New Order

Inside Indonesia and the People’s Culture

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

An interview with Ian Wilson, by Andy Fuller

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

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

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

Honouring Indonesian activist Putu Oka Sukanta for humanity

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

The state should acknowledge the contribution of political prisoners on Buru

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

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

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

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

Two young Solo poets believe poetry should serve the people

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

Dan Lev explains how an outsider became a national hero

Pining for the certainty of the Suharto era