Revolution—Aftermath

This chapter depicts the broader security context in the aftermath of the May 1998 revolution, in particular, of the United Nations building which was very exposed by location and poorly secured. By 1999 a new danger emerged with bombings in Jakarta and ‘sweeps’ by hired gangs. Behind the scenes were attempts to destabilize the present government. Two of UNESCO’s international staff very narrowly escaped being killed in a bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange. The chapter highlights the dangers that finally led us to move our UNESCO Office out of the UN building into a safe house out of the main danger zones. Shortly later a bomb was detonated targeting the UN building, then when attacks on the UN started to occur elsewhere, all remaining Jakarta UN staff were moved out into nearby office accommodation. Behind the scenes was Prabowo Subianto, commander of the military in West Papua during the hostage crisis reported in Chaps. 5 , 6 , and 7 , currently poised in early 2024 to become President of the Republic of Indonesia.