Benny Wenda, a Papuan tribal leader, says that what Jared Diamond is writing about Papuans is "misleading" (link)
Leaders across West Papua have demanded controversial author Jared Diamond apologizes for describing them in his new book as warlike, and strengthening the idea that indigenous people are ‘backwards’.
The West Papuan leaders attack Diamond’s central arguments that ’most small-scale societies (…) become trapped in cycles of violence and warfare’ and that ‘New Guineans appreciated the benefits of the state-guaranteed peace that they had been unable to achieve for themselves without state government.’
Mr Diamond makes no mention of the brutality and oppression suffered by the people of West Papua at the hands of the Indonesian occupation since 1963, which has led to the killing of at least 100,000 Papuan tribal people at the hands of the Indonesian military.
Benny Wenda, a Papuan tribal leader, said to Survival, ‘What he (Jared Diamond) has written about my people is misleading (…) he is not writing about what the Indonesian military are doing (…) I saw my people being murdered by Indonesian soldiers and my own Auntie was raped in front of my eyes. Indonesia told the world that this was ’tribal war’ – they tried to pretend that it was us that was violent and not them – this book is doing the same. He should apologize.’
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"he is not writing about what the Indonesian military are doing (…) I saw my people being murdered by Indonesian soldiers and my own Auntie was raped in front of my eyes. Indonesia told the world that this was ’tribal war’ – they tried to pretend that it was us that was violent and not them"
ReplyDeleteThere is actually quite a move for independence in West Papua which much of the world (including in this part of the world) is unaware of. To me it would make complete sense for Western New Guinea to be independent of Indonesia and perhaps united with Eastern new Guinea. However I can't see the Indonesians agreeing. It would be worse than what happened in East Timor.
"this book is doing the same. He should apologize".
He is being more than a little precious here, when he says:
"describing them in his new book as warlike"
They were warlike, although it is possible not too many were killed in their inter-triabl disputes. But some were certainly headhunters.
Sure, some were head hunters. They are warlike. But you can't say that a country is primitive because it engages in war. By that criteria, you'd have to say that almost every country in the G-20 is primitive. Ridiculous.
DeleteDiamond's latest schtick is to try to argue that Europeans don't engage in total war and are therefore more advanced than primitive societies.
That just doesn't hold up.
I've read some of the comments on the UK Guardian about the latest Diamond flap. Some people, including Diamond, are trying to argue that Europeans don't engage in total war.
BS.
The combined losses (deaths and permanent injuries) of France in WWI were over 12% of the population or over 24% of the male population. Germany and the Austro-Hungarian empire losses were over 6% of the population or over 12% of the male population.
I just stand agape when I hear some of these arguments. Here's a sampling of the type of war that was waged in WWI:
The Second Battle of Ypres:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Ypres
"Dusk was falling when from the German trenches in front of the French line rose that strange green cloud of death. The light north-easterly breeze wafted it toward them, and in a moment death had them by the throat. One cannot blame them that they broke and fled. In the gathering dark of that awful night they fought with the terror, running blindly in the gas-cloud, and dropping with breasts heaving in agony and the slow poison of suffocation mantling their dark faces. Hundreds of them fell and died; others lay helpless, froth upon their agonized lips and their racked bodies powerfully sick, with tearing nausea at short intervals. They too would die later – a slow and lingering death of agony unspeakable. The whole air was tainted with the acrid smell of chlorine that caught at the back of men's throats and filled their mouths with its metallic taste."
—Captain Hugh Pollard, The Memoirs of a VC (1932)
Any historian of European warfare would then also have to tally up other total wars like the Peloponnesian War, the Seven Years War, Brunanburh 937, Harlaw 1411, to name only a very few that were written down.
I can't even begin to tally up the losses of WWII.
It is perhaps only because some people remember the terrible toll of WWII that the world has seen a period of relative stability since then.
I find Diamond's statement that West Papuans and other indigenous people are "more warlike" than "modern people" to profoundly lack a sense of history and a sense of self awareness.
By the way, if we are going to condemn the West Papuans for being head hunters, maybe we should remind ourselves of how Guy Fawkes, William Wallace, Antoine Lavoisier, Evariste Galois, Patrick Hamilton died, to name only the most famous grusome executions.
ReplyDeleteBy the most conservative estimate, 60 thousand European women were burned at the stake, acused of being "witches."
My point here is not to paint Europeans as a particularly savage people. I'm only trying point out that Diamond is painting a benevolent picture of Europeans that never existed.
'But you can't say that a country is primitive because it engages in war"
ReplyDeleteExactly. It is not so long ago that Europe was engaged in tribal warfare. That is the only description possible for the Balkans fiasco of a few years back. And even World War II was basically tribal.
I had the opportunity to get to know Lewis MacKenzie, the first commander of UNPROFOR, when I was an officer in the Canadian Forces. I often think about how events unfolded in the Balkans.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I became motivated to write this blog was because of the thought that a lot of warfare is driven by tribalism.
Undeniably, there are real struggles over land and resources. But right behind this, and often driving this, is a reversion to the most narrow forms of tribalism.
Often, groups are even closely related or have compatible interests and cultures, but a sense of superiority driven by tribalism, religion or racism prevents an honest discussion of the underlying issues regarding a fair allocation of resources.
Looking at the events that unfolded in the Balkans, I think it not useful at all to underestimate the human capacity (primitive or modern) toward committing atrocities.
You might find interesting the piece that MacKenzie wrote faulting UN commanders for underestimating the atrocity risk in Srebrenica:
http://www.srebrenica-project.com/hol/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10:the-real-story-behind-s
I often run into people who think that wars and atrocities only happen in the distant past or are an aberration of a particular distant culture. I don't think so at all.
You may be interested in this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.3news.co.nz/West-Papuan-activist-to-speak-at-Victoria-University/tabid/1607/articleID/286345/Default.aspx
"Parliament's new Speaker has sparked controversy by refusing to allow a West Papuan activist to speak at Parliament".
Thanks. It seems that Carters refusal to allow Wenda to speak in Parliament is bringing more attention to Wenda's cause. I would be interested to hear what Wenda has to say when he speaks at Victoria University, so if you see an article on this, please post it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the only news concerning his talk at Vic:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10865074
But evidently he is going to be interviwed on National radio on Sunday morning here, Saturday evening for you? You may be able to tune in, or listen to a replay later:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
OK. Thanks, I'll be interested to hear what he has to say.
Delete