Indonesia

Political and Security Environment

Background. Indonesia achieved independence from the Netherlands in 1949, following a little-publicized but bitterly fought civil war.  

Under its first president, Sukarno, Indonesia moved left (looking toward China). But when the Army crushed an attempted coup in 1965 – killing hundreds of thousands as suspected communists – Sukarno was deposed in the turmoil that ensued and General Suharto took power. Suharto moved Indonesia's foreign policy...