Indonesia, 1956 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as a military coup conspiracy in Indonesia on 16 November 1956, corresponding to the failed coup attempt by Deputy Army Chief of Staff Colonel Zulkifli Lubis against the government of President Sukarno and army chief General Abdul Haris Nasution. Lubis, associated with the growing discontent in the officer corps over Sukarno's leftward drift and the centralization of command under Nasution, made a series of coup attempts in late 1956 that were foiled by loyal troops. This army disaffection connected to the wider outer-island colonels' movement that soon erupted into the regional PRRI and Permesta rebellions of 1957 and 1958.
The period also saw an assassination attempt against Sukarno in late November 1956. The coded November 1956 conspiracy fits the Lubis affair, an early manifestation of the army's turn against the Sukarno-Nasution center.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
85011161956
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Sukarno and army chief Nasution survived the Lubis coup attempts and the army disaffection deepened into regional rebellion.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Los Angeles Times
New York Times
The Times of India
Washington Post and Times Herald
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →