oAntara Kita Online Issue 5.0

Ken Hall

I'm here for the year doing several things. Firstly, I'm doing work in Old Javanese literature as well as on the early temple sites as the basis for completing a new book on the early history of Java. Secondly, I'm completing a book manuscript on regional Southeast Asian networking prior to 1500. Thirdly, I'm doing extensive work on Liberation Theology in Indonesia -- among the various Islamic and Christian communities, as all of this relates to current dialogue on Indonesian multiculturalism as well as the approaching 2004 elections. I've also been extensively called upon to attempt to explain American foreign policy in the face of the American invasion of Iraq. Indonesians fear the potentials of a similar American military reaction to Indonesian actions that might be considered counter to American interests. They also regularly ask me what, in the light of the Iraq invasion, America has to contribute to Indonesia's future. These are certainly interesting times of rapid change in Indonesia.