ABSTRACT
Indonesia is multi-ethnic and multi-religious. Culturally, it is more diverse than any other state in Asia except India. However, despite this wide-ranging diversity, there is unity in that Java is in every sense the predominant island. It provides a bridge from South-East Asia to Oceania and Australasia. At the end of World War II, after the withdrawal of the Japanese forces, nationalists proclaimed the independent Republic of Indonesia in August 1945. In December 1975, Indonesian troops occupied the Portuguese territory of East Timor, an island within the main Indonesian chain, and incorporated the territory on 17 July 1976. The revolutionary hero had been Achmed Sukarno, who became president in 1949. His rule became increasingly repressive and was guided by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Following a mass uprising, he was replaced by General T. N. J. Suharto in 1968. Indonesia played a leading part in the foundation of the ASEAN and improved relations with its neighbours.
