Book Nook: 'Kisah Intel dan Sebuah Warung'

Kisah Intel dan Sebuah Warung (A Story of Intelligence Officers and A Sidewalk Restaurant); By Sobron Aidit; Garba Budaya, August 2000; 170 pp; Rp 20,000

JAKARTA (JP): Many people will probably buy this book out of curiosity, because its author bears a famous surname.

Yes, Sobron Aidit is a younger brother of D.N. Aidit, the chairman of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was blamed for an attempted coup in 1965.

The author was a lecturer in the Beijing Foreign Language Institute when the turmoil broke out. He moved to Paris in 1981, and with his friends established an Indonesian restaurant (Sebuah Warung), changed his name to Simon Sobron and his nationality to French.

Sobron in his book, which is divided into two sections, tells of his experiences, including with intelligence officers who often visited the restaurant and followed him during his frequent visits here, such as when he went to his parents' grave in Belitung island, South Sumatra, in 1993.

One of his visits here concurrently occurred with a takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Headquarters in July 1996. He was shocked when a local magazine described him as a member of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), which was blamed for riots after the takeover.

Although the author claims the book is a collection of short stories, it reads like a diary -- and the expression of an Indonesian who misses his homeland. (jun)