Indonesia: Down with the Beatles!

President Sukarno's Anniversary Day speeches are usually something to behold. His head bobbing furiously, a finger jabbing at the sky, he loves wild histrionics that send crowds into chanting, clapping frenzies. But last week as 60,000 gathered before the canopied platform at Merdeka Palace, Indonesia's ruler put on a strangely muted, flat and unspirited show. He called his speech "Reach for the Stars," but it did not get off the ground.

Perhaps it was because he had noth ing new to say. He spoke grandly of attacking the "imperialists" with a "Djakarta-Pnompenh-Hanoi, Peking-Pyongyang axis," which sounds like...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!