Max Lane Indonesia Southeast Asia and International Affairs

'Arok of Java': A coup d'etat and a snotty heroine
Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Arok of Java: A Novel of Early Indonesia By Pramudya Ananta Toer 2007 translation by Max Lane Cover design and text layout: Clement Michael Publisher: Horizon Books, Singapore Pages: 387

Arrow-wielding monks and nuns. Women in the fighting ranks wearing only loincloths -- and a pregnant one, too.

A struggle for power highlighting the competition between those worshiping Syiwa, Wisnu and others, beyond simply followers of Hinduism and Buddhism, way before Christianity and Islam, and colonial rulers, entered Java.

More than 500 people participated in the biggest gathering of social justice and international solidarity activists in Australia since 2002, when they attended the Third Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference (APISC 2005), in Sydney on March 24-28.

The APISC conferences (the last was held in 2002) are established as the biggest left discussion conferences in Australia. The conference was opened by Ashfield mayor Rae Jones, who declared Ashfield municipality a no-war zone soon after he was elected 10 months ago. Messages have come in since the conference from many participants, both from Australia and overseas, declaring it “the best APISC ever.