ON Tuesday last week, Frans Kaisiepo Airport in Biak, Papua, had been turned into a sea of people. Since early morning, the usually deserted parking area had been packed with some 500 demonstrators, singing, dancing and beating drums. They were there to welcome a long-awaited guest: US Congressman Eni Faleomavaega.

After a decade or more, this was the first visit by a United States member of Congress to Papua. In the past, foreign access to Papu