Strange Things are Afoot in Papua, Indonesia

Papua province, Indonesia. It's the wealthy soil, mountainous region inhabited largely by Melanesians, the western half of the island of New Guinea. Many of us who check out travel books or have friends in Indonesia kind of understand that the area has that usual colonial / post-colonial fate.

Indonesia cooperates with foreign companies to come and mine, plunder, etc. But when Melanesians fret about losing their land to this kind of development, and seeing little in return, many of them protest. Indonesia, they claim, tends to overreact.

Activists for the Melanesian minority have been beating a drum with reports of disproportionate violence against them, murder, suppression, etc. When news agencies like the BBC ask the Indonesian government for their point of view, they tend to get no answer or peachy or more often - go away you're not allowed in if you're going to ask questions. My friend Nick Chesterfield turned me on to his update site at Manukoreri.net. There's a Papua listserv as well. Even more exciting is this documentary I'm dying to see called, Forgotten Bird of Paradise.

[Photo: Dancing Turtle Media, permission through Manukoreri.net.]