CATEGORY

On November 12, 1991, the Indonesian military opened fire on East Timorese protestors in Dili, the capital of East Timor. Hundreds of people were killed and accounts of this massacre sparked international outrage. In Jakarta a cover-up began immediately: the Soeharto government declared the killings an “accident” provoked by armed provocateurs. The Indonesian mass media was cautioned to tow the official line. Seno Gumira Ajidarma, editor of Jakarta Jakarta at the time, refused to do so and was released from his position.

Jazz, Perfume & the Incident is the first Indonesian novel to deal critically with the horrors of life under military occupation in East Timor...Unable to let his fellow Indonesians know about the facts of this “incident,” Seno transformed documentary evidence into semi-fictional form and published it as “Jazz, Perfume & the Incident.” Call it fact or call it fiction, this novel by Seno Gumira Ajidarma offers a penetrating look at both Indonesian officialdom and the desires of young Indonesians.