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
