March revived to remember historic Surabaya battle

This Stories Has Publish at The Jakarta Post at, Nopember 28, 2006

It was close to dawn, but despite the early hour loud police sirens and cheers from thousands of waiting spectators greeted a group of marchers entering Surabaya's Tugu Pahlawan monument area.

The 10-member Aremba team was the first to reach the finish line at the Mojokerto-Surabaya competition. "Go Aremba," yelled the group's supporters.

The tired and sweaty faces of the young men from Lakarsari district in west Surabaya brightened as they reached the finish line.

After a nine-year hiatus, the traditional march from Mojokerto to Surabaya was revived this year in East Java.

The competition was originally organized to commemorate a heroic incident from the 1945 Battle of Surabaya, during Indonesia's fight for independence.

A Surabaya cultural observer, Kadaruslan, said many freedom fighters involved in the struggle in Surabaya came from Mojokerto.

When Allied forces began besieging Surabaya, fighters from Mojokerto came to protect the city. "They walked 55 km to fight in the battle. It is commemorated today by the younger generation as the Mojokerto-Surabaya Traditional March," Kadaruslan told The Jakarta Post.

The traditional march had been held annually since the 1980s but was suspended in 1997.

"The political and economic situations at that time were not favorable for us to organize such a competition, especially the security conditions, which were at their worst," said the vice chairman of the Surabaya office of the National Sports Council, Sunardi.

Participants did not have to pay a fee this year, as they did in the past. Some 3,270 contestants from various cities in Java, including 550 teams and 1,070 individual participants, took part in the competition.

They were grouped in categories such as military/police and general public, competing for a total cash prize of Rp 25 million (US$2,800).

The main highway between Mojokerto and Surabaya was closed for previous competitions, but not this time. Sunardi said organizers gave the marchers careful instructions on how to compete without hindering traffic.

"We wanted to educate people on road discipline because the number of team members this year was 10, compared to 20 previously, and two teams marched simultaneously in a row," said Sunardi.

The organizing committee carried over the evaluation methods used in previous years. The competition is based, not on speed, but accurate timing, orderliness and team spirit.

"At a normal walking pace of 6 km per hour, competitors can cover the distance in between nine and 10 hours," said Sunardi, who is also a committee member.

During the contest's wee hours, a group of vintage bicycle lovers acted as pacesetters. Their historical costumes evoked the atmosphere of the struggle era.

The marching competition was a nostalgic event for some Surabaya citizens.

Suhaeri, a resident of Kapasari, who used to take part in the march, watched with his 10-year-old son, Aditya Katon.

"I want my son to know Surabaya has the Mojokerto-Surabaya traditional marching competition, which is unique and rich in historical value," said Suhaeri.

Two of his nephews participated in the event as individual contestants. "I don't expect them to win, but what's more important is for them to enliven the event," he said.