Famed Author Pramoedya Ananta Toer Dies

Indonesian author and former dissident Pramoedya Ananta Toer, pauses to think during an interview, in Depok, Indonesia, in this March 16, 2004, file photo. Renowned Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who suffered from heart trouble and diabetes, died Sunday, a family member said. He was 81. Pramoedya died at home, his daughter Tatiana Ananta said. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett, FILE) (Suzanne Plunkett - AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, an outspoken democracy advocate who overcame imprisonment and censorship to publish dozens of stories and novels about his country, died Sunday. He was 81.

Pramoedya "dedicated his whole life to this country through his work," his daughter, Tatiana Ananta, told The associated Press.

"We all have lost a great father, a great author," she said. "I am very proud of him."

Pramoedya _ jailed under successive regimes, including 14 years under ex-dictator Suharto _ was nominated several times for a Nobel Prize in literature and his 34 books and essays have been translated into 37 languages.

His best-known works _ the "Buru Quartet" novels about Indonesia's independence struggle against the Dutch _ were written on scraps of paper and surreptitiously smuggled out while he was imprisoned on the remote island of Buru.

Age and deteriorating health _ combined with a sense of closure in his work _ kept Pramoedya from writing since 2000, though he collaborated with one of his daughters on an encyclopedia of Indonesia.

He was hospitalized on Thursday for complications brought on by diabetes and heart disease. He was also a heavy smoker and had endured years of abuse while in detention.

Pramoedya asked to leave Jakarta's Catholic St. Carolus Hospital late Saturday, said his grandson, Kiki Sepitan.

Upon arriving home, the author immediately lit up a clove cigarette _ he was rarely seen without one _ and his condition deteriorated overnight, he said.

Born in 1925 to a rice farmer during Dutch colonial rule, the eldest of nine children criticized successive governments over more than a half century, even in his last frail years. He reserved his harshest judgment for Suharto, who was blamed for the death and imprisonment of more than a million Indonesians.

But Pramoedya's ideas _ once a major influence fueling the pro-democracy groundswell that toppled Suharto in 1998 _ have been largely cast aside as Indonesia struggles to revive its economy, defeat Islamic extremists responsible for a string of deadly bombings, and put down separatist rebellions.

Indonesian author and journalist Goenawan Muhammad credited Pramoedya with putting his nation on the world map of literature and called him "an important example of how freedom of speech and creativity is needed."

Pramoedya was first jailed in 1947 by Dutch troops for being "anti-colonialist."

He was later accused of sympathizing with Chinese communists and imprisoned again shortly after Suharto came to power in the aftermath of the assassination of right-wing Indonesian generals in 1965.

Pramoedya's left-leaning, outspoken style earned him enemies within Suharto's regime and his works were banned from circulation. He was thrown in a cell without trial, first off the coast of mainland Java, and then in the penal colony of Buru, along with thousands of other opponents of the U.S.-backed regime.

Pramoedya advocated the removal of bureaucrats and politicians "tainted" by Suharto-era abuses, but corruption remains rampant and some of the old dictator's cronies remain in office.

He also wanted an inclusive government that welcomed people from parts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago outside the main island of Java, but the Javanese still hold the reins of power.

"I am half blind and almost totally deaf, but I won't stop being angry because not many people are outraged enough at the state of Indonesia," he told The AP in 2004.