Quotes from Sukarno

I hate imperialism. I detest colonialism. And I fear the consequences of their last bitter struggle for life. We are determined that our nation, and the world as a whole, shall not be the plaything of one small corner of the world.

No one shrieked, 'We want Bung Hatta.' I did not need him. Just as also I did not need Sjahrir, who refused to show himself at the time of the reading of the Proclamation. Indeed, I could do it myself, and indeed, I did it alone.

Never, ever forget history.

The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation.

America likes you only if you're on the side she selects. If you don't go along with her totally, you're automatically considered to have entered the Soviet bloc.

I don't want to be a dictator, because it is contrary to my own conscience. I am a democrat, but I don't desire democratic liberalism. On the contrary, I want a guided democracy... I have a conception of my own, which I will put at the disposal of the party leaders if required.

How terrifically dynamic is our time! We can mobilize all the spiritual, all the moral, all the political strength of Africa and Asia on the side of peace. Yes, we! We, the people of Asia and Africa!

Yes, definitely we want to see A or B or C and so forth live safely and soundly. But as mortal creatures, they will disappear in the end. No, we are not struggling above all else for mortal individuals, but rather for the idea of the glorious and powerful nation which sustains the eighty million Indonesians.

If some nation says to us, 'You can have aid, but you have to end confrontation,' then I say, 'Go to hell with your aid.'

Our socialism does not include extreme materialistic concepts, since Indonesia is primarily a God-fearing, God-loving nation. Our socialism is a mixture. We draw political equality from the American Declaration of Independence. We draw spiritual equality from Islam and Christianity. We draw scientific equality from Marx.

At least Russia and China didn't call us names when we smiled sweetly at America.

Indonesia is rich in natural resources. Indonesia is rich in manpower with its 103 million inhabitants - not like Malaysia with its 10 million.

What, exactly, did Sjahrir do for the Republic? ... His entire underground effort can be summed up by saying that he sat quietly and safely away somewhere listening to a clandestine radio.

I am very unhappy about reports that I was seeking asylum in Manila.

I would adore to make up with the United States of America... Oh, America, what is the matter with you? Why couldn't you have been my friend?

Even if you were a general in 1945, if you split the revolutionary national unity today, if you are an enemy of the main pillars of the revolution today, then you have become a force of reaction!

Even a child, if he looks at a map of the world, can point out that the Indonesian archipelago forms one unity. On the map, there can be shown a unity of the group of islands between two great oceans - the Pacific Ocean and the Indies Ocean - and between two continents - the continent of Asia and the continent of Australia.

I always start from the stand that it is imperialism that needs us, not we who need the imperialists.

Which other people in this world stop up holes in their sidewalks with cassava, brothers and sisters? Only Indonesia itself, on account of the abundance of its food.

Let us not be bitter about the past, but let us keep our eyes firmly on the future.

If I used to say that Indonesia would be free when the corn ripens, I can now say that Indonesia will be free before it blossoms.

Upbuilding is necessary for the uplifting of our soul... Indonesia must be a strong country packed with factories. This is our utopia.

I embrace the PKI because it is a revolutionary force. PKI go forward. PKI never retreat. PKI grow. PKI be strong. Onward.

The principle of building an economy without foreign monopoly capital has become a principle which, for us, is no longer subject to amendment.