Public Relations of UPNVJ - Dr. Heru Sugiyono, SH, MH, who is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of UPN Veteran Jakarta as well as a Legal Practitioner, was one of the speakers at the National Seminar held at the Persada Soekarno Site, Kediri, on August 18, 2025.

This National Seminar is part of the series of events "Ruwatan Negara: Welcoming Indonesia as a Lighthouse of World Peace". Ruwatan is not just a ceremony, but a form of gratitude for the establishment of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) on August 18, 1945, one day after the Proclamation of Independence on August 17, 1945.

As the Keynote Speaker in the National Seminar, Brigadier General. Pol. Langgeng Purnomo, SIK, MH who is the Head of the Human Resources Staff Career Development Bureau (Karobinkar SSDM) of the Indonesian National Police Headquarters said "The Indonesian nation was born thanks to a struggle blessed by God. Faith, humanity and love for the homeland merged into a strength towards the gate of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945." He emphasized, True love for the homeland is a national fortress to save the Republic of Indonesia which was founded on August 18, 1945, even if it is just a drop of water, let us realize goodness for Indonesia.
As the first resource person, Prof. Anhar Gonggong, a National historian, stated that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was founded on August 18. The state is said to have existed with three conditions: a Constitution in the form of the 1945 Constitution, the existence of state administrators, namely the President and his deputy, and the existence of a defined territory after the declaration of independence. According to him, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was founded on August 18, 1945, after the independence of the Indonesian Nation was declared by Sukarno Hatta on August 17, 1945.

The second resource person, Sri Purba SH, MH, as a Lecturer in Constitutional Law at Bung Karno University, conveyed in his presentation the form of government adopted at that time on August 18, 1945.
Next, the third speaker, Dr. Heru Sugiyono SH, MH, a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at UPN Veteran Jakarta and a Legal Practitioner, said that Independence Day, which is celebrated every August 17th, is a sacred moment for all Indonesian people. However, in practice, in society and official institutions, there are differences in the terminology that have the potential to cause historical and constitutional errors. Many parties refer to it as the "Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia," whereas historically, the Proclamation of August 17, 1945, declared the independence of the Indonesian nation from colonialism, not the independence of a particular form of state. The form of the Republic of Indonesia was only confirmed later in the 1945 Constitution as a consequence of that independence. According to him, this error, although seemingly simple, has several implications, including: obscuring the original meaning of the Proclamation, which was the culmination of the nation's struggle, not merely a declaration of the form of state; causing the younger generation to learn inaccurate narratives, thereby losing a complete understanding of the nation's journey; and potentially contradicting the spirit of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution which affirms "The Independence of the Indonesian nation." Therefore, efforts are needed to straighten out and reaffirm the official mention of the commemoration of independence according to historical facts and the spirit of the constitution, including through legal mechanisms such as testing at the Constitutional Court. Dr. Heru added, the Constitutional Court through its decision Number: 66/PUU-XII/2024 dated January 3, 2025, on page 103 paragraph 3, has provided legal considerations: The difference in the wording of the wording "Proclamation of Independence" shows disharmony between Law 24/2009 and Law 9/2010.

Therefore, comprehensive harmonization of legislation by lawmakers, in this case the House of Representatives (DPR) and the President, is necessary to address these two differences in wording. This will prevent historical misunderstandings in naming historical events and moments, particularly the proclamation. In this regard, according to the Court, lawmakers need to identify whether there are still laws containing the same differences in nomenclature. This certainly requires further study and investigation to avoid differences in meaning in understanding the nation's history.
As the closing speaker, Prof. Tries Edy Wahyono, author of the book "August 17, 1945, the State of Indonesia Did Not Exist Yet" stated that the Proclamation of August 17, 1945 was a declaration of Independence for the Indonesian Nation which was being colonized.
At the time of the proclamation on August 17, the Indonesian nation did not yet have a Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. According to him, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was established on August 18, 1945, and the government of the Republic of Indonesia only came into existence after the establishment of the Republic and the appointment of the president and vice president on August 18, 1945, at the first session of the PPKI (Indonesian Children's Empowerment Committee). Therefore, if the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on August 17, 1945, is interpreted as the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia, it is an incorrect statement. The correct statement is that the independence of the Indonesian nation was on August 17, 1945, and on August 17, 1945, there was no state, meaning there was no legitimate government.