Page "Sukarno" Paragraph 19

The Japanese had their own files on Sukarno and the Japanese commander in Sumatera approached him with respect, wanting to use him to organise and pacify the Indonesians.

Sukarno on the other hand wanted to use the Japanese to free Indonesia: " The Lord be praised, God showed me the way ; in that valley of the Ngarai I said: Yes, Independent Indonesia can only be achieved with Dai Nippon ... For the first time in all my life, I saw myself in the mirror of Asia.

" On July 1942, Sukarno was sent back to Jakarta, where he re-united with other nationalist leaders recently released by the Japanese, including Mohammad Hatta.

There, he met the Japanese commander General Hitoshi Imamura, who asked Sukarno and other nationalists to galvanise support from Indonesian populace to aid Japanese war effort.