Indonesia’s most famous and widely read author Pramoedya Ananta Toer died at his home in East Jakarta on the morning of April 30 after being in a coma for several days. Pramoedya was a political prisoner under the Suharto regime. His writings were banned for many decades for allegedly containing leftist and Marxist ideas. Translations into at least 28 languages were freely available outside of Indonesia. Following the overthrow of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998, Pramoedya’s books were finally sold openly, attracting a new generation of young readers, although even under today’s elected government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhohono they remain officially banned. Pramoedya’s most famous works include a tetralogy, beginning with This Earth of Mankind, which was created as an oral work while he was still imprisoned on Buru Island. The next issue of Green Left Weekly will feature an obituary highlighting Pramoedya’s extraordinary life and his significant contribution to the Indonesian struggle for justice.

From Green Left Weekly, May 3, 2006.
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