Born on 6th February 1925, Pramoedya faced many difficulties in his own country. He joined 'Lekra' (a left-wing writers' group). That was the moment he started to develop his socialist mind (not communist). His writings were banned in Indonesia. He wrote some stories about politic situations in Indonesia, from colonial government period to the era of Soeharto precidency. The early two presidents (Soekarno and Soeharto) disliked his political view. In the era of Soeharto precidency, Pramoedya was imprisoned without no trial of course. Here are some reasons of why he was imprisoned:
- His support for Soekarno
- His criticism of the pre-Suharto Army, especially it's 1959 decree stating that no Chinese merchants were allowed to conduct businesses in several rural areas
- His articles, collected as a book under the title Hoa Kiau di Indonesia (Overseas Chinese in Indonesia). In these pamphlets, he criticized the army’s way of dealing with "the Chinese problem
From behind the bars, he wrote the sensational series called The Buru Quartet, which consists of four titles: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps, and House of Glass. The series tells about a man from a well-known family (what is the English for 'anak bupati') in a region in Java Island (I forget the the region name) and his life in colonial government period, how he survives from many government forces, and the women among him. For many years, The Buru Quartet series are forbidden to be copied all around Indonesia for a long time. But, the series are published outside Indonesia, translated by Max Lane. A few years from now, these series can be possessed and can be read by anybody without an exception.
I wonder why this great man was disliked by his own country government, whereas his writings almost got noble prizes. Because he is a socialist? Because of his writings that can 'kill' many people, especially in Indonesia? Pramoedya has written many stories in his life. Unfortunately, some of the writings were taken from him, then were destroyed or had been lost deliberately. The former governments thought that if the Indonesian found their mistakes by reading his stories, then perhaps many of them has been in jail for a long time. Indonesia too may be more peaceful (who knows?). But this is Indonesia, a country with no rules to be implemented.
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