🐚 The Saltwater Series ~ Stories from the Pacific
“Shining light on the silenced stories of West Papua and the Pacific”
⋆₊𓇼࿐𖦹˖ ࣪⭑ Morning Star Rising History Brief⋆｡˚⋆ Part 1: Why I’m Not Going to Bali and Why You Shouldn’t Either: Do You Know What’s Happening Right Next Door in West Papua?
West Papua comprises the western half of the island of New Guinea, sharing a border with my home country, Papua New Guinea. It lies 200 km north of Australia. West Papua was originally home to Indigenous Melanesian people for thousands of years. It was then colonised by the Dutch in 1898 and was set on a path toward independence, separate from Indonesia, until things changed in the 1960s.
In 1969, under heavy military intimidation and coercion, a UN-organised referendum called the "Act of Free Choice" was held. Instead of a legitimate vote, Indonesia selected 1,026 representatives who voted to remain part of Indonesia. This vote, widely condemned as fraudulent and called the "Act of No Choice" by Papuans, led to decades of violent and oppressive Indonesian occupation to this day.
Source: Free West Papua Campaign. (n.d.). About West Papua. Free West Papua. Photo: Asia Pacific Report — “Biak isn’t forgotten – protesters raise Morning Star flag in Sydney,” Asia Pacific Report, July 7, 2016. Credit: AsiaPacificReport.nz Alamy. “West Papua Map.” Alamy,.
