Merdeka Square - Softcover

Collison, Kerry Boyd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1877059358 ISBN 13: 9781877059353

Publisher: sid harta publishers, 1996

Synopsis

First in the trilogy. Tense, intelligent and gripping, Freedom Square presents a rich portrayal of the terrifying crisis which brought the present political leadership of Indonesia to power during the "Years of Living Dangerously"

About this title

About the Author

Kerry B Collison

Kerry entered the Royal Australian Air Force in 1962. He was later cleared to the highest level of security and sent to the RAAF Airforce Base at Point Cook where he spent one year, along with a select few friends, learning Bahasa Indonesia. At that time President Soekarno's Indonesia boasted the third largest Communist Party in the world. Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War had just started and there was a growing fear that the threat of an Asian invasion of Australia was becoming a real possibility. Immediately upon graduation, and only 22, Kerry was sent to Jakarta as the Assistant Air Attaché and interpreter in the Australian Embassy during the final stages of the time which became known as the Years of Living Dangerously. This violent period lasted from October 1965 until the end of 1967 resulting in the death of some half a million Indonesians. Kerry spent almost three years in the Embassy before resigning from the Airforce and then establishing his own business in Indonesia. This soon became successful due to his access to the Indonesian Military and his former association with the Australian Government. Kerry was sought after as a commercial representative and was appointed by more than twenty major international groups to oversee their interests in Indonesia. He became involved in such ventures as the supply of helicopters (Hughes) to the Indonesian government, and flew with Lee Archer on the first successful helicopter flight from Singapore to Jakarta in a Hughes 500.

In 1971 President Soeharto granted citizenship to Kerry. This was the first time any foreigner had even been given such status without application. Immediately, due to his former security background the Australian authorities became concerned due to the sensitivity of material he had access to during his term in the Embassy and the Department of Air in Canberra. Kerry's Australian citizenship was stripped from him. Kerry is a sixth generation Australian. Disillusioned, he then went about establishing himself in his adopted country. Within a few short years Kerry had successfully carved a formidable niche in the Indonesian community.Some of those achievements are:

He was founding member of the Young President's organisation in Jakarta. Over a period of 18 years Kerry founded and co-founded more than twenty companies and joint ventures in Indonesia. He built the villa estate in the mountains outside Jakarta known as Coolibah, in Cimacan, and developed other housing estates in Kalimantan. The George & Dragon, The Cellar Bar, Joanne Drew Salons were but a few of the many investments Kerry started.In 1985 Kerry was responsible for the promotion of the first private universities in Australia. He was co-founder of several educational institutions in Australia, including what became known as the Beaufort College in Perth.In 1989/90 Kerry established the first external satellite television service from Australia, Topaz, which was the first private satellite license issued by the Australian government.Kerry commenced working in Indochina in 1991 and currently continues to reside in Asia. Having lived in South East Asia for thirty years he brings unique qualification to writing his chilling novels.

Review

The Fictional War Between Indonesia and Australia
'Rockefeller andthe Demise of Ibu Pertiwi' is a history-based fictional account of howAustralia and Indonesia come to blows over the question of a UN-sponsoredreferendum in West Papua and Papua.While the mainstoryline revolves around West Papuan activism, its leaders, Indonesianpolitics and international geopolitics, the book ─ like any good TV show today─ incorporates a few sub-plots, one of which is the 1961 mysteriousdisappearance of Michael C. Rockefeller, heir to the family's fortune, of thesouthern coast of Papua, hence the title.
The Rockefellertheme offers the reader escapade into historical sleuthing as the book seeks toexplain an event that remains a mystery of our time, simultaneously weaving itinto the West Papuan narrative seamlessly. Collison's choice of subplot isinteresting, given that there are a fair few conspiracy theories surroundingRockefeller's presence in Papua and the subsequent gold and copper mining atGrasberg by the American mining giant Freeport McMoran.
 
In the meantime,Collison has Australia under the leadership of Prime Minister John Gorton, asomewhat uninspiring figure who then surprises us with his decisiveness and atouch of ruthlessness, qualities which remind us of the former Prime MinisterJohn Howard.
What is noteworthy,the author presents us with less colorful and more predictable characters onthe Australian side. In doing so, he inadvertently highlights the differencebetween Indonesian and Australian democracies, the former still dependent onstrong figures who dare cross boundaries that are taboo in more developeddemocracies.
Even though thestoryline outlined in the book is undoubtedly fictional, it is by no meansimprobable. In an age where political and economic projections are constantlymade, Collison's well-crafted scenarios do not strike as outlandish, given theright circumstances. As an ex intelligence officer and a former diplomat, he nodoubt has the credentials and experience as both an insider as well as anobserver.
Immensely readable,the book also makes us cognizant of the infinitely more complex geopoliticalrealities of today than those, for instance, when Timor Leste embarked on its path to independence.
The book is alsofull of subtle warnings for Indonesia. It exposes the weaknesses in thecountry's dogged and "non-negotiable" stance on the integrity ofthe Republic of Indonesia ("NKRI Harga Mati") when geopoliticalrealities experience fluxes in real life. It also shows that thehyper-nationalism taught to all Indonesians from an early age could ultimatelydo disservice to the future of the nation.
More importantly,it shows us the irony of Indonesia's occupation of West Papua, given thatIndonesia was once a victim of colonialism. The atrocities committed byIndonesian military against local West Papuans and the exploitation of theirnatural resources are a potent reminder that, as in the case of East Timor, theWest Papuan "problem" is too far gone for Jakarta to wish away.
Papuan"separatism" is no doubt one of the most current vexing questions inIndonesian international diplomacy. The recent questions at the United NationsGeneral Assembly particularly by several Pacific nations, New Zealand and EUcountries about the continued human rights transgressions in West Papua wereanother wake-up call for Jakarta that the "noise" may get louder inthe future.
Kerry B. Collison'sRockefeller and the Demise of Ibu Pertiwi is essentially an essay on how not toconduct international diplomacy on a thorny issue like West Papua. He is nostranger to Indonesian themes, having previously written a number of histo-fictionalnovels on Indonesia such as "Indonesian Gold" and "The AsianTrilogy: Jakarta, Merdeka Square" and "The Timor Man."

 

Edition details

• Publisher: sid harta publishers
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1877059358
• ISBN 13: 9781877059353
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 556