The Margarana Monument in Marga is 15 kilometers northeast of Tabanan, the capital of Tabanan regency. This memorial park honors a regiment of guerilla fighters killed here by a Dutch ground attack and aerial bombardment shortly after World War II ended. The Dutch far outnumbered the Balinese, many of whom were armed only with sharpened bamboo poles. The engagement was a shattering defeat for the Balinese resistance movement, killing many of its original guerilla leaders, though it was an immense psychological boon to the independence struggle. So many high-caste cadre lost their lives that the battle marked the beginning of much heavier participation of lower-caste guerillas. The aristocratic leader of this futile last stand was 29-year-old Lt. Col. I Gusti Ngurah Rai. His name is now commemorated on street signs all over the island and Bali’s main international airport is named in his honor.
The Battle of Marga was joined after the Indonesians refused a Dutch demand for surrender. After a series of clashes in Tabanan, Rai’s platoon set out on a long march to Gunung Agung, seeking to draw attention away from a landing on Jembrana of Republican troops from Java. The ploy was discovered by the Dutch, who attacked and annihilated the Balinese force at Marga on 20 November 1946 with the aid of a B-25 bomber.
In all, 96 Balinese guerillas were killed – a virtual reenactment of the famous last-ditch puputans 40 years earlier in the Dutch conquest of the island at the turn of the century. Although Balinese resistance was broken, the Indonesians eventually won the war. Their struggle against the Dutch lasted for four more long and bloody years.
A strange, eerie feeling permeates this place. The memorial stones of 1,372 men and women – Muslims, Hindus and Christians – who died on Bali fighting Netherlands forces lie in a cemetery here, including 11 Japanese soldiers who defected to the Indonesian side. Christian tombstones bear the cross, Muslims the half moon, Balinese the swastika. The monument is inscribed with the text of a famous letter I Gusti Ngurah Rai wrote to a Dutch officer, pledging to give his life for the revolution.
The Margarana (“Battle of Marga”) memorial was originally built in 1954 and has been recently renovated. In the middle is a 17-meter-tall, eight-roofed monument shaped like a Javanese candi, designed to symbolize the unity of the fallen revolutionaries in their fight for freedom.
Marga is not a regular tourist stop, there will probably be just a few people there, but it is worth a visit if only for its charged and reverential atmosphere. This last 20 November, special “Hero’s Day” ceremonies marking the 58th anniversary of the battle were held, with a symbolic reenactment of the “Long March.” Attended by scouts, soldiers and officials, the eight-hour march to Denpasar lasted from evening to early morning. Also visit the small museum on the grounds (open 8am-12pm) exhibiting uniforms, weapons, documents, photos, battle plans and remnants of the battle.
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright#2004 PakBill
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