West Papua rising
Chris Richards sets out to discover why the cry for freedom and independence from Indonesia comes from the soul of the West Papuan people.

WEST PAPUA – THE FACTS

Way beyond petroleum
Why transnational corporations, like oil giant BP, want to fund an emerging government.

Dividing opinions
The differences between indigenous West Papuans and ‘Javanese’ migrants explored.

Military madness
The Indonesian armed forces have a vested interest in conflict – which is just one reason
why they opt for brutal repression.

Playing up the primitive
West Papuan culture may have been submerged,
says Eben Kirksey, but it’s surfacing again – and looks very different from the tourist image.

West Papua – a history of betrayal
When Indonesia absorbed West Papua, the rest of the world looked on – then turned its back.

They walk on the leaves of trees
The type of democracy West Papuans want is still up in the air. Chris Richards takes a peek at how indigenous assemblies might work, while Paul Kingsnorth finds out what the freedom fighters are really after.

Reach for the Morning Star
West Papuans are well on the way to freedom, but it’s too early to celebrate yet.

Action
There’s lots you can do to help West Papuans
get freedom.

Your feedback
What do you think of this magazine? Give us your feedback. You can sample the views of other NI readers too.

The smell of petrol disappeared for a moment when our thumbs thrust into the mandarin-orange skins, producing a plume of fine spray. The passenger next to me was handing them out. She only had a small bag of them. But in a cargo plane flying over the West Papuan highlands at seven in the morning, this was a generous breakfast treat that made us all smile.

All around their country, West Papuans want to share with you what little they have. Sweet potatoes. A lift into town. Laughter. A place to stay. One day a bank clerk lent me two million rupiah ($200) straight from his own pocket in a highland town that’s never heard of Visa cards. He gave it to me – a stone-broke stranger – with instructions about how to put the money into his account when I got back to the capital, Jayapura. No security. No commission. No questions asked.

In return for this generosity of spirit they asked for very little. Merely that I listen to their fascinating stories and tell them to you. As the e-mail that started this adventure (from a person calling himself ‘Papuan Tribesman’) explains: ‘Your purpose is to write the articles, that is the main thing, as we have not yet got skills and access to do so.’ Turn these pages and you’ll discover their cause – and the challenges they now face in creating a new nation.

Chris Richards
for the New Internationalist
Co-operative
chrisr@newint.com.au