Legacy Of Resistance: Uncovering the History of The Indonesian People’s Struggle

Esty is the organiser at the Institute of Indonesian Socialist History (IISH), an organisation initiated by the Socialist Union. Given the vacuum of left movement or democratic group in Indonesia dedicated to unifying, collecting and using the documents of the left movement in Indonesia, the organisation attempts to pursue three objectives; 1) to research the history of left movements in Indonesia; 2) to preserve critical discourses and theories and finally, 3) to reduce the literacy gap regarding leftist movements among the younger generation. Foregrounding and responding to critical historical conditions in Indonesia, central to its archival practices are to document the catastrophe of 1965 and the subsequent militarist-led counter-revolution that established the New Order dictatorship under Suharto resulted in the deaths of millions of people from the perspectives of various leftist organisations in Indonesia.