Satire and mockery through political caricatures against Negara Indonesia Timur (the State of East Indonesia), 1946–1950

This article discusses satire and mockery of the State of East Indonesia establishment (SEI, 1946–1950) through political caricatures published in the pro-republic Revolutionary magazine. These mocking caricatures were one of the methods used by people who did not agree with the formation of the State of East Indonesia. There were other ways which had been done; demonstrations, motions of no confidence in parliament, etc. As historical research, this article uses several archives stored in the Jakarta National Archives, and the State of East Indonesia Archives which are stored in Makassar, South Sulawesi. Apart from archives,several newspapers published between 1946 and 1950 were also used. Satire and mockery were aimed at two things, namely (1) the process of establishing the SEI, which was the Dutch government’s re-colonization project in Indonesia; and (2) the figures behind the SEI such as Hubertus van Mook, Charles Olke van der Plas, Soekawati, and Nadjamuddin Daeng Malewa. For pro-republican people, the establishment of the SEI and the figures behind it were nothing more than an attempt by the Dutch to return to their power in Indonesia which had been proclaimed on August 17, 1945.