Why did West Papuans in the early 1960s claim to be African? Why does the identification linger? Click here to view a 15-minute online lecture about identity, race and resistance in West Papuan 60s diplomacy, by David Webster.
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
Thread by @dwebsterbu: “Current protests are fueled by Indonesian racism against Papuans. asiatimes.com/2019/08/opinio… That has a history, and i […]” #WestPapua #racism
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
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
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
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
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
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
By David Webster. Originally published by activehistory.ca After the resolution of the Aceh dispute and the independence of East Timor, Indonesia’s most serious conflict is in Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). One major stumbling block to conflict resolution is the clash of historical narratives. Papuan nationalists claim their land was “already sovereign” from the 1960s and… More Narratives of Colonization, Decolonization and Recolonization in Papua
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