Pram's Magsaysay Award

Date: Tue, 25 Jul 1995 17:48:09 -0700
From: apakabar@clark.net
Subject: IN/ET: Sari Berita 25 Juli

Trans: agb.

                    "That's their business"
                      ["ITU URUSAN SANA"]

      (Coordinating minister of politics and security on
                 Pramoedya's Magsaysay Award)


        Soesilo Soedarman, the Menko Polkam, declared that
     the   awarding  of  the  Ramon  Magsaysay  award   to
     Pramoedya  Ananta  Toer  was  the  business  of   the
     institution involved.

        "That's  their affair, just leave it," he said  in
     response  to  a  reporter's  question  last  Thursday
     (7/20,  ed.).  Pramoedya, he maintained, was not  the
     only  one to receive this prize.  Similar awards have
     been given to other Indonesians.

        Last   Wednesday,   the  Ramon   Magsaysay   Award
     Foundation  in Manila, the Philippines,  made  public
     that Pramoedya had been chosen to receive this year's
     prize  for  his  work in journalism, literature,  and
     creative communications.

        Pramoedya  is the tenth Indonesian to receive  one
     of  the  prizes, considered "Asia's Nobel".  He  will
     receive a medallion portraying the third president of
     the Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay, and a gift worth US
     $50,000  or  about 100 million  rupiah.   The  awards
     ceremony takes place in Manila this August 31.

        Other  Indonesians to have won the Magsaysay award
     include Mochtar Lubis, H.B. Jasin, Ali Sadikin,  (the
     late)   Soedjatmoko,   Mrs.  A.H.   Nasution,   Anton
     Sudjarwo, Ben Mboy and wife, and Abdurrahman Wahid.

        Pramoedya,  who  was contacted indirectly,  stated
     that  he  had learned of the award by a fax, sent  by
     the  executive representative of the Ramon  Magsaysay
     Foundation,  Ms.  B. Javier.  He also  said  that  he
     would try to attend [the ceremony], but still doubted
     whether he would be allowed to go, since his passport
     has  been  revoked since 1961.  "I do not know  if  I
     will be allowed to go or not," he said.

        As  he  explained, since his passport was revoked,
     he has experienced restrictions, and has made no long
     trips.  The restrictions have been in force since  he
     wrote a book entitled "Chinese Trade" [sic:  "Chinese
     in   Indonesia", (Hoa Kiau di Indonesia) Djakarta:
     Bintang  Press,  1960],  that  was  judged  to  have
     breached Government Regulation Number Ten of 1960.

        Personally,   Pramoedya  hopes  to   attend   [the
     ceremony]  in Manila August 31 to receive the  award.
     Still,  that depends on his health:  "I also have  to
     wait  for my health to return after my recent  hernia
     operation," he said.

       On the other hand, political observer Arif [Arief?]
     Budiman  hopes  that Pramoedya will be  permitted  to
     receive  the  Magsaysay prize along  with  the  other
     three  Asian figures.  As it happens, the other three
     recipients  are  Morihiko  Hiramatsu  of  Japan,  for
     "government  service", Asma Jahangir of Pakistan  for
     "public  service"  and  Ho Ming  Teh of  Taiwan  for
     "community leadership".  "The conferral of this award
     is not a political issue," said Arif Budiman.

        Pramoedya, who was incarcerated in the Buru island
     prison camp from 1965 to 1975 [sic:  from late  1965-
     1969 he was bounced from jail to jail, and spent 1969-
     79 in Indonesia's remote gulag. --agb], was deemed by
     the   Ramon  Magsaysay  Committee  to  have  produced
     exceptional   works  dealing  with   the   historical
     awakening   and  modern  experiences  of   Indonesian
     society.
        Pramoedya's   works,   among   others,    include:
     Perburuan  (The Fugitive), Keluarga Gerilya (Guerilla
     Family),  Gadis Pantai (The Girl from the Coast)  and
     Bumi  Manusia (The Earth of Mankind) which have  been
     translated into twenty foreign languages.


trans: agb.