Beginning to Remember charts Indonesia's turbulent decades of cultural
repression and renewal amid the rise and fall of Suharto's New Order
regime. These cross-disciplinary pieces illuminate Indonesia's current
efforts to reexamine and understand its past in order to shape new civic
and cultural arrangements.
In 1998, "reformasi" brought a wave of relief and euphoria. But
Suharto's removal did not dispel persistent corruption, official secrecy
and denial, religious and ethnic violence, and security policies leading
to tragedy in East Timor, Aceh, and other regions. But the reformasi did
open up new possibilities for seeing the past. What followed was a surge
of discourse that challenged officially codified national history in
mass media and publishing, in public policy debate, in the arts, and in
popular mobilization and politics.
This volume is an exploration of some of the expressions, narratives,
and interpretations of the past found in Indonesia today. The authors
illustrate ways in which the dissolution of the Indonesian state's
monopoly on history is now permitting new national, local, and
individual accounts and representations of the past to emerge. The book
covers fields from performing arts and literature to anthropology,
history, and transitional justice.
The book opens with Goenawan Mohamad's dramatic poem Kali, the first
publication of this important work by one of Indonesia's leading
intellectuals, which has become the libretto for an international opera
production. Another chapter is a personal memoir by one of Java's famous
shadow-play masters, Tristuti Rachmadi, for years imprisoned under the
New Order. Leading historian Anthony Reid commemorates the national
struggle at the regional level, while South African lawyer Paul van Zyl
compares efforts in transitional justice in Indonesia, East Timor, and
South Africa.
