The Pebble in the Shoe

Judul	:	The Pebble in the Shoe
Penulis	:	Ali Alatas
Penerbit	:	Aksara karunia
Tahun Cetak	:	2006
Halaman	:	330
ISBN	:	979-3851-09-0
Harga	:	Rp. 100.000
Status	:	Ada

Revealen in this book for the first time and in great detail is a vital aspect oh the story of East Timor: the diplomatic struggle for a peacefull solution to an international problem that festered form almost three decades.

The struggle was not waged on any battlefield nor were any weapons used. in the main, it was a struggle between Portugal and Indonesia on the long-term fate of the territory that had become a province of Indonesia.

It was waged with word: argument, appeals and other means of persuasion in the course of arduous negotiations. the process was long and tortuous and it had all the elements of high drama: triumphs and setbacks, suspicion and betrayal, frustation and even heartbreak.

As in most negotiations where the stakes are extremely high, the major proceedings were held in secret. only the top negotiators knew what really happened behind closed doors.

Among the main protogonists in that struggle were three successive United Nations Secretaries-General and a succession of Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors on the Portuguese side.

On the Indonesian side, one man faced them all from the beginning to the bitter end: Ali Alatas, first as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, than later as Foreign Minister. During all that time, he was, of course, assited by skilled and highly motivated Indonesia diplomats.

He is therefore in the best position to tell in detail this important and often forgotten aspect of the East Timor story. And he tells it all in this book-simply, directly and without fanfare. citing documents, some being made public for the first time, he also puts to rest a number of lingering myths about how Indonesia lost East Timor. This book by no means provides the last word on East Timor. But it tells an important story that would otherwise remain untold.