Sukarno's rebuttal translated by Oxford

BANDUNG: The rebuttal of founding president Sukarno when he was a youth movement leader in a 1931 court during Dutch colonialism has been translated into English by the Oxford University in England, former foreign minister Roeslan Abdulgani said here on Saturday.

Roeslan, who is also former president Soeharto's adviser for state ideology, unveiled the news after a ceremony to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Asia Africa Conference.

"The translated edition suggests that anyone who wants to know about Asia nationalism read the book," Roeslan said of the text which was previously published under the title Indonesia Menggugat (Indonesia Stakes Claims).

Sukarno was brought to court by the Dutch colonial government because of his teaching, Marhaenism, and his Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), his vehicle to promote the idea of Indonesia's independence.

Also in the book, according to Roeslan, the country's first president spread the spirit of Bandung to nations in Asia and Africa to join forces against Western imperialism. (08/25)