The story of how Rio Tinto came to part-operate a mine in West Papua was merely syndicated “with agencies” in world news media. In this special essay NAJ Taylor writes explores the reasons and ramifications behind it.
West Papua
Why Australia should not give Indonesian military a blank cheque
Giving a blank cheque to Indonesian military while there is continued suppression of political freedoms in West Papua is the surest way for Australia to help Indonesia lose a country, writes Jason Macleod.
Crikey Says: Crikey says: no excuse for ignorance when it comes to West Papua
At least two journalists have been killed in West Papua, five abducted and 18 assaulted in the past year.
Indonesia’s silent genocide
For a country so close to Australia, so few Australian citizens remain aware of the genocide that is taking place less than 50 miles beyond the country’s northern shores, says Benny Wanda.
Should Gillard formally apologise to West Papua?
The Gorton government betrayed the people of West Papua in the late 60s by putting an end to their claim to sovereignty. It is time for Julia Gillard to seriously issuing a formal apology to its indigenous people on behalf of Australia, writes NAJ Taylor.
Latest news from Grasberg mine strike, West Papua
A YouTube video has been circulating depicting Indonesian police brutally breaking up protests in West Papua, Indonesia. However the vid is most likely of an unrelated protest, writes NAJ Taylor in Crikey’s new international politics blog This Blog Harms.
Dark forces still at work in Aceh, Indonesia
In a couple of weeks, Aceh will hold its second gubernatorial elections since the 2005 peace agreement that ended almost three decades of separatist war.
Australia’s nearest glaciers now a rocky outcrop
The rapidly vanishing glaciers of West Papua have made a rocky tower called Sumantri the second highest peak in Indonesia. Nearby Ngga Pulu has lost its glacial cap and its highest peak status.
West Papua: like a pre-independent East Timor?
Ten years after East Timor’s bloody struggle for independence, Indonesia has never prosecuted for the crimes committed during their occupation of East Timor. What’s to discourage them from similar action in West Papua? asks Marni Cordell
Papuan shootings: we will probably never know the truth
Papua is a media black hole with foreign journalists rarely permitted to report from the province. The true story behind the latest shootings of 29-year-old Australian Drew Grant and security guard Markus Ratealo will probably never be revealed.
Al Jazeera pulls West Papua doco
Al Jazeera’s English channel has decided not to air an Australian documentary on human rights abuses in the Indonesian province of West Papua. Did they cave in to pressure from the Indonesian government?
Amid dreams of independence, Indonesia goes to the polls
Indonesia goes to the polls to elect its national and local legislatures today, in what many see as a foretaste of the presidential polls in July, writes Damien Kingsbury.
Why five Australians are in a West Papuan jail
Would be tourists become victims of Indonesian military concerns in the face of coming elections, writes Damien Kingsbury.
West Papua: Indonesia’s continuing shame
Despite some progress, Indonesia retains a blot on its democratic and human rights record; that of West Papua, writesDamien Kingsbury.
