West Papua - Freedom in sight?

A note from the editor

Danny Chivers

Five decades of defiance

If you’ve never heard of West Papua, you’re not alone.

It continues to amaze me how this 50-year freedom struggle on the world’s second-largest island is still so little-known. But then, I might not have heard of it myself if it wasn’t for Benny Wenda.

Wenda, an Indigenous leader from the Lani tribe, was arrested by the Indonesian government in 2002 for peacefully advocating for West Papuan independence. Imprisoned on spurious charges, tortured and likely to be killed, he escaped from prison and reached the UK, where he gained political asylum here in Oxford.

An accomplished strategist and diplomat with a gentle, unassuming style, Wenda has spent years building international support for his people’s cause. From Oxford, he launched the Free West Papua campaign, which is the reason why I and many others have now heard of this struggle.

New Internationalist got there before me. Back in 2002, edition 344 was titled ‘West Papua Rising’. Benny Wenda was carrying a copy when he was arrested, which he believes may have caused the Indonesian government to hold back in their treatment of him. This evidence that the world was watching ‘protected me. It may even have saved my life.’

West Papua today stands on a knife-edge between freedom and disaster. In this issue, we hear the voices of people living under occupation and fighting to be free. We learn about the unifying power of Melanesian music, expose the extractive companies that are profiting from Papuan repression, and hear Indigenous leaders lay out their visions of the new country they want to build. With enough international support, those visions could at last become reality.

Danny Chivers for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

A resistance gathering in the West Papuan highlands. Photo: Dominic Brown

A resistance gathering in the West Papuan highlands.

Photo: Dominic Brown

Morning star rising

After 54 years of struggle under Indonesian rule, is freedom finally in sight for West Papua? Danny Chivers investigates.

Buy this magazine



Features

West Papua: the facts

Putting the most important information about West Papua at your fingertips.

Read this article

The river of Aikwa, once a local water source, now turned thick and silver by tailings from Freeport’s Grasberg mine.Photo: Susan Schulman

Sacrifice Zone: BP, Freeport and the West Papuan independence struggle

Connor Woodman reveals the ties that bind transnational mining companies to the Indonesian occupation.

Buy this magazine

The Black Sistaz: Petra, Lea and Rosa Rumwaropen.Photo: theblacksistaz.com

The drumbeat of resistance

‘The struggle is in the song, and the song is in the struggle.’ West Papuan musician Ronny Kareni explains the vital role of Melanesian culture in the fight for freedom.

Read this article

Papuan and Indonesian students from People's Solidarity for Democracy (SORAK) create a street performance for West Papuan human rights in Bandung, West Papua, December 2016; Indonesian police at a West Papuan freedom rally, 2016; A busy highway in Jayapura. Two-thirds of the city's population is now non-Papuan.Photos: Whens Tebay, Whens Tebay, Koroi Hawkins.

Voices from the ground

How does living under the occupation affect the lives of ordinary West Papuans? Veronica Koman spoke to five current residents of West Papua to hear their stories.

Buy this magazine

Take action for West Papua!

Join international movements to support the West Papuan freedom struggle.

Read this article

‘We are ready’

What would a free West Papua look like? Benny Wenda and Rex Rumakiek from the ULMWP – West Papua’s government-in-waiting – lay out their visions for a new country.

Buy this magazine

Across the barricades: Nicosia is Europe’s last divided capital city.Photo: dpa picture alliance archive/Alamy Stock Photo

Caught in the middle

Cyprus may want to determine its own future, but its geopolitical importance means that Britain and the US have other ideas. Darren Loucaides reports.

Buy this magazine

Psychologist Valentina Eremicheva leads a group therapy lesson at the Centre for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation in Dzerzhynsk, near the frontline in eastern Ukraine.Photo: Alex Masi

Breaking the trauma taboo

Michiel Driebergen and Alex Masi meet volunteers providing much-needed psychological support in war-torn Ukraine.

Buy this magazine


Opinion

Photo: Matthew Cherchio/Alamy Stock Photo

Boosting the backlash against Trump

Progressives have to try to maximize the liberatory potential of a growing discontent, says Mark Engler.

Buy this magazine

The shame of Harrods' Arctic ice water

In a world in which 663 million live without safe water, it's a scandal that Harrods started stocking Arctic ice water for £80, writes Chris Coltrane.

Buy this magazine


Agenda

Photo: Hugo B Canuto

A Marvel-ous transformation

A mash-up of the pop aesthetic of US comics and the religious myths of Africa has proved tremendously popular.

Buy this magazine

Ethical archaeology in Ecuador

Ethical archaeology in Ecuador

Inhabitants of Agua Blanca have taken control of the tourism industry upon which they depend – and have prospered as a result

Buy this magazine

Kashmir's pashmina woes

Kashmir's pashmina woes

Machine manufacturing of Pashmina scarves has saturated the market, leaving artisans without hope of a secure future, writes Nathalie Olah.

Buy this magazine

Dirty banking in Europe

Dirty banking in Europe

The European Central Bank (ECB) is pumping billions into the economy, resulting in a massive subsidy for oil and gas business and highway construction and car production companies.

Buy this magazine

Photo: Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo

Introducing Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed

The former New York municipal employee became president of the problem-plagued Federal Republic of Somalia.

Buy this magazine

Our words: trainee monks read Tibetan holy texts.Photo: Free Tibet

In defence of Tibet's mother tongue

Tibetan faces rapid urbanization, dwindling numbers of native speakers, and the even greater threat of Chinese policies, writes Sam Wylde.

Buy this magazine

Sweet solidarity in Tunisia

Sweet solidarity in Tunisia

The experience of the people of the Oasis of Jemna is a beacon of hope in the context of neoliberal and counter-revolutionary policies, writes Hamza Hamouchene.

Buy this magazine

France approves historic law

France approves historic law

The law requires parent and subcontracting companies to be responsible across the whole manufacturing supply chain, reports Amy Hall.

Buy this magazine

Climate 1, aviation 0 in Austria

Climate 1, aviation 0 in Austria

The expansion of Austria’s biggest airport has been blocked because of concerns about climate change, writes Amy Hall.

Buy this magazine

Reasons to be cheerful

Reasons to be cheerful

Muppets welcome Julia; Facebook pays up; Human rivers

Buy this magazine


Regulars

Letters

Praise, blame and all points in between? Your feedback published in the May 2017 magazine.

Read this article

Illustration: Sarah John

'Over my dead body'

Bolivian democracy was won from the clutches of dictators. Amy Booth meets a frontline participant in the struggle.

Buy this magazine

Clockwise from top left: A bird flies over Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, with the snow-capped Himalayas in the background; stars emerge over Taumadhi Square in Bhaktapur, one of the three historic city states, which is now in the process of being absorbed into Greater Kathmandu; Rajina Tamang lifts her five-month-old baby girl Devi Yani into the air amid the rubble – all that remains of Kuni village in Dhading District following the April 2015 earthquake, which left more than a thousand villagers homeless; Kuni’s villagers queue to be seen by a Médecins Sans Frontières medical team; back in the capital, the Annapurna temple stands behind a fruit vendor in Ason Tol.Photos: Brian Sokol / Panos Pictures.

Country Profile: Nepal

After the 2015 earthquake, foreign governments and organizations pledged $4.1 billion in gifts and loans, but funds are yet to be disbursed, reports Fiona Broom.

Buy this magazine

Illustration: Payam Boromand

Open Window - Trump's View

Payam Boromand from Iran with ‘Trump’s View’

Buy this magazine

Photo: MediaPunch Inc/Alamy Stock Photo

Worldbeaters: Steve Bannon

Donald Trump's right-hand man is at the centre of global power. And he's dangerous.

Buy this magazine

Photo: Iqbal Hossein

Southern Exposure

Iqbal Hossein photographs Rohingya refugees, and hears their harrowing experiences.

Buy this magazine

Photo: Matt Allen

Making Waves: Catherine Shovlin

Thanks to the efforts of Catherine Shovlin, a Syrian refugee camp is building a community spirit. Florence Derrick meets her.

Read this article

Photo: PACIFIC PRESS/Alamy Stock Photo

And Finally: Jason Williamson

Sleaford Mods’ vocalist Jason Williamson talks to Graeme Green about anger, politics and anti-singing.

Read this article


Film, Book & Music Reviews

Mixed media: film reviews

Mixed media: film reviews

The Handmaiden; Frantz: have a look at the film reviews of the month.

Buy this magazine

Mixed media: music reviews

Mixed media: music reviews

Mogoya by Oumou Sangaré; The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda by Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda: our music reviews of the month.

Buy this magazine

Mixed media: book reviews

Mixed media: book reviews

October; Good Cop, Bad War; Another Economy is Possibly and others: our book reviews of the month.

Buy this magazine


Back