G. Simons - Böcker

Geoff Simons profiles the appalling human-rights record of modern Indonesia, against a history of the country from colonial times to the present. He highlights the gross acts of repression (torture, killings, etc.) and the unjust legal system and corrupt nepotism that have protected such violations over the years, and he describes the struggles of the East Timorese and West Papuans for independence.The historical survey focuses on the nationalist campaign against Dutch colonialism, the role of Sukarno as the first president of the Republic of Indonesia, the subsequent political turmoil, the long rule and eventual fall of Suharto and the 1998 appointment of Habibie as the third president of the Republic. Details are given of the current social chaos caused by economic collapse, with focus on the failure of the state institutions - the legacy of the corrupt and repressive Suharto decades - to address the problems. The role of foreign powers is profiled, with emphasis on the involvement of the United States and Britain in supporting attempted coups d'état against Sukarno, in encouraging the 1960s massacres and in protecting the despotic Suharto regime.

'This is a terrifying book that should be required reading for every student of twentieth-century history. It is written by an author burning with anger at what was done in Vietnam, but the evidence is so clear and the documentation so meticulously marshalled that it cannot be brushed aside as just another example of anti-American paranoia.' - Tony Benn, MP This book focuses on the 'Vietnam Syndrome' - the effects for the United States of the American defeat in the Vietnam War. It argues that a full understanding of the Syndrome requires a proper appreciation of key shaping elements in Vietnamese and American history. Attention is given to the racial genocide that attended the birth of the United States, to US imperialism and capitalism, and to the Cold War framework. The nature of America as a plutocracy is emphasised, followed by profiles of policy options and three specific issues: post-war Vietnam, El Salvador and Iraq.

The Scourging of Iraq describes the impact of the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent economic sanctions on the Iraqi people. Sanctions are considered in a historical, political and legal context, with particular attention to how the economic blockade may be seen as a criminal violation of UN resolutions and the UN Genocide Convention.

This text considers the ethical credentials of the United States in branding various countries "pariah states", and describes the background to the Iraq question (the role of Saddam, the genocidal sanctions regime, amongst other things). A detailed chronology of 1997-98 US/Iraq weapons inspections crisis is given, prior to a profile of the subsequent UN/Iraqi settlement and its aftermath.

The Scourging of Iraq describes the impact of the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent economic sanctions on the Iraqi people. Evidence is presented to show that food and medicine are being denied to the civilian population, and that this involves a gross violation of the 1977 Protocol 1 addition to the 1949 Geneva Convention, which includes the words: 'Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited'. Sanctions are considered in a historical, political and legal context, with particular attention to how the economic blockade may be seen as a criminal violation of UN resolutions and the UN Genocide Convention.

This work profiles the appalling human rights record of modern Indonesia, against a history of the country. Brutal repression, the unjust legal system and corrupt nepotism are described, with attention to the independence struggles of the East Timorese and West Papuans. The historical survey includes the anti colonialist campaign, the role of Sukarno as first president, the Suharto decades, the 1998 appointment of Habibie as third president and the social chaos caused by economic collapse. It also describes also how the United States and Britain plotted anti Sukarno "coups", supported 1960s massacres and protected the despotic Suharto regime.