West Papua, the western territory of island of New Guinea, was placed under Indonesian control in 1963. The transfer of power from Dutch colonialism was supposed to be temporary. Within six years West Papuans were supposed to be given the opportunity to decide for themselves, in an "Act of Free Choice", whether to remain a province of Indonesia or form their own independent nation.

But Indonesia waged a bloody six-year campaign of intimidation in an attempt to shatter any independence movement. There were repeated military incursions and executions; restrictions on political organising were the rule. Prior to the vote in 1969, President Suharto declared that Papuans voting against integration would be guilty of treason.

The UN oversaw an election in which the Indonesian Government chose 1,026 representatives out of a population of over 800,000. This totally undemocratic manoeuvre resulted in a unanimous vote for integration.

Since that time human rights violations have continued and intensified as the previously voiceless have campaigned for an end to Jakarta's domination of their land. Today, the term "silent genocide" is applied to West Papua. Indonesian troops, some trained by Australia, and pro-Indonesian militias destroy villages and kill with impunity, creating disaster zones of suffering.

But the independence movement continues to struggle for basic human rights and to bring the world's attention to the plight of West Papua.

Rize of the Morning Star is a collective of musicians, filmmakers, journalists, publicists and activists that aims to raise awareness about, and contribute to the struggle for, West Papuan independence. Ronny Kareni, independence advocate at Rize, spoke to Socialist Alternative about the role of music in the movement.

Tell us a little about the genesis of the campaign and your role in it.

I was a refugee from West Papua to Papua New Guinea at the age of two. I grew up there for 19 years before coming here to Australia under a program – back then it was the West Papua National Authority program – to take students to educate them in Australia. There were six students who came out here, and I was one of the six, supported by the Australia West Papua Association and also the Sisters of Mercy in Ballarat.

Music had a great influence in my upbringing. I listened to the songs of the '60s and '70s made popular by one of the great musicologists, Arnold Ap. The songs that he collected and wrote really nationalised the independence movement, brought solidarity and unity to the movement.

So coming here with that legacy, that upbringing with music was something I felt strongly that I wanted to pursue. The six students, we would perform at various community events or fundraising dinners. Then in 2006 there was the arrival of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers [who travelled by outrigger canoe; Australia's acceptance of their asylum applications caused a diplomatic row with Indonesia]. They joined us, and that was when the West Papuan community was established in Melbourne. From there, we established a choir in 2007, and then we launched it as a band, Tabura, two years later with Aireleke Ingram, a producer and percussionist based in Melbourne..

In 2012 we launched it again as the campaign Rize of the Morning Star. The idea was to engage other musicians. A lot of our songs speak about the struggle. We thought, "Why don't we ask our close [musician] friends if they would be interested in helping get the word out about West Papua?" Blue King Brown was very supportive, and we played a gig with them at WOMADelaide in South Australia. That was our first appearance. From there we went to Blues Fest and then to Vanuatu and some other small festivals. Then we thought about how we could branch out using established musicians to donate a track for an album. Many have – John Butler Trio, Michael Franti, Grilla Step, Nano Stern, Not Drowning Waving and many others. We digitally released our first CD compilation, Rize of the Morning Star, Vol.1, on 20 February this year – the first anniversary of the campaign's launch – and we're going to launch it on 16 March.

So it's growing. The idea – it is a media and publicity campaign – is to engage musicians, journalists, anyone in the media and entertainment industry, in this movement. That way they can also be the voice, through their fan base or their network, to get the word out about what is going on in West Papua. If our campaign fits with their philosophy, then they can talk about it with their audience.

Why "Rize of the Morning Star"?

The word "Rize" came up when I got engaged with various musicians – in particular Aireleke. The morning star is the national symbol of West Papua. A lot of people have been jailed for displaying it.

I was working with an Indigenous crew here – Djakapura from Arnhem Land and also Albert David, a Torres Strait Islander and choreographer. After talking to them and sharing the same ideas and looking back at the common story [between Aboriginal people, West Papuans and Torres Straight islanders] of struggle, we found that there are also common stories about the morning star.

Tells us about the convoy that is planned from Australia to West Papua

This idea came from Aboriginal elder Uncle Kevin Buzzacott. A few years ago he met with the West Papuan leader Jacob Rumbiak. They found that their traditional stories connected. Millions of years ago the land [Australia and West Papua] was also connected. It was one land and one family. So the idea came up that we should do a convoy back to West Papua, to reconnect.

Part of the focus is on the cultural connection with the land, the people and the stories. Uncle Kevin said "We've seen the West Papuans come here by boat. Why don't we take this same issue back to their land, go and visit them and revisit the time when this land was one?" So we will take back the stories that we want shared. The morning star is one. The story is the same for the people of West Papua as it is for Aboriginal people in the north here in Australia and even in the south. So it is connecting back those stories.

It is also sharing the common struggle that the Indigenous mob here is facing and that the West Papuans are facing: the foreign occupation of the land, the land rights issue, the indigenous rights issue, the human rights issue. That is the objective, the idea behind this.

So on 1 June, there are going to be Aboriginal passports issued to those going on the convoy. That will happen at the Melbourne Aboriginal Youth, Sport and Recreation Co-operative in Fitzroy. Robbie Thorpe and Kevin Buzzacott will issue them. Then on 15 July the convoy will begin at Lake Eyre in South Australia. It starts there because one of the Dreamtime stories says that the water that filled Lake Eyre came from the north, from West Papua. So the convoy will move from the lake to the Dreamtime source of the water. We will be at the lake for a week, and then we will travel to Alice Springs, to Tenant Creek, then up to Cairns.

A flotilla will leave Cairns on 15 August, sailing up the Torres Strait, to Papua New Guinea and then to West Papua. We want as many people as we can get. We are looking for four boats – we have three confirmed, but the more boats, the more people we can get on board, the louder we can be and the bigger the focus on the issue. We are up against the legal system – you know you are supposed to have a proper visa and everything. We don't want anything to backfire on this, but we are trying to get permission from the Australian and Indonesian governments to allow a passage through, not to put up any obstacles. We'll see what their responses are.

The Greens have been supportive. We are looking to get any other support groups to give endorsements and support the convoy. We are looking for journalists and lawyers to come on the flotilla, to document things that are happening on the way.

What do you have planned if and when you reach West Papua?

We are in discussion with our friends in West Papua. They will arrange a cultural welcome as well as a concert. So it's going to be celebration for one or two days – who knows, maybe a week! But we are taking things one step at a time. There are preparations on the other side. However, on this side the government might not even allow the boat to leave the dock. So that's one thing we face. If they don't stop us from leaving, then what happens when we are on the water? There are many things they can do when we are in the water to stop us from landing. There could be a standoff along the way when we are in international waters, before reaching the mainland.

The main aim, whatever happens, is to show the Australian government that there is growing support for West Papua in the wider community – including from the Indigenous mob, who are building solidarity as well. That is a statement we want to make. Just last year Bob Carr said that the handful of Australians who support West Papua's right of autonomy were doing a disservice to Indonesia. It was a shameful thing for the foreign minister to say that those speaking out are not doing a good job for Australia and Indonesia. We live in a democracy; people should be free to express their opinions. That created quite a bit of outrage, so this is one way of making a statement back to them.