Merdeka And The Morning Star

West Papua is a secret story. On the western half of the island of New Guinea, hidden from the world, in a place occupied by the Indonesian military since 1963, continues a remarkable nonviolent struggle for national liberation. In Merdeka and the Morning Star, academic Jason MacLeod gives an insider's view of the trajectory and dynamics of civil resistance in West Papua. Merdeka and the Morning Star is a must-read for all those interested in Indonesia, the Pacific, self-determination struggles and nonviolent ways out of occupation.

An important addition to UQP’s internationally acclaimed Peace & Conflict Studies seriesWest Papua is a secret story. On the western half of the island of New Guinea, hidden from the world, in a place occupied by the Indonesian military since 1963, continues a remarkable nonviolent struggle for national liberation. In Merdeka and the Morning Star, academic Jason MacLeod gives an insider’s view of the trajectory and dynamics of civil resistance in West Papua. Here, the indigenous population has staged protests, boycotts, strikes and other nonviolent actions against repressive rule.This is the first in-depth account of civilian-led insurrection in West Papua, a movement that has transitioned from guerrilla warfare to persistent nonviolent resistance. MacLeod analyses several case studies, including tax resistance that pre-dates Gandhi’s Salt March by two decades, worker strikes at the world’s largest gold and copper mine, daring attempts to escape Indonesian rule by dugout canoe, and the collection of a petition in which signing meant to risk being shot dead.Merdeka and the Morning Star is a must-read for all those interested in Indonesia, the Pacific, self-determination struggles and nonviolent ways out of occupation.

That Indonesia’s ongoing occupation of West Papua continues to be largely ignored by world governments is one of the great moral and political failures of our time. West Papuans have struggled for more than fifty years to find a way through the long night of Indonesian colonization. However, united in their pursuit of merdeka (freedom) in its many forms, what holds West Papuans together is greater than what divides them. Today, the Morning Star glimmers on the horizon, the supreme symbol of merdeka and a cherished sign of hope for the imminent arrival of peace and justice to West Papua. Morning Star Rising: The Politics of Decolonization in West Papua is an ethnographically framed account of the long, bitter fight for freedom that challenges the dominant international narrative that West Papuans' quest for political independence is fractured and futile. Camellia Webb-Gannon’s extensive interviews with the decolonization movement’s original architects and its more recent champions shed light on complex diasporic and intergenerational politics as well as social and cultural resurgence. In foregrounding West Papuans’ perspectives, the author shows that it is the body politic’s unflagging determination and hope, rather than military might or influential allies, that form the movement’s most unifying and powerful force for independence. This book examines the many intertwining strands of decolonization in Melanesia. Differences in cultural performance and political diversity throughout the region are generating new, fruitful trajectories. Simultaneously, Black and Indigenous solidarity and a shared Melanesian identity have forged a transnational grassroots power-base from which the movement is gaining momentum. Relevant beyond its West Papua focus, this book is essential reading for those interested in Pacific studies, Native and Indigenous studies, development studies, activism, and decolonization.

That Indonesia’s ongoing occupation of West Papua continues to be largely ignored by world governments is one of the great moral and political failures of our time. West Papuans have struggled for more than fifty years to find a way through the long night of Indonesian colonization. However, united in their pursuit of merdeka (freedom) in its many forms, what holds West Papuans together is greater than what divides them. Today, the Morning Star glimmers on the horizon, the supreme symbol of merdeka and a cherished sign of hope for the imminent arrival of peace and justice to West Papua. Morning Star Rising: The Politics of Decolonization in West Papua is an ethnographically framed account of the long, bitter fight for freedom that challenges the dominant international narrative that West Papuans' quest for political independence is fractured and futile. Camellia Webb-Gannon’s extensive interviews with the decolonization movement’s original architects and its more recent champions shed light on complex diasporic and intergenerational politics as well as social and cultural resurgence. In foregrounding West Papuans’ perspectives, the author shows that it is the body politic’s unflagging determination and hope, rather than military might or influential allies, that form the movement’s most unifying and powerful force for independence. This book examines the many intertwining strands of decolonization in Melanesia. Differences in cultural performance and political diversity throughout the region are generating new, fruitful trajectories. Simultaneously, Black and Indigenous solidarity and a shared Melanesian identity have forged a transnational grassroots power-base from which the movement is gaining momentum. Relevant beyond its West Papua focus, this book is essential reading for those interested in Pacific studies, Native and Indigenous studies, development studies, activism, and decolonization.

In alignment with Indigenous Politics, an emerging sub-field of Politics and IR, this book considers West Papuan Indigenous nationhood. Combining Settler Colonial Studies and Critical Indigenous Theory, the research opens up sovereignty as a political category of analysis to reveal an embedded nation within Indonesia. In June 2000 the Second Papuan People’s Congress in Jayapura rejected the basis on which West Papua had been incorporated into Indonesia and resolved that the “people of Papua have been sovereign as a nation and a state since 1 December 1962”. Indonesian president Wahid firmly opposed this resolution and state officials posted historical narratives on the Australian Embassy website that legitimated Indonesia’s incorporation of the once non-self-governing territory. A mapping and analysis of these narratives demonstrate a settler colonial present within Southeast Asia. It is argued that the US’s appeasement of Indonesia’s takeover in the 1960s was based on the Great Power’s concern to promote its strategic and economic status in the region. “This is a timely intervention that contributes to a growing debate on settler colonialism as a mode of domination that characterises the global present and involves locales not normally seen as settler colonial. West Papua fits the bill”. -Associate Professor Lorenzo Veracini, author of Settler Colonial Studies: A Theoretical overview.

In Vulnerability and Resilience, vulnerability is not the final word. Rather, resilience provides the cutting edge and living breath in the stories of subjects who are vulnerable. And they have many stories: stories of being trapped in bodies, teachings, and/or situations that make them (and others like them) vulnerable to discrimination, hatred, and rejection; stories of being trapped because of their bodies, theologies, and/or cultures; and stories of being trapped for no-good reason. For subjects who are vulnerable, life is like a maze of traps, and stories of resilience keep them going. The contributors to Vulnerability and Resilience refuse to be trapped. At the intersection of body and liberation theologies, they tell their stories in the hope that they will expose cultures that make individuals and communities vulnerable, and that those stories will encourage vulnerable subjects to be resilient and bring change to theological institutions that conserve vulnerability. Because of the location of the contributors—the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, Caribbean, and Oceania—this book is a testimony that vulnerability is present all over the world, and that resilience is a liberating alternative.

An important addition to UQP's internationally acclaimed Peace & Conflict Studies series West Papua is a secret story. Unfolding on the western half of the island of New Guinea, hidden from the world, in a place occupied by the Indonesian military since 1963, is a remarkable nonviolent struggle for national liberation. In Merdeka and the Morning Star, Jason MacLeod, a movement insider and academic, reveals the trajectory and dynamics of civil resistance in West Papua, where there have been protests, boycotts, strikes and other nonviolent actions against repressive rule. This is the first in - depth account of civilian - led insurrection in West Papua, a movement that has transitioned from guerrilla war to relentless nonviolent resistance. MacLeod analyses several case studies including: tax resistance that pre - dates Gandhi's salt march by two decades; strikes by mine workers at the world's largest gold and copper mine; daring attempts to escape Indonesian rule by dugout canoe; mass occupations of parliament, and, the collection of a petition in support of joining the Melanesian Spearhead Group, where signing is to risk being shot dead. Merdeka and the Morning Star is a compelling book for all those interested in Indonesia, the Pacific, self - determination struggles and non - violent ways out of occupation.