Tense, intelligent and gripping, Freedom Square presents a rich portrayal of the terrifying crisis which brought the Soeharto and Habibie families to power..Murray Stephenson, an official at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 1965, is drawn into the turmoil of the last days of the Sukarno Government. Is he merely an observer, or is he working underground for ASIS, the Australian Secret Service, or for the CIA?
Freedom Square explores an exotic, shadowy world, mixing undoubted fact and exciting fiction in an intoxicating form that will fascinate readers both Asian and European.
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 ow! n 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 brin! gs unique qualification to writing his chilling novels.
