The following sections are extracted from the 'Stand up for West Papua' handbook that was produced in February 2003. Click here to access the complete handbook online.

A word of freedom
The people of West Papua have been struggling for freedom and dying under military rule for nearly 40 years...

West Papua: an issue whose time has come
In 1999 Australians did themselves proud and stood up for the East Timorese. It's time we did the same for the West Papuans...

Why does Indonesia want West Papu and why does Australia give its support
West Papua is a land of unbelievable wealth. It has extensive mineral deposits including nickel, gold, copper as well as oil, natural gas, valuable tropical timber and fisheries...

Justice denied!
In May 1969, at the request of the Indonesian government Australian officials arrested and detained Willem Zonggonau and Clemens Runawery, two West Papuans who tried to travel to New York to protest against the conduct of the United Nations...

In bed with South-East Asia's largest terrorist organisation
Australia is intimately involved with the Indonesian military. The Australian Defence Force trains the Indonesian military and Australian arms manufacturers arm the Indonesian military...

Investing in violence and ecological destruction
Multinational companies operating in West Papua are locked into an uneasy relationship with the Indonesian military who facilitate exploitation by killing anyone who gets in the way of profits...

In Conclusion
Inspired by West Papuans themselves, ordinary people in Australia do not have to be resigned to playing out the role of passive observers of the world outside their window, but can be subjects of history...