as promised by Marshal Terauchi in Dalat. Soekarno and Hatta regretted the decision and headed to Admiral Maeda's house to hold a meeting to prepare the text of the Proclamation.
The preparation of the text of the Proclamation was carried out by Soekarno, M. Hatta, Achmad Soebardjo, and witnessed by Soekardi, B.M. Diah, Sudiro, and Sayuti Melik. The text of the Proclamation was written by Ir. Sukarno himself. After it was agreed, Sayuti Melik copied and typed the text using Major Dr.'s typewriter. Hermanto Kusumobroto (from the German Navy representative office).
On the morning of 17 August 1945, at Soekarno's residence at Jalan Pegangsaan Timur 56 (now Jl. Proklamasi No.1), the Proclamation ceremony began. At 10 am, Soekarno read out the text of the Proclamation and a short speech afterwards. Then, the Red and White flag, which was sewn by Mrs. Fatmawati, was hoisted by a PETA soldier named Latief Hendraningrat who was assisted by Soepardjo and a young woman carrying a tray of red and white flags. After the flag was hoisted, the Indonesia Raya song was sung by all present. The heritage flag is still stored in the National Proclamation Monument Museum to this day.