Annie Pohlman
Biographic Data
| ID | 611403 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Annie Pohlman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Annie |
| FAMILY NAME | Pohlman |
| SIGNATURE | POHLMAN A |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Queensland |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9637-7683 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Oral Histories of Genocide in Bosnia, Indonesia, and Rwanda
This book offers an in-depth analysis of the symbolic meanings associated with the spectacular forms of torture, mutilation, and murder that perpetrators commit during genocides. Informed by oral historical research with survivors, perpetrators, and eyewitnesses to the genocides in Bosnia (1992–1995), Indonesia (1965–1966), and Rwanda (1994), the book examines four interrelated forms of symbolic violence: Often framed in popular culture as sensel…
An Introduction to Spiritual Violence
Chapter 13 introduces the concept of spiritual violence that, in the context of genocidal symbolic violence, includes purposeful atrocities that perpetrators devise with the intent of causing long-term—even permanent—spiritual distress and injury to living and the deceased members of their intended victims’ communities. The resulting atrocities are grounded in the violation of another critical element of victim communities’ sense of shared identi…
Conflicted Reflections Amongst Civilian Participants in the May 1998 Race Riots in Indonesia
In the final days of Suharto’s ‘New Order’ military regime in Indonesia (1966–1998), large-scale riots broke out across the capital and several other cities. Amid the Asian financial crisis, mounting political unrest and demonstrations calling for an end to the New Order, the military sought to deflect public anger by scapegoating Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese minority, blaming them for the financial turmoil. Chinese Indonesians and their properties…
Politics in Contemporary Indonesia
As a teacher of Indonesian language, culture, history, and politics at the undergraduate level, I have been searching for this book for about a decade. Or, more precisely, I have been searching for a text on contemporary Indonesia that offers both a comprehensive and accessible introduction to my students as well as something new and insightful to the more experienced researcher. It was a delight, then, to find this successful combination in Poli…
Indonesian civilians’ attributions for anti-Chinese violence during the May 1998 riots in Indonesia
The present research examines the perceptions of Indonesian civilians regarding the May 1998 riots, which occurred at the end of the period of military dictatorship in Indonesia and included looting, rapes, and murders, disproportionately targeting Chinese Indonesians. Using a mixed methods approach, the research explores the intersectionality of ethnicity and gender as factors associated with perceptions of the extent and causes of the riots. It…
Revisiting the May 1998 Riots in Indonesia
This paper examines the recollections of civilians about the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, as told in an anonymous online survey. These riots caused the deaths of an estimated 1000 people and saw targeted attacks on Indonesia's ethnic Chinese community, including state-led mass sexual violence against Chinese-Indonesian women and girls. Despite their scale, there has never been any official redress for these riots and they remain a taboo topic in …
The Inefficacy of Naming Genocide in Contemporary Southeast Asia
This article examines two cases of ongoing persecution in Southeast Asia and the problems of naming either genocide. Specifically, I discuss the politics of naming the decades’ long persecution of the Rohingya in Burma and West Papuans genocide. Both cases highlight some critical points of contention within the field of genocide studies which revolve around competing conceptions of how and what genocides destroy. Often separated into liberal and …
Gender Violence in Australia
Debate on The army and the Indonesian genocide
Places of Traumatic Memory
Between Sakit and Schizophrenia in West Sumatra, Indonesia
This article explores one woman’s life history of mental illness in West Sumatra, Indonesia, and the shifting explanatory narratives used over time by herself and her family to understand and manage this illness. For most of her adult life, Amak Dahniar has heard voices, which had been understood as an illness caused by harmful spiritual influences; later in life she received a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Amak Dahniar’s life story highli…
The International People’s Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide
The International People’s Tribunal addressed the many forms of violence during the period of the massacres of 1965–1966 in Indonesia. It was held in The Hague, The Netherlands, in November 2015, to commemorate fifty years since the killings began. The Tribunal, as a people’s court, holds no jurisdiction and was an attempt to achieve symbolic justice for the crimes of 1965. This book offers new and previously unpublished insights into the types o…
Unmarked Graves
Witnessing Torture
Reviewed by: Witnessing Torture: Perspectives of Torture Survivors and Human Rights Workers ed. by Alexandra S. Moore and Elizabeth Swanson Annie Pohlman (bio) Witnessing Torture: Perspectives of Torture Survivors and Human Rights Workers Alexandra S. Moore and Elizabeth Swanson, editors Palgrave Studies in Life Writing, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, xl + 248 pp. ISBN 978-3319749648, $29.99 paperback. Every now and then, a book comes along that force…
The Indonesian Genocide of 1965
We Shall Bear Witness
We Shall Bear Witness: Life Narratives and Human Rights is very much a book by life-narrative practitioners for oral historians and others who work with life texts. The contributors to this volume ...
The spectre of Communist women, sexual violence and citizenship in Indonesia
In this article, the author examines sexual violence against women during a period of mass social conflict and reflects on how this violence continues to affect sexual and political citizenship in modern Indonesia. The demonization and destruction of a particular group of Communist women, known as ‘Gerwani’, during the mass killings of 1965–1966 created an on-going, pathological discourse about politically active women as gendered and sexual ‘oth…
Sexual Violence as Torture
In this article, I argue that sexualized forms of torture perpetrated mainly against women and girls in political detention camps across Indonesia between 1965 and 1970 were crimes against humanity. To make this argument, I draw upon some key cases in international criminal case law regarding the prosecution of sexual violence as torture as crimes against humanity. The prosecution of these cases is instructive for considering such crimes in the I…
Janda PKI
This article explores the relationship between the derogatory social constructions and the sexual violence against janda in Indonesia with regard to the experiences of women who were widowed during the 1965 massacres. At that time an estimated 500,000 people were killed for their alleged ties to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Specifically, it examines how discourses which stigmatise janda as sexually available and/or promiscuous were compo…
A Year of Truth and the Possibilities for Reconciliation in Indonesia
Since the end of the New Order military regime in 1998, successive Indonesian administrations have yet deal with crimes against humanity perpetrated by the old regime, particularly the 1965–1966 massacres. Attempts for reconciliation have mainly come from grass-roots organizations which employ oral historical methods to both document these crimes and to serve as the basis for claims of truth-telling about the past. In this paper, I examine the wo…
Film Review
Three years after the release of Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing (2012), which explores the 1965-1966 massacres from the perspective of the killers, I review the impact of the documentary on national and international audiences. I argue that the victims themselves, and the pervasive forms of sexualized forms of violence during the massacres, are felt through their absence in the film
Women, Sexual Violence and the Indonesian Killings of 1965-66
The Indonesian massacres of 1965-1966 claimed the lives of an estimated half a million men, women and children. Histories of this period of mass violence in Indonesia’s past have focused almost exclusively on top-level political and military actors, their roles in the violence, and their movements and mobilization of perpetrators. Based on extensive interviews with women survivors of the massacres and detention camps, this book provides the first…
Incitement to Genocide against a Political Group
Genocide and mass atrocities can be seen as the culminative result of extreme social exclusion. Two of the critical steps on the path to genocidal persecution are the isolation and exclusion of a particular group and the mobilisation and incitement of perpetrators. This paper examines the case of the 1965-1966 massacres in Indonesia in light of these two incipient stages of genocide. First, I discuss the Indonesian killings of 1965-1966 by situat…
Stigma and Exclusion in Cross-Cultural Contexts
Discriminatory and marginalising discourses affect the cultural and social realities of people in all human societies. Across time and place, these discourses manifest in numerous tangible and intangible ways, creating stigma and forms of exclusion by means particular to their cultural, historical, political and social contexts. These discourses also manifest in varying degrees of harm; from verbal abuse and behavioural forms of exclusion, to phy…
The Massacres of 1965–1966
A Year of Truth and the Possibilities for Reconciliation in Indonesia
Since the end of the New Order military regime in 1998, successive Indonesian administrations have yet deal with crimes against humanity perpetrated by the old regime, particularly the 1965–1966 massacres. Attempts for reconciliation have mainly come from grass-roots organizations which employ oral historical methods to both document these crimes and to serve as the basis for claims of truth-telling about the past. In this paper, I examine the wo…
Testimonio and Telling Women's Narratives of Genocide, Torture and Political Imprisonment in Post-Suharto Indonesia
To date, there has been no official investigation into or redress of the Indonesian killings of 1965/66 and the mass political detention of citizens under General Suharto’s New Order (1966/98). I argue that non-legal arenas must be explored for the documentation and circulation of testimonies by those who survived these events. As part of a larger project which aims to document, analyse and present the experiences of women during the killings and…
Revisiting the May 1998 Riots in Indonesia
This paper examines the recollections of civilians about the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, as told in an anonymous online survey. These riots caused the deaths of an estimated 1000 people and saw targeted attacks on Indonesia's ethnic Chinese community, including state-led mass sexual violence against Chinese-Indonesian women and girls. Despite their scale, there has never been any official redress for these riots and they remain a taboo topic in …
Indonesian civilians’ attributions for anti-Chinese violence during the May 1998 riots in Indonesia
The present research examines the perceptions of Indonesian civilians regarding the May 1998 riots, which occurred at the end of the period of military dictatorship in Indonesia and included looting, rapes, and murders, disproportionately targeting Chinese Indonesians. Using a mixed methods approach, the research explores the intersectionality of ethnicity and gender as factors associated with perceptions of the extent and causes of the riots. It…
Unmarked Graves
Incitement to Genocide against a Political Group
Genocide and mass atrocities can be seen as the culminative result of extreme social exclusion. Two of the critical steps on the path to genocidal persecution are the isolation and exclusion of a particular group and the mobilisation and incitement of perpetrators. This paper examines the case of the 1965-1966 massacres in Indonesia in light of these two incipient stages of genocide. First, I discuss the Indonesian killings of 1965-1966 by situat…
Reports by Human Rights and Victim Advocacy Organisations in Indonesia
In February 2013, the conference “New Perspectives on the 1965 Violence in Indonesia” brought together community-based researchers and representatives from human rights and advocacy organisations across several regions of Indonesia to discuss new historical understandings about the tragedy of 1965 and its impact on Indonesian society. Together with a number of Australia- and Indonesia-based researchers, these community-based researchers and NGO a…
Testimonio and Telling Women's Narratives of Genocide, Torture and Political Imprisonment in Post-Suharto Indonesia
To date, there has been no official investigation into or redress of the Indonesian killings of 1965/66 and the mass political detention of citizens under General Suharto’s New Order (1966/98). I argue that non-legal arenas must be explored for the documentation and circulation of testimonies by those who survived these events. As part of a larger project which aims to document, analyse and present the experiences of women during the killings and…
The Massacres of 1965–1966
Reports by Human Rights and Victim Advocacy Organisations in Indonesia
In February 2013, the conference “New Perspectives on the 1965 Violence in Indonesia” brought together community-based researchers and representatives from human rights and advocacy organisations across several regions of Indonesia to discuss new historical understandings about the tragedy of 1965 and its impact on Indonesian society. Together with a number of Australia- and Indonesia-based researchers, these community-based researchers and NGO a…
Child-raising, Childbirth and Abortion In Extremis
In this paper I examine women survivors’ stories about childbirth and child-raising during the period of mass violence following Indonesia's 1965 coup, as well as some accounts of abortion during detention. The focus of my research is not on children's experiences per se but rather on women survivors’ accounts about what happened to their children. I discuss various aspects of these experiences, including: being pregnant and giving birth; caring …
Genocide and Mass Atrocities in Asia
Women, Sexual Violence and the Indonesian Killings of 1965-66
The Indonesian massacres of 1965-1966 claimed the lives of an estimated half a million men, women and children. Histories of this period of mass violence in Indonesia’s past have focused almost exclusively on top-level political and military actors, their roles in the violence, and their movements and mobilization of perpetrators. Based on extensive interviews with women survivors of the massacres and detention camps, this book provides the first…
Incitement to Genocide against a Political Group
Genocide and mass atrocities can be seen as the culminative result of extreme social exclusion. Two of the critical steps on the path to genocidal persecution are the isolation and exclusion of a particular group and the mobilisation and incitement of perpetrators. This paper examines the case of the 1965-1966 massacres in Indonesia in light of these two incipient stages of genocide. First, I discuss the Indonesian killings of 1965-1966 by situat…
Stigma and Exclusion in Cross-Cultural Contexts
Discriminatory and marginalising discourses affect the cultural and social realities of people in all human societies. Across time and place, these discourses manifest in numerous tangible and intangible ways, creating stigma and forms of exclusion by means particular to their cultural, historical, political and social contexts. These discourses also manifest in varying degrees of harm; from verbal abuse and behavioural forms of exclusion, to phy…
Film Review
Three years after the release of Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing (2012), which explores the 1965-1966 massacres from the perspective of the killers, I review the impact of the documentary on national and international audiences. I argue that the victims themselves, and the pervasive forms of sexualized forms of violence during the massacres, are felt through their absence in the film
Janda PKI
This article explores the relationship between the derogatory social constructions and the sexual violence against janda in Indonesia with regard to the experiences of women who were widowed during the 1965 massacres. At that time an estimated 500,000 people were killed for their alleged ties to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Specifically, it examines how discourses which stigmatise janda as sexually available and/or promiscuous were compo…
A Year of Truth and the Possibilities for Reconciliation in Indonesia
Since the end of the New Order military regime in 1998, successive Indonesian administrations have yet deal with crimes against humanity perpetrated by the old regime, particularly the 1965–1966 massacres. Attempts for reconciliation have mainly come from grass-roots organizations which employ oral historical methods to both document these crimes and to serve as the basis for claims of truth-telling about the past. In this paper, I examine the wo…
The spectre of Communist women, sexual violence and citizenship in Indonesia
In this article, the author examines sexual violence against women during a period of mass social conflict and reflects on how this violence continues to affect sexual and political citizenship in modern Indonesia. The demonization and destruction of a particular group of Communist women, known as ‘Gerwani’, during the mass killings of 1965–1966 created an on-going, pathological discourse about politically active women as gendered and sexual ‘oth…
Sexual Violence as Torture
In this article, I argue that sexualized forms of torture perpetrated mainly against women and girls in political detention camps across Indonesia between 1965 and 1970 were crimes against humanity. To make this argument, I draw upon some key cases in international criminal case law regarding the prosecution of sexual violence as torture as crimes against humanity. The prosecution of these cases is instructive for considering such crimes in the I…
The Indonesian Genocide of 1965
We Shall Bear Witness
We Shall Bear Witness: Life Narratives and Human Rights is very much a book by life-narrative practitioners for oral historians and others who work with life texts. The contributors to this volume ...
The International People’s Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide
The International People’s Tribunal addressed the many forms of violence during the period of the massacres of 1965–1966 in Indonesia. It was held in The Hague, The Netherlands, in November 2015, to commemorate fifty years since the killings began. The Tribunal, as a people’s court, holds no jurisdiction and was an attempt to achieve symbolic justice for the crimes of 1965. This book offers new and previously unpublished insights into the types o…
Unmarked Graves
Witnessing Torture
Reviewed by: Witnessing Torture: Perspectives of Torture Survivors and Human Rights Workers ed. by Alexandra S. Moore and Elizabeth Swanson Annie Pohlman (bio) Witnessing Torture: Perspectives of Torture Survivors and Human Rights Workers Alexandra S. Moore and Elizabeth Swanson, editors Palgrave Studies in Life Writing, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, xl + 248 pp. ISBN 978-3319749648, $29.99 paperback. Every now and then, a book comes along that force…
The Inefficacy of Naming Genocide in Contemporary Southeast Asia
This article examines two cases of ongoing persecution in Southeast Asia and the problems of naming either genocide. Specifically, I discuss the politics of naming the decades’ long persecution of the Rohingya in Burma and West Papuans genocide. Both cases highlight some critical points of contention within the field of genocide studies which revolve around competing conceptions of how and what genocides destroy. Often separated into liberal and …
Gender Violence in Australia
Debate on The army and the Indonesian genocide
Places of Traumatic Memory
Between Sakit and Schizophrenia in West Sumatra, Indonesia
This article explores one woman’s life history of mental illness in West Sumatra, Indonesia, and the shifting explanatory narratives used over time by herself and her family to understand and manage this illness. For most of her adult life, Amak Dahniar has heard voices, which had been understood as an illness caused by harmful spiritual influences; later in life she received a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Amak Dahniar’s life story highli…
Indonesian civilians’ attributions for anti-Chinese violence during the May 1998 riots in Indonesia
The present research examines the perceptions of Indonesian civilians regarding the May 1998 riots, which occurred at the end of the period of military dictatorship in Indonesia and included looting, rapes, and murders, disproportionately targeting Chinese Indonesians. Using a mixed methods approach, the research explores the intersectionality of ethnicity and gender as factors associated with perceptions of the extent and causes of the riots. It…
Revisiting the May 1998 Riots in Indonesia
This paper examines the recollections of civilians about the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, as told in an anonymous online survey. These riots caused the deaths of an estimated 1000 people and saw targeted attacks on Indonesia's ethnic Chinese community, including state-led mass sexual violence against Chinese-Indonesian women and girls. Despite their scale, there has never been any official redress for these riots and they remain a taboo topic in …
Political science (22 works) · Law (20 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Asian Studies and History (17 works) · Criminology (16 works) · History (14 works) · Gender Studies (10 works) · Genocide (10 works) · Indonesian (10 works) · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies (10 works)