Bøker av Maire Leadbeater

"This is a participant history of the struggle for indigenous rights in West Papua, New Guinea, against exploitation and "slow-motion genocide" by Indonesian and New Zealand elites. Using recently declassified documents, the manuscript charts the evolution of New Zealand foreign policy to frustrate the aims of pro-independence leaders in West Papua. It also provides historical background to the ideology and actions of West Papuan independence efforts, with help from trade unions, student groups, aid agencies and other support groups in New Zealand and around the world."--Provided by publisher.

"See No Evil issues a challenge to New Zealanders. The book begins by relating the little-known history of West Papua, but its focus is on the impact of New Zealand's foreign policy on the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants. In the 1950s New Zealand supported self-determination for the former Dutch colony, but in 1962 opted to back Indonesia as it took over the territory. Delving deep into historical government archives, many of them obtained under the Official Information Act, this meticulously researched book uncovers the untold story of New Zealand's unprincipled and often hypocritical diplomacy. The consequences of repressive Indonesian rule have been tragic for the West Papuan people, who are experiencing 'slow genocide'. West Papua remains largely closed to foreign journalists, but its story is now beginning to be heard. A growing number of Pacific Island nations are calling for change, but so far New Zealand has opted for caution and collusion to preserve a 'business as usual' relationship with Indonesia. See No Evil is a shocking account by one of New Zealand's most respected authors on peace and Pacific issues, issuing a powerful call for a just and permanent solution - self-determination - for the people of West Papua"--Back cover.

This is a story of how ordinary people created a movement that changed New Zealand's foreign policy and our identity as a nation. The story of peace activism from our pre-recorded history to 1975 was told in Peace People: A history of peace activities in New Zealand by Elsie Locke. In this new book her daughter Maire Leadbeater takes the story up to the 1990s in an account of the dramatic stories of the colorful and courageous activist campaigns that led the New Zealand government to enact nuclear-free legislation in 1987. Politicians took the credit, but they were responding to a powerful groundswell of public opinion.