Thread by @dynaresam

UNVEILING THE SILENT HEROES - Indonesian Pak. Soeripto's Return From Mount Igman

What transpired in the aftermath of the heroic Indonesian Intelligence mission to deliver weapons to the Bosnian army during the most difficult period of the war?

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After successfully completing the mission and delivering weapons to the Bosnian Army on Mount Igman, Soeripto's next challenge was to go to Budapest and take the money to pay the dealer for the weapons. He had to take 2,5 million Deutschemarks from the then-Indonesian Ambassador.

It was a very dangerous task because it had to be kept secret, even from the Indonesian Embassy itself, which was accredited to Bosnia. Despite the risk, they managed to complete the transaction in secret, and Ambassador Soelaeman Pringgodigdo dropped him off at the Hilton hotel.

Carrying a bag full of money, he took a taxi from Budapest to Zagreb. Right before entering Croatia, the taxi driver, fearing potential snipers there, became very nervous. After some negotiating, as per Soeripto, the driver only agreed to take him to a safe hotel instead.

However, within 5 minutes of Soeripto's entering his room, some woman kept persistently knocking on his door. Annoyed, he asked the hotel manager to remove her, but the manager stated that "after nightfall the Russian mafia was in control there" (the location was never revealed).

Despite feeling anxious, Ripto saw it as a test, yet nothing happened. In the morning he took a bus to Zagreb where he delivered the money to the dealer, thus successfully completing his mission - which had been a secret for many years and for which the Indonesians must be proud.

Interestingly, as we know is that Soeharto himself also visited Bosnia when the country was still in conflict. Pak. Harto planned his visit to Bosnia even though it was on March 11, 1995, two days before the plane carrying UN Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi was shot at while flying.

Before the plane took off, the Indonesian group of officials, including the President Soeharto, was asked to fill out a risk statement form. The form stated that the UN would not be responsible for any incidents that would happen to Suharto and his entourage during the visit.

Soeharto's bodyguards at that time were only two people, namely Colonel Inf. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and the Commander of the Presidential Personal Guard Detachment, Major CPM Unggul K. Yudoyono. About half an hour before landing, there were instructions saying:

"We will enter an area that requires security, passengers are asked to wear helmets and vests", all the plane passengers took vests and helmets except Soeharto himself who refused. Without a bulletproof vest and helmet, The President, along with the delegation, arrived in Bosnia.

In fact, when the group arrived in Sarajevo, at one point Colonel Inf. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who was a commander of the Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres Group A) saw a 12.7 mm weapon which was usually used to bring down airplanes.

It was rotating continuously following the direction of the plane of Soeharto. To protect the president, Sjafrie ultimately decided to borrow a journalist's helmet and hide his vest under the overcoat he was wearing. This was done to make him look like Suharto to trick snipers.

Colonel Inf. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin was an experienced military officer who had great relations with Prabowo, who had a great influence in Indonesia, both then & now, and who according to Soeripto helped secure finances for the mission. Sjafrie was the main bodyguard of Soeharto.

After passing through the @SniperAlleyPhot - which during the Siege of Sarajevo was exposed to Serb sniper fire, and as such became infamous as a dangerous place for the movement - Soeharto eventually arrived to the Bosnian Presidential Palace, where President Alija welcomed him.

Sjafrie described the situation there as very worrying. They didn't even have a clean water supply in the palace. He also asked Soeharto why he could dare to risk his life by visiting a country that was at war directly on which he answered that if they can't help much with money,

at least they can boost the moral of the people who are fighting for their freedom. "Seeing Pak. Harto so calm, our morals and self-confidence as his bodyguards also became strong, calm and steady. The president is brave, why should we be nervous", regardless of nearby shelling.

"The sentences he uttered contained a valuable example for anyone who wants to lead" wrote Sjafrie in his book 'Pak Harto The Untold Stories' published by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama in 2011. Another story is that upon their arrival President Izetbegović thanked Soeharto by saying:

"That kind of assistance is what we need, Your Majesty", "Weapons, not just clothes, food and medicine." Immediately, State Secretary Moerdiono got shocked and asked President Soeharto, 'Mr. President, when did we send weapons to Bosnia?'

Soeharto replied to Moerdiono in Javanese, saying, "Wis. Wis, meneng bae!" (Quiet, quiet, just calm down!). This mission had been a top-secret operation, and even many of Soeharto's ministers were unaware of it, but Pak Soeripto said that he is sure that Soeharto was aware of it.

Soeharto's visit to Bosnia may not have succeeded in bringing a solution to end the war as planned. However, the visit inspired the President to give a notable gift (beautiful Istiklal Mosque in Sarajevo) to the Muslims of Bosnia right after the war.

However, regarding Soeripto, during the interview (which I attached in my bio, Indonesians should watch it), he was asked about any missions that had a lasting impact on him after Bosnia and his today's intelligence activism.

To this, Soeripto replied, "I can't answer that. It's confidential—top secret. Currently, I'm engaged in organizing aid for Palestine (as per interview from March 2023), this mission continues. It goes beyond mere charity; it's a special task for me even at the age of 87."

When the interviewer pressed him about the source of these special tasks, Soeripto replied, "I receive them from the Indonesian and Palestinian fighters". However, he chose not to disclose their specific identities.

All in all, at the end of this wonderful story, let's make dua for Ust. Hilmi Aminuddin rahimahullah, the teacher of Soeripto, and ask Allah swt to have mercy upon his soul and reward him, as Hilmi was the improviser of this idea which could not have been possible without him.

THE END 🇧🇦🇮🇩: I would especially like to thank and give credits to my brothers and sisters from Indonesia who directly or indirectly helped me in researching this story, may Allah reward them all. Ameen.

@AnIndonesianGuy @nuggetpedaz @discernia @breadunderscore @afathngantuk