The people of Indonesia & their culture, politics, economy and environment - Inside Indonesia: The peoples and cultures of Indonesia

New Order

Book review: Uncovering Suharto's Cold War

The red thread

A recently uncovered report reveals how anti-communist paranoia stoked abductions of pro-democracy activists in the last days of the New Order

Pencak Silat: Traditional martial art and modern sport

An interview with Ian Wilson, by Andy Fuller

Review: Bicultural leader Siauw Giok Tjhan

Remembering the gang rapes of May 1998

The stories of Seno Gumira Ajidarma have helped to counter the denial of a national trauma

Review: Nation building and national identity in Timor Leste

Review: The ideology of the family state

David Reeve reviews David Bourchier’s important contribution to understandings of political thinking in Indonesia

From mother to citizen

A woman measures the height of a toddler under a tree, surrounded by other women and children. (Vita Febriany)

The New Order actively promoted citizenship of a particular kind for women

A drink for humanity

Honouring Indonesian activist Putu Oka Sukanta for humanity

Review: The Crocodile Hole

Saskia Wieringa’s latest novel brings to life a dark period in Indonesia’s past

A hidden past

The state should acknowledge the contribution of political prisoners on Buru

Review: Seeking peace without justice

The memoir of a former human rights commission official gives insights into handling of human rights in Indonesia in the late New Order and early reformasi period

Review: Suharto’s guardians and reluctant reformers

A new publication tells the story of the first graduates of the joint Indonesian Armed Forces Military Academy

Review: Lieutenant General Djaja Suparman tells his story

Editor’s note: For Indonesia-watchers the activities of the military and its leaders remain largely opaque and perhaps even menacing. In recent years the steady stream of memoirs and biographies by and about military leaders has, in some cases, assuaged some of this mystery and in others, added to the intrigue. As the public and judicial gaze has increasingly turned to the actions of military leaders with connections to the New Order, the memoir has been engaged by some as a form of testimony in an effort to ‘clear their name’. Whatever the motivation, with each new addition to this genre, we are offered new insights into the fractious and often treacherous ‘interior’ world of the Indonesian Armed Forces. Suparman holds the line but reveals some new insights into the transition of power after the fall of the New Order

On the struggle for press freedom

Former political prisoner Eko Maryadi speaks to Nikki Edwards about his incarceration during the New Order

Poets against silence

Two young Solo poets believe poetry should serve the people

Review: From the dark side

Jusuf Wanandi’s memoir allows glimpses into the mindset of Suharto-era officialdom

Review: The making of an Indonesian human rights lawyer

Dan Lev explains how an outsider became a national hero

Sympathy for the Devil

Pining for the certainty of the Suharto era

Gus Dur’s 100 days

Abdurrahman Wahid’s life deserves serious and critical reflection

Subscribe to Inside Indonesia

Receive Inside Indonesia's latest articles and quarterly editions in your inbox.

Lontar Modern Indonesia

A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar.