Synopsis In the 1950s the Dutch promised the people of West Papua (the western half of New Guinea) self-determination and eventual independence. But in 1963 Indonesia took control of the territory with the blessing of the US, the UN and Australia. In a tragic clash between two very different cultures over the next 40 years the Papuans have refused - just like the East Timorese - to 'bow to the inevitable': Indonesian occupation and assimilation into that country This book reviews the long guerilla struggle of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) for a Free Papua, and traces the rise of a non-violent independence movement alongside it, the Papua Council, following the fall from power of Indonesia's military dictator, General Suharto, in 1998. The book is based on the author's extensive field research. It places the Papuan struggle in a context of failing reform within Indonesia and a politically reviving military: the feared and loathed TNI. More than ever, Indonesia needs West Papua's resource treasures - the giant Freeport copper mine, and BP's huge new natural gas field in Bintuni Bay - and the Indonesian army is ruthlessly 'defending' and exploiting these projects.However, the Papuans are equally determined to win independence. King argues passionately and persuasively that international intervention to resolve Papua's plight is essential: Australia, the US and other countries must act in concert through the UN once more, as they did in East Timor. Indonesians must be persuaded that their best interests lie not in a 'security approach' but in dialogue and negotiation with the Papuans and other disenchanted minorities. About the Author Peter King is convener of the West Papua Project within University of Sydney's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS), of which he was the Foundation President in the late 1980s. In preparing this book, he travelled extensively throughout West Papua and Indonesia. King has held professorial appointments at the University of Papua New Guinea, the University of Wollongong and in Japan at the University of Tokyo and Kagoshima University. He has had a longstanding interest in the politics of ethnic conflict and its resolution, and his previous books include Australia's Vietnam, Ethnicity and Conflict in a Post Communist World and Pangu Returns to Power.
G**E
An excellent insight into a tribal struggle, perhaps too pejorative though
The plight of West Papuans is one of the greatest tragedies of our day; it echoes the fall of indigenous populations from Australia to Greenland, and it is still ongoing. King's book offers a great insight into this plight in a considered and careful manner, but in my eyes misses the real story. From personal experience in the area, things have changed a lot since King was out there. Nowadays, independence would unfortunately create "hell on earth"-as one Papuan I met described it-because of the rise of tribal rivalry since funds started being channeled into indigenous hands a few years ago. Like King says, Special Autonomy is failing in almost every area, but Papuans are almost as much to blame as Indonesians for this failing these days. In my opinion, what this boils down to is the sociological effects of a legacy of oppression and a lack of useful education, and there is nowhere near enough detail in this book about either of these things for readers to get the bigger picture. Truth is, it isn't a question of getting independence anymore, but more one of reconciling Papuan society and making SA work like it should. That said, for anyone interested in the situation in Papua, this book is an invaluable source.
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