OVER 25 years ago, at around 11pm, the atmosphere on Jalan Utan Kayu grew tense. Anyone leaving the grounds of the Utan Kayu Community in East Jakarta had to go through three layers of inspection by the police and the military. Cars were stopped, trunks and seats were searched, bags were rummaged through.

In the semi-underground theater, a discussion on the book entitled The Treason of the Intellectuals by French philosopher Julien Benda wa