Gov’t Declares March 1 State Sovereignty Enforcement Day

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on February 24, 2022 issued Presidential Decree Number 2 of 2022 on the State Sovereignty Enforcement Day.

“[The President] declares March 1 as the State Sovereignty Enforcement Day,” the first dictum of the decree reads.

The second dictum of the decree states that the State Sovereignty Enforcement Day is not a holiday.

“The Presidential Decree comes into force as of the date of its issuance,” the third dictum of the Decree states.

For the record, the State Sovereignty Enforcement Day is determined based on several considerations.

First, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, proclaimed on August 17, 1945, is an independent and sovereign state aiming at achieving the goals of the State as stated in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, namely to protect the entire nation of Indonesia, to promote public welfare, educate the nation, and to participate in preserving world order based on freedom, perpetual peace and social justice.

Second, following the Proclamation of Independence on August 17, 1945, the struggle of the Indonesian people to gain recognition of sovereignty from the international community was met with resistance from the Netherlands through military operations and political propaganda at the United Nations (UN).

Third, the General Offensive on March 1, 1949, which was initiated by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX, ordered by the Great Commander General Sudirman, approved by President Soekarno and Vice President Mohammad Hatta and supported by the Indonesian National Defense Forces, the Indonesian National Police, the people’s troops, and all other elements of the nation, is an important part of the history of the struggle of the nation to re-establish the existence and sovereignty of the nation on the world stage. The nation has succeeded in restoring its spirit of the unity and integrity.

“In order to raise public awareness of the historical values ​​of the nation’s struggle, to strengthen the spirit and pride of the nation, and to strengthen national unity and integrity, it is necessary to declare March 1 as the State Sovereignty Enforcement Day,” the Decree states. (UN) (RI/EP)