Max Lane Indonesia Southeast Asia and International Affairs

BOOK REVIEW:
HISTORY: UNFINISHED NATION
Tom Fawthrop,
South China Morning Post, August 3

Much of the traumatic story of Indonesia since independence has been buried in mass graves, secret military archives and censored reports.

The grand silence imposed on the media about what really happened in the coup led by former general Suharto in 1965 against then president Sukarno and his government, plus the orgy of bloodshed and the purge that followed - wiping out up to a million Sukarnoists, Chinese , socialists and communists in a year of CIA-backed terror - is still far from broken.

In the decade since Suharto was ousted by popular indignation and people power on the streets of Jakarta there has been no official investigation and none of Suharto's generals have been held accountable for the slaughter.

Max Lane, an Indonesia specialist and translator of the famous works of Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, brings an essential understanding to events in Unfinished Nation. He portrays how Indonesia today is torn between two legacies: the post-independence era of Sukarno, who led a popular nationalist and anti-imperialist government, and the 33 years of military dictatorship that followed.

Unfinished Nation: Indonesia before and after Suharto

Reviewed by Nick Everett,

DIRECT ACTION monthly, August, 2008

Unfinished Nation: Indonesia before and after Suharto
By Max Lane
Verso 2008 312 pages
RRP (Australia) $49.95

In May 1998, Indonesian dictator General Mohammed Suharto was forced out of power when his cabinet ministers and the other generals — faced with escalating mass protests — abandoned him. A second upsurge of protest, drawing in even larger layers of the population in November 1998, forced Suharto’s successor as Indonesian president, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, to call elections. These events signalled the end of Indonesia’s New Order dictatorship, which had dominated Indonesian political life throughout most of the archipelago’s post-colonial history.

Unfinished Nation traces the evolution of Indonesia’s political struggle from the stirring of an anti-colonial movement at the beginning of the 20th century through to the post-Suharto era. It tells the story of the real heroes of this struggle: Indonesia’s workers, peasants and urban poor, whose sustained mass action was the determining force in overthrowing the New Order regime.

Calendar – recent and coming events
Contact Max Lane at maxrlane@gmail.com

October 2, Fordham University, Department of English and Comparative Literature, New York - keynote lecture and roundtable discussion on the historical novels of Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

October 10, Brecht Forum, New York: public lecture the novels of Pramoedya Ananta Toer in Indonesia's revolutionary process.

October 29: Brecht Forum, New York: The Left and the struggle against neo-liberalism in Indonesia and comparison's with Venezuela.

Other lectures and talks are being scheduled a the venues below. Final dates and topics will be put un the blog in a week or so.:

Bluestockings Book Shop, East Village, New York
City University of New York, Graduate Centre for Worker Education
Northwestern University, Chicago, Department of Political Science
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies
University of Michigan, Ann Abor - Centre for Southeast Asian Studies
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - Centre for Asian Studies
University of California - Berkeley - Centre for Southeast Asian Studies
Modern Times Bookshop, San Francisco

For recent events click "more" below

James balowski's translations of the series of interviews with leaders of Indonesian peoples organisations that were published in the first issue of Jurnal Bersatu has now been updated to include the following interviews:

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10 Years after the Fall of Suharto – Views from the People’s Organisations

Journal of Unity - May 2008

[The following is a translation of the first nine out of a series of 12 interviews with leaders of labour, peasant, fisherpeople, urban and rural poor, environmental, student and social-political organisations in Indonesia around the theme “Ten Years after the Fall of Suharto - Views from the People’s Organisations”, which appeared in the first edition of Jurnal Bersatu (Journal of Unity). Additional interviews will be added to this page as they are translated – James Balowski.]

Labour organisations

1. Sastro, Chairperson Workers Challenge Alliance (ABM)
2. Lqbal, President of the Indonesian Metal Trade Workers Federation (FSPMI)

Peasant Organisations

1. Donny, National Peasants Union (STN)
2. Iwan, Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA)
3. Rully, Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI)

Fisherpeople’s organisations

Arbani Nikahi, Chairperson Saijaan Fishers Union (INSAN)

Urban and rural poor organisations

Marlo, General Chairperson Indonesian Poor People’s Union (SRMI)

Student organisations

Ken, Indonesian Student Union (SMI)

Environmental organisations

Andreat, General Secretary Green Indonesia Union (SHI)

See 10 Years after the Fall of Suharto – Views from the People’s Organisations for full interviews.

The two articles below were published in the new monthly newspaper, DIRECT ACTION, in the June and July issues.

They are entitled:

Left collaboration growing in Indonesia

and

New Indonesian alliance fights fuel price rises

The second article is based upon interviews with Indonesian trade union leaders.

Joesoef autographing his book. There was a LONG queue!

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On Sunday July 13 more than 300 people gathered to honour Joesoef Isak on the occcasion of his 80th year. At a three hour event in the Theatre Kecil at the Jakarta Arts Centre that featured speeches by a range of activists and intellectuals, a 35 minute documentary, music, cutting of a traditional rice cake, the editors of the book, Bonnie Triyana and Max Lane presented it to Joesoef Isak.

Joesoef Isak has been a journalist, publisher and editor since the 1950s.

Bonnie Triyana is a historian and journalist. He has become a prolific writer on the history of the peoples movement and the Left, until recently editing the history pages in the daily Jurnas. He is part of the leadership of Masyarakat Indonesia Sadar Sejarah. In 2003 he co-edited, revolusi Belum Selesai: Kumpulan Pidato Soekarno 30 September 1965 - Pelengkap Nawaksara. he is almost finsihed a new book, Republik Bandit. He was the primary editor of the new book.

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Joesoef presenting copies of the book to some of the contributors
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The several excellent short speeches were from mainly young people, but including the most respected figure from the Indonesian Netherlands exile community.

The film was a very effective 35 min documentary with a great spirit done on a shoestring budget by Daniel Indrakusuma. The film ws produced by Wilson bin Nurtias, who - along with Irina Dyarsih and many others - also played a key role in organising the Sunday event.

There was a wonderful singing group of 60 year old tapol women or from tapol families, who had everybody on their feet singing the Internationale as well as other songs; and funny and moving comments from Joesoef and a good atmosphere when we presented the book to him.

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Bonnie Triyana and Max Lane presenting the new book to Joesoef.
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More autograph signing

MORE PHOTOS

07 July
"Unfinished Nation" has been released in Singapore for about a week now.

http://singaporestory.spaces.live.com/

Fight!

I just finished reading Max Lane's Unfinished Nation -
a fairly concise recollection of Indonesia's political
events including that of President Suharto who was
pushed out of power. Suharto was abandoned by
his close aides and generals at a time when he was
faced with unrests and demostrations by radicals,
students and workers under the banner of aksi and
reformasi.