“My Neighbour, The Dictator” by Tari Lang

The years immediately following Indonesian independence were optimistic ones. The early 1950s are remembered as the “parliamentary period” of pluralism, when communists, socialists, nationalists, Islamists and the military vied for positions in the government. But debate between these parties was fierce from the beginning and quickly became vicious. After national elections in September 1955, a tense standoff emerged between the communists and the army. President Sukarno soon called an end to democracy in Indonesia and the country entered the 1960s primed for further instability.