Who is Prabowo Subianto?

Who is Prabowo Subianto? Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, known as Prabowo, was confirmed as president-elect of Indonesia on 20 March 2024. A social media sensation, Prabowo is also implicated in human rights violations in Indonesia and Timor-Leste and has taken a relatively pro-Russia line on the conflict in Ukraine. In some ways he follows the template… More Who is Prabowo Subianto?

West Papua: Seeing no evil

Maire Leadbeater on the Current crisis in West Papua and her new book See No Evil: New Zealand’s Betrayal of the People of West Papua (Otago University Press, 2018) On August 17, Indonesia’s national day, West Papuan students studying in Surabaya and Malang, East Java were subjected to a terrifying ordeal. Security forces and militia… More West Papua: Seeing no evil

Time for a New U.S. Approach toward Indonesia and West Papua 

By Edmund McWilliams (retired US foreign service officer) Originally published in Flowers in the Wall (download free pdf) There are few places in the world where U.S. human rights policy is as disingenuous as it is in West Papua. The bankruptcy of U.S. posturing regarding respect for fundamental human rights, including protection of the physical security of… More Time for a New U.S. Approach toward Indonesia and West Papua 

The Living Symbol of Song in West Papua: A Soul Force to be Reckoned With

By Julian Smythe Excerpted from Flowers in the Wall – click to download full chapter as a free pdf “I am Papua (aku Papua),” three-year-old Dietrich Malenua sings on his grandmother’s porch in Papua, Indonesia. He is singing the hit song of Papuan musician Edo Kondologit, “Aku Papua,” and in his song, he carries a… More The Living Symbol of Song in West Papua: A Soul Force to be Reckoned With

Facts, Feasts & Forests: Considering Approaches to Truth and Reconciliation in Tanah Papua

By Todd Biderman and Jenny Munro From Flowers in the Wall – download full chapter What sorts of “truths” are included in “truth and reconciliation” and from whose perspective? In Tanah Papua we have the problem of a multi-dimensional conflict and a state that is very dedicated to controlling what is said about that conflict.… More Facts, Feasts & Forests: Considering Approaches to Truth and Reconciliation in Tanah Papua

Self-Determination Abandoned: The Road to the New York Agreement on West Papua

By David Webster West Papua, occupied by Indonesia since the 1960s, is making headlines with a wave of protests sparked by anti-Papuan racism. How did this territory come under Indonesian rule? This article from Cornell University’s journal Indonesia (now in open access) provides context on how the Papuan right to self-determination was abandoned in the… More Self-Determination Abandoned: The Road to the New York Agreement on West Papua

New book: Engaged Anthropology

Stuart Kirsch’s new book, Engaged Anthropology: Politics Beyond the Text, has just been released by the University of California Press. Does anthropology have more to offer than just its texts? In this timely and remarkable book, Stuart Kirsch shows how anthropology can—and why it should—become more engaged with the problems of the world. Engaged Anthropology draws on the author’s… More New book: Engaged Anthropology

Now in Open Access: Flowers in the Wall

Flowers in the Wall: Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Melanesia is now available for free Open Access download, thanks to University of Calgary Press. Click to access downloadable pdf version What is the experience of truth and reconciliation? What is the purpose of a truth commission? What lessons can be learned from established truth and… More Now in Open Access: Flowers in the Wall