The Satriamandala Museum is the main museum for the Indonesian Armed Forces. Opened on 5 October 1972, it is located on of land in South Jakarta and holds numerous artefacts, weapons, and vehicles.
Description
The museum is located on Gatot Soebroto Street in West Kuningan, Mampang, South Jakarta, and sits on of land; the exhibitions are divided amongst three buildings and the grounds. It is the main military museum in Indonesia. The name Satria Mandala derives from Sanskrit and translates as "a sacred place for the knights". The museum is open to the general public and has archives for persons researching the history of the armed forces.
History
After 1968, the head of the Indonesian Armed Forces' history branch, Nugroho Notosusanto, conceived of a modern museum showcasing the military's role in Indonesia's development; the available museums in the country, such as the Struggle Museum in Yogyakarta, were underfunded and had poorly defined mission statements. There was not yet a museum showing the united role of the military, only museums to the role of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Notosusanto modeled his design after the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the Museo Nacional de Historia in Mexico City, Mexico. At first, the military asked President Suharto to use the presidential palace in Bogor, a request which was denied. They were instead told to use the Wisma Yaso, built in 1960 as a home for then-president Sukarno's Japanese wife Ratna Dewi Sari; the building had a Japanese style. The home was converted to a museum beginning on 15 November 1971. Although development continued until 1979, the museum was formally opened by President Suharto on Armed Forces Day, 5 October 1972. On its opening day the museum housed only 20 dioramas. An additional museum, Waspada Purbawisesa, was built on the grounds in 1987. After a series of protests from conservative Muslim groups were brought down through military force, such as in the Tanjung Priok, the New Order government gave more emphasis to Pancasila education; Waspada Purbawisesa played that role in Satriamandala. In January 2010 Satriamandala was declared a Cultural Property of Indonesia. It averaged 48,000 visitors years between 2006 and 2008.
Exhibitions
The museum contains numerous exhibitions on the military history of Indonesia. It includes a room dedicated to squadron banners, one dedicated to artefacts belonging to General Oerip Soemohardjo, General of the ArmySudirman, General Abdul Haris Nasution, and General Suharto. A nearby area contains hundreds of rifles, grenades, sharpened bamboo sticks, and other weapons dating from the 1940s and later. A Hall of Heroes holds life-size statues of members of the military who have been declared National Heroes of Indonesia, with Sudirman and Oerip in places of honour at the back of the hall. There are also 75 dioramas of pre-independence rebellions, the seconds leading to the proclamation of independence, the national revolution, and military efforts after the revolution. The dioramas were created by craftsmen from Yogyakarta. Further exhibitions in the building are photographic. It also includes several war machines, mostly on the museum grounds. This includes the ship KRI Pattimura, which saw action in Papua; aircraft such as the North American AT-16 Harvard, North American B-25 Mitchell, North American P-51 Mustang, the old RI 001 presidential jet, and the Mil Mi-4 helicopter; and land machines such as tanks, ambulances, and a Willys MB belonging to Sudirman. Waspada Purbawisesa, a five-story pentagon-shaped museum houses dioramas and artefacts from military conflicts against Islamic groups, both conservative and extremist. It includes artefacts from the defeat of the Darul Islam revolt and dioramas of other military conflicts with Islamic groups.
