New Order

ANDREAS HARSONO visits Burma and is intrigued by the respect its military show for the Indonesian model.

'I write the truth and if I have to die for it, well so be it' wrote Udin shortly before he died. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL investigates.

To Jakarta, he is an enigma. To the Madurese, he holds out hope for a better society. GERRY VAN KLINKEN goes to the grass-roots.

The fires were no natural disaster, says JOKO WALUYO. The smoking gun is in the hands of plantation companies.

Heike Krieger, East Timor and the international community: Basic documents, Cambridge University Press, 1997, 494+xxviii pp, hardcover, Rrp AU$160.Geoffrey C. Gunn, East Timor and the United Nations: The case for intervention, Lawrenceville, N.J: Red Sea Press, 1997, 241+vi pp, paperback, Rrp US$19.95. Avail: Red Sea Press, 11-D Princess Road, Lawrenceville, N.J., USA 08648-2319; fax: 1-609-844-0198. Reviewed by RICHARD TANTER

The riot that engulfed Jakarta on 27 July 1996 started after army-backed gangsters invaded Megawati's PDI headquarters. JESSE RANDALL traces the strange relationship between government and criminality.

TOM PLUMMER speaks with Moelyono, an artist engaged with farmers threatened by a large dam.

When this teacher tries to explain the electoral system, he ends up in knots. SUGENG PERMANA listens in.

Abri officers are becoming more Islamic, but many do not want their Islam to become a political tool for the administration, according to MARCUS MIETZNER.

Senior ABRI intentions may be obscure now, says BOB LOWRY, but no one should assume they will remain that way.

DAMIEN KINGSBURY puts his money on five military winners in the presidential stakes. Indonesians call them the five Pendawa.

It's lonely in the Forestry Minister's office, says GERRY VAN KLINKEN.

Facing a sceptical public, Abri has to talk harder to justify its political role. JUN HONNA listens in.

HERTJE SURIPATTY tells how developers used soldiers and thugs to try to force her out.

VEDI HADIZ sent this eyewitness account from South Sulawesi.

The currency crisis is making Thailand more democratic, but not Indonesia, says PRIYAMBUDI.

DAVID BOURCHIER looks at the new generation of military leaders, after a big shakeup between July and October 1997.

Indonesian fishermen whose traditional fishing grounds are in Australian waters may have a Mabo-style claim, says CAMPBELL WATSON.

HELEN LANDYMORE found herself surveying rare birds and fish in stunning locations when she joined an Operation Wallacea expedition.