Narrator/Intv.: |
After
two days of looting and rioting on the streets of Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea appeared to be on the brink of political collapse. |
|
Believing
they'd be safe from police, protestors supporting rebellious Brigadier Jerry Singirok gathered inside the Army's Murray Barracks. |
|
Without
warning police opened fire with tear gas and live ammunition. |
|
Incensed,
troops loyal to their sacked commander attempted to break down the armoury
door and seize their weapons. Only the actions of a few cool-headed soldiers
stopped them. |
|
Now,
after years of neglect the military had mutinied. Their weapons would not be
fired in anger, but the role of the Army had been irrevocably changed, and,
with it, the democracy they'd sworn to uphold. |
|
High
above the Murray Barracks chaos at the commander's official residence,
heavily armed troops guard the man who's triggered this revolt. Brigadier
Jerry Singirok has in effect launched a two-pronged
strategy. Operation Rausim Kwik to expel the
mercenaries hired by Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan to end the war on
Bougainville, and a second campaign using the media to capture community
support by tapping into a popular cause demanding an end to political
corruption. |
Jerry
Singirok: |
It
is therefore only logical that I cannot back down on the call for this Prime
Minister and the ministers who are implicated to resign from their
ministerial offices. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Sir
Julius responds by sacking his military chief. |
PM
Sir Julius: |
Insubordination
cannot be tolerated. The government has acted. The Executive Council has
decided that he should be removed. We have appointed Mr. Alfred Aikung, and he has been supported by the ranks and files
of the defence force. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
But
for the troops, Colonel Aikung- |
PM
Sir Julius: |
I'm
very pleased to say- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
symbolises- |
PM
Sir Julius: |
....
that these are- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
the corruption they so despise. |
|
He
oversaw a contract awarded to a Malaysian company to build these barracks. Two
days after his appointment, soldiers torched the colonel's car outside the
new barracks claiming the vehicle was a gift from the Malaysian contractor. |
|
Sir
Julius gets the message. Colonel Aikung is swiftly
replaced by a more acceptable officer. |
Speaker
4: |
[foreign
language 00:03:34]. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Papua
New Guinea was sliding into a crisis that had been slowly paralysing the
military for years. Singirok's supporters seized
control of the main gates to the Murray Barracks headquarters. |
|
After
nine years of battling secessionist rebels on Bougainville, they're angered
by political apathy that they say has cost them so many lives. Now their
anger is so intense that officers suspected of not supporting Singirok's cause are forced to reconsider their position
at gunpoint. |
Speaker
4A: |
[foreign
language 00:04:11]! They are officers of this place, but we don't know what
they're up to. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
You
have doubts about their loyalty to- |
Speaker
4A: |
That's
right. |
Speaker
4B: |
That's
right, yeah. |
Speaker
4A: |
That's
right. Exactly, that's what it is. |
Speaker
4B: |
Exactly. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
What
do you do with people who you think may not be loyal to your unit? |
Speaker
4A: |
Well,
we just, we just- |
Speaker
4B: |
We
have to teach them some lesson. |
Speaker
5: |
All
right, gentlemen, let's get us organised into sub-unit! |
Narrator/Intv.: |
For
two days, Murray Barracks is in turmoil as troops supporting Singirok continue to question the authority of their
officers. |
Speaker
5: |
Unless
we get ourselves organised- |
Speaker
5A: |
I
am the commander! |
Speaker
5B: |
[crosstalk
00:04:59]. |
Speaker
5: |
Calm
down. Calm down. Calm down. |
Speaker
5C: |
It's
all finished. It's over. |
Speaker
5D: |
If
you operate under these senior officers, they'll fuck you up. You won't get
anywhere. They are officers, but they have colonial, bloody brains. Their
time's over. |
Speaker
5E: |
[inaudible
00:05:28]- |
Speaker
5D: |
Commander
is a young fellow. He's got brains there. You have to fight for him, okay? |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Captain
Charlie Andrews is one officer whose loyalty to Singirok
is not under question. He pilots this Iroquois, one of five donated by
Australia for operations on Bougainville. With masking tape covering the more
serious damage, this is the last military helicopter still flying. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
We
only get about one or two at the most running at any one time which is below
operational capability. We cannot support a battalion with one aircraft out
there in Bougainville. It's suicide. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Charlie
quit the service three years ago disgusted by the military's plight. He
returned from a high-paid job flying commercial helicopters only after a
personal plea from Brigadier Singirok. But the
problems continue, and he pays for the privilege of going to war. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
Moving
from the base to Bougainville or from Bougainville back to the base, we have
to go in and practically beg hotel managers to pay for my own accommodation
and the boys. The defence force cannot meet it. I have to pay for
accommodation for myself and the boys or the crew or some of the pilots also
contribute to pay for our accommodation and meals. We have turned up at the
airports where the refuelers, Mobil or Shell refuse to refuel us because of a
large sum of money being owed to them for non-payment of bills. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
For
Charlie Andrews and his colleagues, Bougainville has been a humiliation. They
agree with their commander that it's time to stop the war. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
Militarily,
you cannot win that war. It's against your own brothers and sisters out
there, so most of the soldiers, the servicemen go out there with a big heart.
They're not out there to destroy or kill unnecessarily. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
The
military has been traumatised by the Bougainville experience. Charlie Andrews
knows this war has not only split the country but families as well. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
Come
[inaudible 00:07:53]. Go inside. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Charlie's
wife, Veronica, is Bougainvillean. Her brother is
fighting for the rebels. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
[inaudible
00:08:02]. |
Veronica
A.: |
Should
our kids go to school tomorrow? They have declared tomorrow as a public
holiday. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
Tomorrow,
no. They- |
Veronica
A.: |
...
won't be working? |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
they will expect some more things tomorrow, so kids stay home. Everybody stay
home. [foreign language 00:08:18]. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Charlie
spends 10 months a year on Bougainville. The tension of combat heightened by
the prospect of one day confronting a member of Veronica's family. |
Veronica
A.: |
If
something happens, I say to all, he was doing that was part of his duty. I
can't- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
I
did tell her that with a situation like this, and if he's on the other, the
opposition side, and if I have to confront him, I do not have the choice, but
to ... If he's really up against me, and if I have to be the one that's going
to draw, well, it's only in line of my duty. |
|
I
think this was taken- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Charlie
has already- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
[crosstalk 00:08:59] times when the- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
been in action near Veronica's village evacuating the wounded- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
[crosstalk 00:09:04]- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
after a rebel attack. |
|
But
the Army too has committed many atrocities, and Charlie knows that when this
is finally over, he will be called to account for the excesses of his
colleagues. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
One
day I have to go, actually, go home to her village and to her people, and how
they will welcome me I don't know because of what I have done around there.
Though, I might have not really caused any destruction or damage out there.
But just me being a military pilot, and they have seen me operating Iroquois
out there. They have their own opinions, and how they will accept me or
welcome me into their society, it's something that I have to really sort it
out before I get there. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Just
across from Charlie's air base the military has achieved a major victory. The
mercenaries from Sandline International are going
home. These were the men hired by Sir Julius Chan to succeed where his Army
had failed to eliminate the Bougainville rebels before this June's national
election. Instead, the Army is stage managing the humiliating exit. One of
the world's top mercenary outfits outmanoeuvred by what they regarded as a
second-rate, third world army. |
|
But
Sandline was paid $46 million- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
[crosstalk
00:10:36] these aircraft- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
angers not only- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
all still sitting- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
Jerry- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
in the hangar. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
Singirok- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
Well,
as you can- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
but soldiers like Charlie Andrews. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
see from the different aircraft that's sitting out here- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
For
a fraction of that amount, he says he could- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
mainly, they're waiting- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
repair his grounded- |
Charlie
Andrews: |
...
for parts. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
squadron. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
These
are the two CASA-235s that the government purchased from the Spanish
government brand-new out from the factory. Since they arrived here I believe
they have been doing nothing in the hangar because of funds to keep them
airborne, keep them flying. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Yes. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
As
you can see, one has been used to, cannibalised to get the other one running. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
They're
next to useless sitting here like this. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
It's
next to useless sitting here like this. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Yes,
yes. What's this aircraft here? |
Charlie
Andrews: |
This
one has been brought by our friends from Sandline.
I don't know what they're going to do with it, but this is one of the
aircraft they were going to use for the [inaudible 00:11:34] operations. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
What
does it do? What's the specialty of this particular aircraft? |
Charlie
Andrews: |
I
was told this one was going to be used as a spotter aircraft. That's another
one of the Sandline International aircraft. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
How
much would something like this be worth roughly? |
Charlie
Andrews: |
Oh,
about 4 million. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
$4
million ... Once again, you've obviously taken over ownership of this? |
Charlie
Andrews: |
I
think so. I think so. If the government has paid for it, well, it belongs to
the government now. What they're going to do with it, I do not know. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
What
would Sandline have used this for on Bougainville?
What kind of operational role would it have filled? |
Charlie
Andrews: |
It's
good for troop, movement of troops, parachuting. If they were going to use it
for any parachute dropping, they would use this one. It's got a rear door. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
The
government repeatedly claimed the mercenaries were only advisors. But when
Charlie learnt they were bringing their own helicopter gunships, he knew they
were going into action. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
For
us, we knew that if somebody said that they were here for non-combat roles,
we question it, because we knew we wouldn't be able to train, we could not
[inaudible 00:12:43] to take over from them to do the job. We knew they were
going to go with us with the weapons. They would still be out there, because
for me to operate this aircraft or a gunship within three weeks- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Just
wasn't possible. |
Charlie
Andrews: |
It
was impossible. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
With
the mercenaries expelled and Sir Julius Chan on the defensive, Brigadier
Jerry Singirok descends from his hilltop to address
the troops. |
Jerry
Singirok: |
They
are international terrorists as far as I'm concerned. [inaudible 00:13:26].
They go to third world countries and now make those third world countries
become banana republics. They will make national forces become totally
useless. That's what they nearly did here. This force must continue to
protect the sovereignty and defend its people, right? |
JS
supporters: |
Yeah! |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Gone
was the chaos- |
Jerry
Singirok: |
[crosstalk
00:13:55]- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
of previous days. In its place a large disciplined force united behind its
sacked commander. |
Jerry
Singirok: |
I
am no Messiah. I am only an instrument. I humble myself. I don't intend to
get this glory. But I cannot put up with corruption, with decisions that does
not reflect the people's need. |
Speaker
8: |
Attention!
March to the right [inaudible 00:14:21]! Right, ha! |
Narrator/Intv.: |
He's
lost his command, but Jerry Singirok is still very
much in control as his men form up behind him to march onto the national
political stage. |
Speaker
8A: |
[inaudible
00:14:36] left, right, left, right [crosstalk 00:14:39]- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Perhaps
this is what Sir Julius Chan feared when six months ago he tried to have Singirok replaced with the defence forces' first
commander, Ted Diro. |
Ted
Diro: |
It
was offered to me by the Prime Minister and the secretary for the Prime
Minister's department that I should put my uniform back and go back to
command the force. They insisted that I was still on reserve, which I am, and
that it would be legally not impossible for me to be back in the military. |
Speaker
8: |
[inaudible
00:15:14] fall out. [inaudible 00:15:16]. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
Ted
Diro says he declined the offer despite his dismay
at the forces' disintegration. But if he were commander, Diro
says he'd implement a radical new role for these officers- |
Speaker
8C: |
Minimum
notice- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
place them in key positions- |
Speaker
8C: |
...
[crosstalk 00:15:31]- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
of the civilian bureaucracy as Indonesia has done with its military. |
Speaker
8C: |
After
the suspension [crosstalk 00:15:38]- |
Ted
Diro: |
What
I'm suggesting is that they be involved in the administration in the public
service. They'd be [inaudible 00:15:43] from defence to come over to public
service to try and bolster the administration, so there is some sense of
involvement by the disciplined forces. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
You'd
support an Indonesian-style model where there's greater integration between
the military and the civilian government structure. |
Ted
Diro: |
Yes,
the signs seem to indicate that the national interest would be best served by
having some military people participating in the administration. |
Narrator/Intv.: |
After
a nine-day standoff between Singirok and Chan,
Captain Charlie Andrews is back in the air. |
|
At
the gates of Parliament, protestors demand the Prime Minister's resignation.
The night before MPs were besieged in the building- |
Speaker
9: |
[foreign
language 00:16:40]- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
...
after voting to keep Sir Julius in power. |
|
Now
the Army is out on the streets openly supporting the protestors. Overhead,
Charlie Andrews makes slow, intimidating passes over the Parliament building. |
|
Finally,
Sir Julius relents. |
PM
Sir Julius: |
[inaudible
00:17:01] This is both in the interest and for the good and in order to
diffuse what is something that I consider to be a little bit explosive
outside, I myself will step aside. |
Jerry
Singirok: |
We
will never, ever take over. I want Australians to understand that democracy
will prevail in this part of the region. Democracy will stay. What I have
done, Australia, is that I have saved democracy. I have protected the
Constitution of this country. |
Crowd: |
Singirok! Singirok! Singirok! Singirok! Singirok! Singirok! Singirok! [crosstalk 00:17:54]- |
Narrator/Intv.: |
But
the irony is that in attempting to defend the Constitution, Jerry Singirok may have undermined it. The military has become
a political player. Will these soldiers still be cheering if the next elected
government decides to mount another Bougainville offensive? |
|
This
rebellion has been relatively peaceful. But no future government can ever
depend on the automatic loyalty of the military. |