The remarkable story of the mutiny off of Sumatra by both Indonesian and Dutch sailors aboard the Dutch Navy’s Zeven Provinciën. After a week of evasion under the command of a Indonesian common Seaman, the High Command decided to bomb their own ship, killing nearly two dozen and ending the mutiny. Long Live the Mutinous Sailors of De Zeven Provinciën!

‘Support the Dutch Sailors!’ from Labor Defender. Vol. 10 No. 3. March, 1934.

On February 10th, 1933 a bomb was thrown from a Dornier plane, killing 18 sailors, wounding 25, and resulting in the surrender of the striking crew of the Zeven Provinzien. The officer who threw this strike-breaking bomb was a German Nazi named Fehrenbach–a well-known hanger-on in Hitler circles, until he found other outlets for his adventurism by obtaining a commission in the Dutch colonial army. This news is made public by the Roode Hulp (I.L.D.) of Holland, which is leading an international campaign for the sailors on trial, since October 31, in Surabaya, Java.

The severity of the sentences they will receive depends upon the strength of the mass support which the Roode Hulp (I.L.D.) of Holland is able to win for its protest campaign in Holland and throughout the world.

Already 235 sailors from the Surabaya barracks, who were striking in solidarity with the sailors of the ZEVEN PROVIZIEN, have been sentenced quietly to prison. With these already disposed of, it is probable that every effort will be made to present the ZEVEN PROVINZIEN crew to the world as isolated mutineers, rather than as the advance guard of an economic general strike in the Dutch navy. The report of the military commission of inquiry, however, part of which is reprinted below, itself shows very clearly the character of the grievances and the nature of the action which the sailors had planned against them:

“Last December a cable was received from Holland, to the effect that a considerable wage-reduction was being prepared for the sailors. While the Z.P. was on its way to Sabang (in North Sumatra), several notices appeared on the blackboard, announcing that the wage-reduction had gone into effect; 17% for the Indonesian sailors and 14% for the Dutch. Even then there were outbursts of discontent on board the Z.P. It must not be forgotten that all of the married men are bread-winners and that most of the single men also have to support parents or relatives. And because, even in normal times a large amount is deducted from their wages for the most varied reasons (pension fund, sickness fund, clothes repairs, etc. this reduction is far worse in fact than the percentage (high as it is) would indicate.

“The Captain (Eijkenboom, who has since been dismissed and will have to answer to the War Council in Holland for his failure to maintain discipline) tried to quiet the men and warned them against resistance. None the less meetings were held on board the ship. Then a meeting was held in a moving-picture house in Sabang. An oiler wrote the manifesto for the meeting: in this manifesto, the need for united action of Indonesian and Dutch sailors is brought forth. A corporal, Bosschart, acted as chairman. His opening speech was translated into Malayan by an Indonesian sailor. When the question of a general strike was raised, police stopped the meeting.

“The crew returned to the ship and shortly afterwards the captain ordered them to weigh anchor. The ship went to the nearby island of Oleh-Leh. There, at a meeting of the sailors on board the ship the following resolution was passed: as soon as an opportunity came, the sailors would take over the ship, make for Surabaya and free the sailors who had been imprisoned there for refusal to obey orders. Then a general strike would be carried through, until the two following demands were won: pardon for all who had refused to obey orders, and withdrawal of the wage-cut.

“The Indonesian sailors offered to secure arms and ammunition. Two Indonesian sailors (Kawalarang and Tuhamena) were put in charge of navigation. Another Indonesian, Rumampi, was in charge of weighing the anchor. Corporal Bosschart was made responsible for generally leading the rebellion. Kawalarang was to give the signal by blowing a whistle. An Indonesian steward volunteered to lock the officers in their cabins as soon as the whistle blew. It was decided to carry through this action on the fourth of February.

“That day the sailors went ashore. The officers were invited to a party in the clubhouse at Sabang. Some of the crew took part in a football game that day, and others watched the game; still others went to a moving-picture showing, which was given to keep them quiet. But at seven in the evening, they returned to the ship as had been agreed. A police officer, Vermeer, suspected something and went to the club-house to warn the captain. The captain, however, did not believe a word of it and only laughed. On board the ship, there were 17 young officers.

“The signal having been given, the program was carried out exactly as planned. The sailors are accustomed to discipline, and they have always excelled in solidarity: these things enabled them to carry out their plans smoothly. The officers had their revolvers, but offered no resistance, because it would have been useless. Later they were taken to the long-room, having given their word to refrain from action. They amused themselves by playing cards. A radio-officer had already wired to the stations in Indonesia and Schevingue (to the latter with the request to pass the news on to Surabaya) that the crew of the Z.P. had mutinied. When he was taken from his cabin, he threatened to fire his revolver, but changed his mind in time, so that he was not injured.

“The ship put on steam and about two o’clock in the morning pulled out, with the police officer Vermeer gazing after it. He went back to the club-house and gave the alarm. The captain, with a number of officers and officials, boarded the motor-boat, and pursued the Z.P. The crew warned them by radio not to use violence, because in that case they would be answered by the heavy guns. They also declared that they were bound for Surabaya and would surrender the ship to the authorities, on condition that the arrested sailors were set free and no violence was used against the sailors on general strike.”

The action of these Dutch sailors was not only a struggle for securing better conditions for themselves; but it also was a breach in the imperialist chain of steel that fastens the natives of Java, Sumatra, and the Dutch East Indies. The strike of the Dutch sailors was a signal for the natives of the colonies and the workers of Holland to stand together and continue the fight with greater energy against their oppressors. All workers organizations, factory groups, unemployed groups should send protest letters or telegrams to the Dutch Legation in Washington or to the Dutch Consulate in their own city for the freedom of the imprisoned sailors, for the return of all lost ratings in navy grades, and any fines or losses of pay incurred.

Labor Defender was published monthly from 1926 until 1937 by the International Labor Defense (ILD), a Workers Party of America, and later Communist Party-led, non-partisan defense organization founded by James Cannon and William Haywood while in Moscow, 1925 to support prisoners of the class war, victims of racism and imperialism, and the struggle against fascism. It included, poetry, letters from prisoners, and was heavily illustrated with photos, images, and cartoons. Labor Defender was the central organ of the Scottsboro and Sacco and Vanzetti defense campaigns. Editors included T. J. O’ Flaherty, Max Shactman, Karl Reeve, J. Louis Engdahl, William L. Patterson, Sasha Small, and Sender Garlin.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1934/v10n03-mar-1934-orig-LD.pdf