Geoff Simons profiles the appalling human-rights record of modern Indonesia, against a history of the country from colonial times to the present. He highlights the gross acts of repression (torture, killings, etc.) and the unjust legal system and corrupt nepotism that have protected such violations over the years, and he describes the struggles of the East Timorese and West Papuans for independence. The historical survey focuses on the nationalist campaign against Dutch colonialism, the role of Sukarno as the first president of the Republic of Indonesia, the subsequent political turmoil, the long rule and eventual fall of Suharto and the 1998 appointment of Habibie as the third president of the Republic. Details are given of the current social chaos caused by economic collapse, with focus on the failure of the state institutions - the legacy of the corrupt and repressive Suharto decades - to address the problems. The role of foreign powers is profiled, with emphasis on the involvement of the United States and Britain in supporting attempted coups d'etat against Sukarno, in encouraging the 1960s massacres and in protecting the despotic Suharto regime.
Industry Reviews
A fine, grim political-economic history of Indonesia, from the first colonial state to the appointment of Habibie after the Suharto meltdown, from Simons (Libya: The Struggle for Survival, not reviewed). Fine because Simons is a thorough yet fluent and stirring writer, with an eye for attention-grabbing material and also a humane, progressive outlook; grim in that the Indonesian people, all 200 million of them, have had a very rude time of it, since the Portuguese first set up camp there in the 16th century right up until today. Simons starts his coverage with a gruesome overview of human-rights abusesmass killings and mass arrests by the government are simply a part of everyday life in Indonesiaand the economic degradation of the Indonesian citizenry during the period of Suhartos rule, aided and abetted by American and European political interests. It is impossible for Simons not to simmer with rage as he piles up evidence upon evidence of torture and murder, at the army's hands, of a broad swath of Indonesians: anyone in opposition to Suharto and plenty of innocents as wella cruel sampling that seemingly touched each of the countrys 300 ethnic groups. Using ample documentation, Simons demonstrates just how culpable the US is for the bloodletting (conservatively estimated at 250,000 dead civilians) that brought Suharto to power, as well as for the arms dealing and the political and economic stranglehold that kept him in power for 30 years. Finally, Simons argues that sheer corruption and political sycophancy brought on the turmoil that capsized the regime, only to have it replaced by Suharto's lieutenant. An excellent country profile and a jarring reminder that Indonesians continue to fight for democratic rights today, something not lost on the East Timorese, the latest, most public victims of Indonesian aggression. (Kirkus Reviews)
