Breaking the Chains of Oppression of the Indonesian People, Vol. 59: Defense Statement at His Trial on Charges of Insulting the Head of State, Bandung, June 7-10, 1979

This document is a surreal, almost Kafka-esque illustration of the limits and horrors of law. At turns hysterical and eloquent, Heri Akhmadi, a student leader at one of the leading colleges in Indonesia, criticized the New Order government of Suharto and its continuing rule. As a result, he was arrested and jailed in 1978 on charges of insulting the head of state. In his published speech (delivered in his defense at his trial), Akhmadi accuses the government of dictatorship and a concentration of power in which corruption and swindling were rampant and in which the parliament was ineffective and weak. He bravely explores the meanings of justice and injustice, the duty of students to reform society, and the nature of democracy and the electoral process. 1981. 201 pages.