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00:00:04,085 --> 00:00:08,252
(Bougainville soldiers
speaking in foreign language)
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00:00:12,309 --> 00:00:14,135
- [Narrator] This is the Pacific Ocean,
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00:00:14,135 --> 00:00:17,557
a few hundred miles
northeast of Australia.
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00:00:17,557 --> 00:00:20,008
Members of the Bougainville
Revolutionary Army
5
00:00:20,008 --> 00:00:22,980
cram their boats with much
needed supplies of medicine
6
00:00:22,980 --> 00:00:25,085
and fuel, and prepare to set off
7
00:00:25,085 --> 00:00:27,792
from the Solomon Islands for home.
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00:00:27,792 --> 00:00:30,769
But first of all, there is
a prayer for safe passage.
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00:00:30,769 --> 00:00:34,936
(Bougainville soldier
praying in foreign language)
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00:00:39,914 --> 00:00:41,857
- [Narrator] Their prayers,
I know, will be needed,
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00:00:41,857 --> 00:00:44,048
because home for these BRA guerrillas
12
00:00:44,048 --> 00:00:46,698
is the little-known
island of Bougainville,
13
00:00:46,698 --> 00:00:48,274
where they're fighting
an even lesser-known
14
00:00:48,274 --> 00:00:51,774
war of independence with Papua New Guinea.
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00:00:52,937 --> 00:00:56,012
For seven years, Papua New
Guinea has blockaded the island.
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00:00:56,012 --> 00:00:58,590
Its gunboats and helicopters
patrol these waters,
17
00:00:58,590 --> 00:01:00,520
with shoot to kill orders,
18
00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,131
which means we have a
three hour gauntlet to run.
19
00:01:04,131 --> 00:01:05,597
I'm here because this is a war
20
00:01:05,597 --> 00:01:08,075
for which Britain is also responsible.
21
00:01:08,075 --> 00:01:09,742
It was the huge mine
that a British company
22
00:01:09,742 --> 00:01:12,599
dug on Bougainville, which
provoked the fighting,
23
00:01:12,599 --> 00:01:14,703
and it was Britain's casual
redrawing of the border
24
00:01:14,703 --> 00:01:17,870
a century ago that turned it into war.
25
00:01:20,050 --> 00:01:21,516
Breaking down on that border
26
00:01:21,516 --> 00:01:23,519
as we enter Papua New Guinea sea space
27
00:01:23,519 --> 00:01:26,591
seems about the worst place to do so.
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I scan the horizon for gunboats,
29
00:01:28,576 --> 00:01:30,100
knowing we're carrying so much fuel
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00:01:30,100 --> 00:01:34,267
that just a stray bullet
would be enough to fry us.
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00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,865
The horizon however stays serene.
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00:01:39,865 --> 00:01:41,864
This is a route that's cost many lives,
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00:01:41,864 --> 00:01:45,186
yet it's Bougainville's only
channel to the outside world.
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00:01:45,186 --> 00:01:47,359
It is also the only way in to the longest
35
00:01:47,359 --> 00:01:51,526
and bloodiest conflict in the
Pacific since World War II.
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Just as we near the island,
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the horizon loses its serenity.
38
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(Bougainville soldiers
yelling in foreign language)
39
00:02:35,182 --> 00:02:36,327
- [Narrator] We breathe with relief
40
00:02:36,327 --> 00:02:39,183
when it turns out to be another BRA boat.
41
00:02:39,183 --> 00:02:40,472
But at least I've had a tiny taste
42
00:02:40,472 --> 00:02:44,555
of what the Bougainvilleans
go through every day.
43
00:02:45,750 --> 00:02:47,869
This is the story of an unsung people
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00:02:47,869 --> 00:02:50,146
who took on Papua New Guinea, Australia,
45
00:02:50,146 --> 00:02:52,639
and the biggest mining
company in the world,
46
00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:54,698
who started by fighting
helicopter gunships
47
00:02:54,698 --> 00:02:56,160
with bows and arrows,
48
00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,293
and have lost a tenth of their population,
49
00:02:58,293 --> 00:03:00,148
and yet who manage to create what may be
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00:03:00,148 --> 00:03:03,379
the world's first true eco-revolution.
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00:03:03,379 --> 00:03:05,991
(guns firing)
52
00:03:05,991 --> 00:03:09,158
(upbeat island music)
53
00:03:11,678 --> 00:03:15,845
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
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00:03:53,310 --> 00:03:56,227
(car horn honking)
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00:03:58,536 --> 00:03:59,564
- [Narrator] The next morning,
56
00:03:59,564 --> 00:04:00,881
we find ourselves in the hands
57
00:04:00,881 --> 00:04:03,548
of Bougainville
Revolutionary Army Commander,
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00:04:03,548 --> 00:04:05,623
Ishmael Toroama.
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00:04:05,623 --> 00:04:08,276
Our main goal is to get
to President Francis Ona,
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00:04:08,276 --> 00:04:10,743
the elusive man who
started the revolution.
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00:04:10,743 --> 00:04:11,628
But for the moment,
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Ishmael's capable hands will certainly do.
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00:04:15,019 --> 00:04:16,949
I'm amazed to find him driving everywhere,
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00:04:16,949 --> 00:04:20,239
as the fuel the BRA get into
their boats can't go far.
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00:04:20,239 --> 00:04:24,156
But that's a trick I
won't find out 'til later.
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00:04:25,749 --> 00:04:27,908
Ishmael was a mechanic before the war.
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00:04:27,908 --> 00:04:31,491
Now people call him
the Bougainville Ninja.
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00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:35,498
(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
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00:05:35,498 --> 00:05:36,558
- [Narrator] We're the
first people ever to film
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00:05:36,558 --> 00:05:38,371
Ishmael and his men,
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00:05:38,371 --> 00:05:41,257
but I don't get the feeling
he really trusts us.
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00:05:41,257 --> 00:05:44,404
His way of getting closer is
a kind of baptism of fire,
73
00:05:44,404 --> 00:05:45,910
if gentler than those he gives both
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00:05:45,910 --> 00:05:47,521
Papua New Guinea soldiers,
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00:05:47,521 --> 00:05:50,403
and the men he's training on this patrol.
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00:05:50,403 --> 00:05:52,903
(gas hissing)
77
00:05:55,655 --> 00:05:59,738
(Bougainville soldiers coughing)
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00:06:05,011 --> 00:06:07,357
What my sound man and I
think might be a smoke bomb
79
00:06:07,357 --> 00:06:09,893
turns out to be tear gas.
80
00:06:09,893 --> 00:06:11,968
It's Ishmael's way of saying welcome,
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00:06:11,968 --> 00:06:15,898
a short, sharp dose of
Bougainvillean reality.
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00:06:15,898 --> 00:06:18,829
After a good cough,
cry, and laugh together,
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00:06:18,829 --> 00:06:22,724
he loosens up and radios
for us to meet Francis Ona.
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00:06:22,724 --> 00:06:26,891
(Francis speaking foreign language)
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(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
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00:07:00,564 --> 00:07:04,300
(kids imitating gunfire)
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00:07:04,300 --> 00:07:06,678
(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
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00:07:06,678 --> 00:07:07,838
- [Narrator] But before we leave,
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00:07:07,838 --> 00:07:10,967
Ishmael gets second thoughts
about us seeing Francis.
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00:07:10,967 --> 00:07:12,359
A makeshift generator has blown up
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00:07:12,359 --> 00:07:16,526
one of our camera batteries
while it was charging.
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00:07:37,176 --> 00:07:38,711
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
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00:07:38,711 --> 00:07:40,290
- [Narrator] It's another
glimpse of the strange grip
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00:07:40,290 --> 00:07:43,206
that God and superstition
hold over Bougainville.
95
00:07:43,206 --> 00:07:44,350
Since the boat trip in,
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00:07:44,350 --> 00:07:46,860
I'm no longer inclined
to laugh at superstition.
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00:07:46,860 --> 00:07:48,136
But I explained that if TV crews
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00:07:48,136 --> 00:07:50,398
let all the things that
go wrong as bad omens,
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00:07:50,398 --> 00:07:53,139
then the medium would cease to exist.
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00:07:53,139 --> 00:07:57,306
Reluctantly, Ishmael concedes
to our heathen ignorance.
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00:07:58,900 --> 00:08:01,517
He gives us the two days of
torturous uphill clamboring
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00:08:01,517 --> 00:08:03,208
that will take us to Francis Ona,
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00:08:03,208 --> 00:08:05,291
and the heart of the war.
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00:08:06,968 --> 00:08:08,547
When I'm not gasping for air,
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00:08:08,547 --> 00:08:10,299
I get an idea of why the Bougainvilleans
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00:08:10,299 --> 00:08:12,595
have such fierce reverence
for the place they call
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Mekamui, or Sacred Island,
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and why they could no longer sit by
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and watch its minerals being plundered.
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- We have seen our valleys,
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we have seen our forest,
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we have seen our rivers, beautiful rivers,
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beautiful trees, beautiful forest,
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literally thrown into dust.
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And we will not allow that to happen.
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- [Narrator] En route to Francis,
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we come across his Vice
President, Joseph Kabui,
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who puts the history of the
place into perspective for us.
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Ever since the French explorer,
Louis de Bougainville,
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put his name on the map in 1768,
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the island has gone
through an endless game
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00:08:49,337 --> 00:08:52,438
of colonial pass the parcel.
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Geographically, ethnically and culturally,
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it was always part of the Solomon Islands,
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but 100 years ago, the
imperial powers decided to
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00:08:59,676 --> 00:09:01,560
change all that.
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00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:03,025
- The situation that we are in,
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00:09:03,025 --> 00:09:04,924
it's not only unique for Bougainville,
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I mean there are many African countries
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00:09:07,332 --> 00:09:09,188
that the superpowers, you know,
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00:09:09,188 --> 00:09:10,898
merely just carved them out.
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You know, put a line right through us,
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"Okay, this part belongs to you,
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"this part belongs to me."
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00:09:15,451 --> 00:09:18,944
A deal was struck between
Germany and Britain.
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00:09:18,944 --> 00:09:21,028
Germany said, "Okay,
I'll give Western Samoa
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00:09:21,028 --> 00:09:23,020
"to you, Britain."
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And Britain said, "Okay, I'll
give Bougainville to you."
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- [Narrator] Germany didn't
keep Bougainville long though,
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00:09:28,820 --> 00:09:31,692
as Australia grabbed it
during the first World War.
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00:09:31,692 --> 00:09:33,490
During the second, Japan
snatched the island
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for a few years before
Australia grabbed it back.
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And in the meantime, it
had ended up as part of
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00:09:38,374 --> 00:09:43,176
Papua New Guinea, which
got independence in 1975.
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Bougainville declared
independence two weeks earlier,
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00:09:45,438 --> 00:09:46,989
not that anyone listened,
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00:09:46,989 --> 00:09:50,960
and it took another 13
years for war to break out.
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00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:55,127
(Bougainville people
speaking in foreign language)
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00:09:58,722 --> 00:10:00,691
- [Narrator] At last, we find
the man who can really explain
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00:10:00,691 --> 00:10:03,216
why things suddenly changed.
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00:10:03,216 --> 00:10:04,983
Francis Ona is portrayed by many
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00:10:04,983 --> 00:10:07,578
as a humourless, hardline revolutionary.
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00:10:07,578 --> 00:10:09,388
I suspect they never really met him,
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00:10:09,388 --> 00:10:13,388
because it certainly isn't
the impression I get.
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00:10:29,461 --> 00:10:30,721
- [Narrator] So this is Papua New Guinea's
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00:10:30,721 --> 00:10:32,721
public enemy number one.
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00:10:34,597 --> 00:10:36,030
When he's not running either the war
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00:10:36,030 --> 00:10:38,652
or the self-declared
Republic of Bougainville,
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00:10:38,652 --> 00:10:40,261
Francis goes gardening.
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00:10:40,261 --> 00:10:43,178
(Francis laughing)
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00:11:01,655 --> 00:11:03,553
- [Narrator] Francis used
to work for a mining company
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00:11:03,553 --> 00:11:06,438
called Bougainville Copper Limited.
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00:11:06,438 --> 00:11:09,440
It was a company he would later destroy.
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00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,615
The reason, as it's always
been on Bougainville,
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00:11:11,615 --> 00:11:14,782
was the land, and the bounty it holds.
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00:11:47,673 --> 00:11:49,778
(explosion booming)
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00:11:49,778 --> 00:11:52,645
(upbeat music)
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00:11:52,645 --> 00:11:54,037
- [Reporter] Before
reaching the final layers
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00:11:54,037 --> 00:11:57,242
of overburden, they cleared
550 acres of jungle,
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00:11:57,242 --> 00:12:01,028
and sluiced away the unconsolidated
volcanic rock and ash.
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00:12:01,028 --> 00:12:03,638
- [Narrator] Bougainville
Copper Limited, or BCL,
172
00:12:03,638 --> 00:12:05,799
is mainly owned by an
Australian subsidiary
173
00:12:05,799 --> 00:12:07,609
of the world's mining giant,
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00:12:07,609 --> 00:12:10,043
Britain's Rio Tinto Zinc.
175
00:12:10,043 --> 00:12:12,509
In 1967, the company
was given the go-ahead
176
00:12:12,509 --> 00:12:14,641
to excavate what was
then the world's biggest
177
00:12:14,641 --> 00:12:16,470
open cast copper mine,
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00:12:16,470 --> 00:12:20,183
500 metres deep and covering
about seven square kilometres,
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00:12:20,183 --> 00:12:22,082
or the size of London's West End,
180
00:12:22,082 --> 00:12:25,720
where Rio Tinto's headquarters are based.
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00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,087
It turned out to be a disastrous mistake,
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00:12:28,087 --> 00:12:30,010
especially as they dug
the hole right beneath
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00:12:30,010 --> 00:12:31,810
Francis' village.
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00:12:31,810 --> 00:12:33,840
In Bougainville, you don't
come between the people
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00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:35,090
and their land.
186
00:13:22,397 --> 00:13:27,028
(Bougainvilleans speaking
foreign language)
187
00:13:27,028 --> 00:13:28,545
- [Narrator] When the
locals protested about
188
00:13:28,545 --> 00:13:30,427
the huge hole the
multinational wanted to dig
189
00:13:30,427 --> 00:13:32,574
at the fertile heart of their island,
190
00:13:32,574 --> 00:13:35,215
the land was taken by force.
191
00:13:35,215 --> 00:13:38,184
Of the three billion US dollars
the mine made in profit,
192
00:13:38,184 --> 00:13:40,214
only a thousandth was
given back to the people
193
00:13:40,214 --> 00:13:42,141
who owned the land.
194
00:13:42,141 --> 00:13:43,784
Rio Tinto Zinc had started to create
195
00:13:43,784 --> 00:13:46,034
their most expensive enemy.
196
00:13:50,569 --> 00:13:52,684
In the meantime, the
inhabitants were shunted off
197
00:13:52,684 --> 00:13:56,767
into makeshift re-settlements
on desolate ground.
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00:14:49,797 --> 00:14:51,421
- [Narrator] But the thing
that really stuck in the craw
199
00:14:51,421 --> 00:14:53,498
of the Bougainvilleans was the pollution
200
00:14:53,498 --> 00:14:55,830
spilling over their land.
201
00:14:55,830 --> 00:14:58,165
Waste from the mine to the
tune of about a billion tonnes
202
00:14:58,165 --> 00:15:00,238
ended up flowing down the Jaba River,
203
00:15:00,238 --> 00:15:04,412
contaminating it with copper,
mercury, lead and arsenic.
204
00:15:04,412 --> 00:15:06,559
It killed off the wildlife
and turned whole forests
205
00:15:06,559 --> 00:15:08,621
into moonscape.
206
00:15:08,621 --> 00:15:11,788
The land still bears the garish scars.
207
00:15:36,531 --> 00:15:39,196
- [Narrator] Things hit
boiling point in late 1988,
208
00:15:39,196 --> 00:15:42,478
when the young landowners
association, led by Francis,
209
00:15:42,478 --> 00:15:44,301
demanded both the closure of the mine
210
00:15:44,301 --> 00:15:46,695
and 10 billion dollars in damages.
211
00:15:46,695 --> 00:15:49,639
The story goes that the BCL
management laughed at them,
212
00:15:49,639 --> 00:15:52,843
10 billion being far more
than the mine was worth.
213
00:15:52,843 --> 00:15:55,428
Francis did not like being laughed at.
214
00:15:55,428 --> 00:15:56,820
He left the meeting in a hurry,
215
00:15:56,820 --> 00:15:58,560
broke into the local mining depot,
216
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,982
and stole 50 kilos of high explosives.
217
00:16:01,982 --> 00:16:03,903
(upbeat island music)
218
00:16:03,903 --> 00:16:04,907
He and his friends had decided
219
00:16:04,907 --> 00:16:06,924
to close down the mine themselves,
220
00:16:06,924 --> 00:16:09,767
with some well-targeted sabotage.
221
00:16:09,767 --> 00:16:10,881
Panicked about losing what was nearly
222
00:16:10,881 --> 00:16:12,579
half of its export earnings,
223
00:16:12,579 --> 00:16:16,058
Papua New Guinea sent in the riot police.
224
00:16:16,058 --> 00:16:18,479
They burnt down homes, beat people up,
225
00:16:18,479 --> 00:16:21,335
killed a few, and generally
created enough backlash
226
00:16:21,335 --> 00:16:23,803
to provide Francis'
fledgling guerrilla force
227
00:16:23,803 --> 00:16:26,456
with all the recruits it needed.
228
00:16:26,456 --> 00:16:29,267
Ragtag bunch though the
Bougainville Revolution Army were,
229
00:16:29,267 --> 00:16:32,473
their very name showed they
were now raising the stakes.
230
00:16:32,473 --> 00:16:34,417
They didn't just want
the mine closed down,
231
00:16:34,417 --> 00:16:37,036
they wanted independence too.
232
00:16:37,036 --> 00:16:39,274
It was all getting a bit
much for the riot squad,
233
00:16:39,274 --> 00:16:40,635
so in came the army,
234
00:16:40,635 --> 00:16:43,885
and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.
235
00:16:46,203 --> 00:16:48,555
Rio Tinto Zinc abandoned the mine,
236
00:16:48,555 --> 00:16:50,568
and a David and Goliath war was on,
237
00:16:50,568 --> 00:16:54,730
with BRA stones and slings
versus PNG helicopters.
238
00:16:54,730 --> 00:16:56,165
It was then that Francis realised
239
00:16:56,165 --> 00:16:58,299
they weren't fighting
just Papua New Guinea,
240
00:16:58,299 --> 00:17:00,759
but Australia as well.
241
00:17:00,759 --> 00:17:02,255
Australia's ex-colonial interests
242
00:17:02,255 --> 00:17:05,838
meant it was already
training an army with PNGDF.
243
00:17:05,838 --> 00:17:08,217
Now it also suspended
a foreign crimes act,
244
00:17:08,217 --> 00:17:10,464
allowing its pilots to fly the helicopters
245
00:17:10,464 --> 00:17:12,304
it suddenly supplied,
246
00:17:12,304 --> 00:17:14,841
helicopters that were
quickly turned into gunships
247
00:17:14,841 --> 00:17:18,843
and trained mainly on
an unarmed population.
248
00:17:18,843 --> 00:17:21,078
Faced with such brutal
and powerful weaponry,
249
00:17:21,078 --> 00:17:22,760
the Bougainvilleans were
forced into the first
250
00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,260
of a long list of innovations.
251
00:19:10,079 --> 00:19:14,246
(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
252
00:20:05,663 --> 00:20:08,746
(truck horn honking)
253
00:20:19,752 --> 00:20:22,188
- [Narrator] There are no clear
front lines in the jungle.
254
00:20:22,188 --> 00:20:23,812
Even though they've made it their own,
255
00:20:23,812 --> 00:20:25,931
Ishmael and his boys know the PNGDF
256
00:20:25,931 --> 00:20:27,764
may never be far away.
257
00:20:32,070 --> 00:20:36,237
(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
258
00:20:53,678 --> 00:20:56,178
(guns firing)
259
00:21:01,875 --> 00:21:04,089
(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
260
00:21:04,089 --> 00:21:06,589
(guns firing)
261
00:21:45,066 --> 00:21:46,334
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
262
00:21:46,334 --> 00:21:48,254
- [Narrator] Around 15,000 Bougainvilleans
263
00:21:48,254 --> 00:21:50,006
have been killed during the war,
264
00:21:50,006 --> 00:21:52,488
out of a population only 10 times that,
265
00:21:52,488 --> 00:21:54,139
yet most haven't been slaughtered
266
00:21:54,139 --> 00:21:56,529
by Papua New Guinea
Defence Force munitions,
267
00:21:56,529 --> 00:22:01,026
like these ones mortared
during a church service.
268
00:22:01,026 --> 00:22:03,389
The majority have died from
the lack of essential supplies
269
00:22:03,389 --> 00:22:04,811
created by Papua New Guinea
270
00:22:04,811 --> 00:22:07,336
and Australia's most insidious weapon;
271
00:22:07,336 --> 00:22:10,843
The seven year siege of the island.
272
00:22:10,843 --> 00:22:13,310
By early 1990, the
PNGDF was losing control
273
00:22:13,310 --> 00:22:15,410
of most of Bougainville,
274
00:22:15,410 --> 00:22:17,208
so it decided to establish a sea blockade
275
00:22:17,208 --> 00:22:19,078
around the island, which
it hopes would turn
276
00:22:19,078 --> 00:22:22,631
the population against the
Bougainville Revolutionary Army.
277
00:22:22,631 --> 00:22:24,779
As a quick glance at history
could have predicted,
278
00:22:24,779 --> 00:22:26,979
quite the opposite happened.
279
00:22:26,979 --> 00:22:28,924
With bodies piling up
from the lack of food,
280
00:22:28,924 --> 00:22:31,347
shelter and medicine,
the BRA and the people
281
00:22:31,347 --> 00:22:35,150
rose against the challenge
of the blockade together.
282
00:22:35,150 --> 00:22:36,412
Forced to learn the hard way
283
00:22:36,412 --> 00:22:38,613
that necessity is the mother of invention,
284
00:22:38,613 --> 00:22:41,530
their solutions came from the land.
285
00:23:12,457 --> 00:23:14,518
- [Narrator] William was a businessman.
286
00:23:14,518 --> 00:23:17,213
Now a refugee from PNG-held territory,
287
00:23:17,213 --> 00:23:21,380
he shows us the green
fingers he's had to develop.
288
00:24:22,316 --> 00:24:25,483
(upbeat island music)
289
00:24:28,569 --> 00:24:32,736
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
290
00:24:34,792 --> 00:24:35,980
- [Narrator] Yet no plant on Bougainville
291
00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:39,548
comes close to the
importance of the coconut.
292
00:24:39,548 --> 00:24:41,593
We know we've been fed
and sheltered by it,
293
00:24:41,593 --> 00:24:43,449
but then Ishmael shows us
what a perfectly packaged
294
00:24:43,449 --> 00:24:45,595
life support system it is,
295
00:24:45,595 --> 00:24:47,161
and how his people have
learned to make use of
296
00:24:47,161 --> 00:24:48,578
every part of it.
297
00:26:19,497 --> 00:26:20,833
- [Narrator] In the war
for the environment,
298
00:26:20,833 --> 00:26:23,230
it helps to have the
environment on your side.
299
00:26:23,230 --> 00:26:24,781
(gun firing)
300
00:26:24,781 --> 00:26:28,281
(Ishmael inhaling deeply)
301
00:27:21,294 --> 00:27:25,044
(Bougainville man screaming)
302
00:27:26,588 --> 00:27:27,700
(Ishmael speaking foreign language)
303
00:27:27,700 --> 00:27:29,614
- [Narrator] But it's for
healing, rather than hurting,
304
00:27:29,614 --> 00:27:31,122
that the Bougainvilleans have developed
305
00:27:31,122 --> 00:27:34,574
the bush medicine of their ancestors.
306
00:27:34,574 --> 00:27:36,674
With the PNGDF driving
much of the population
307
00:27:36,674 --> 00:27:38,778
into the jungle, thousands were dying
308
00:27:38,778 --> 00:27:40,866
in unsanitized childbirth,
309
00:27:40,866 --> 00:27:43,171
and from preventable
diseases like malaria,
310
00:27:43,171 --> 00:27:45,870
pneumonia, and dysentery.
311
00:27:45,870 --> 00:27:48,247
Tetanus from a badly-handled
machete, for instance,
312
00:27:48,247 --> 00:27:50,475
could prove lethal before
the islanders once again
313
00:27:50,475 --> 00:27:52,558
made the land their ally.
314
00:28:01,558 --> 00:28:05,225
(Bougainville man groaning)
315
00:28:39,638 --> 00:28:42,503
- [Narrator] Francis is
always on call as local GP,
316
00:28:42,503 --> 00:28:46,253
and his presidential HQ
doubles as a surgery.
317
00:29:13,265 --> 00:29:14,220
- [Narrator] The claims of Francis
318
00:29:14,220 --> 00:29:16,916
and his fellow healers amaze me.
319
00:29:16,916 --> 00:29:20,310
Being able to cure malaria,
leprosy, appendicitis,
320
00:29:20,310 --> 00:29:22,529
and cancer without operating,
321
00:29:22,529 --> 00:29:25,976
developing a herbal contraceptive
which doesn't harm women.
322
00:29:25,976 --> 00:29:28,122
Having seen what else these people can do,
323
00:29:28,122 --> 00:29:29,922
I can no longer just dismiss it,
324
00:29:29,922 --> 00:29:34,114
especially as so many patients back it up.
325
00:29:34,114 --> 00:29:38,281
And at least Francis isn't
so sure about all the cures.
326
00:29:57,534 --> 00:29:59,553
- [Narrator] So Francis
invites anyone with AIDS
327
00:29:59,553 --> 00:30:01,848
to come to test the Bougainvillean cure.
328
00:30:01,848 --> 00:30:03,931
- Let's go gardening now.
329
00:30:17,952 --> 00:30:19,213
- [Narrator] Besides what
they get from the land,
330
00:30:19,213 --> 00:30:21,444
the islanders have found
uses for absolutely anything
331
00:30:21,444 --> 00:30:22,949
that Bougainville Copper Limited
332
00:30:22,949 --> 00:30:25,516
and its employees left behind.
333
00:30:25,516 --> 00:30:28,595
Though in a place where the
infrastructure's gone to pot,
334
00:30:28,595 --> 00:30:32,345
things constantly require
improvised repairs.
335
00:31:01,262 --> 00:31:03,724
- [Narrator] Along with
his truck, his generator,
336
00:31:03,724 --> 00:31:06,266
his exercise gym, Ishmael
brings anything else
337
00:31:06,266 --> 00:31:09,699
he can carry back from
successful operations.
338
00:31:09,699 --> 00:31:13,866
On a blockaded island, it's
the only way to go shopping.
339
00:31:56,319 --> 00:31:58,478
(upbeat island music)
340
00:31:58,478 --> 00:32:02,645
(Bougainville man
singing foreign language)
341
00:32:09,748 --> 00:32:11,794
- [Narrator] The scavenger's
maker on Bougainville
342
00:32:11,794 --> 00:32:13,431
is the Panguna Mine itself,
343
00:32:13,431 --> 00:32:16,246
and the town built to house its workers.
344
00:32:16,246 --> 00:32:19,262
After devastating it to make
sure the miners never returned,
345
00:32:19,262 --> 00:32:21,826
Francis and his fellow villagers
ended up having to go back
346
00:32:21,826 --> 00:32:26,176
to salvage anything
not rooted in concrete.
347
00:32:26,176 --> 00:32:27,626
Because along with getting
the Bougainvilleans
348
00:32:27,626 --> 00:32:30,060
to start from scratch
with food and medicine,
349
00:32:30,060 --> 00:32:32,703
the PNGDF also burnt down
many of their houses,
350
00:32:32,703 --> 00:32:35,703
and gave them that problem to solve.
351
00:33:10,576 --> 00:33:12,830
(generator whirring)
352
00:33:12,830 --> 00:33:13,967
- [Narrator] I know these people can make
353
00:33:13,967 --> 00:33:16,204
something out of nothing,
but I still can't work out
354
00:33:16,204 --> 00:33:18,722
how they can light whole villages.
355
00:33:18,722 --> 00:33:22,889
William laughs and takes
us to his local workshop.
356
00:33:37,391 --> 00:33:39,363
- [Narrator] The islanders
have dragged the mine's debris,
357
00:33:39,363 --> 00:33:41,262
sometimes for weeks, across the mountains
358
00:33:41,262 --> 00:33:43,697
to create this sort of set up.
359
00:33:43,697 --> 00:33:45,858
And it's in places like this
that they've cobbled together
360
00:33:45,858 --> 00:33:50,025
their own ecological power
supply, hydroelectricity.
361
00:34:11,805 --> 00:34:14,555
(water spraying)
362
00:35:23,722 --> 00:35:26,889
(upbeat island music)
363
00:35:52,967 --> 00:35:55,447
- [Narrator] New ideas have
been growing wherever I look.
364
00:35:55,447 --> 00:35:57,244
But the high point of this eco-revolution
365
00:35:57,244 --> 00:35:59,205
has to be the way they're
still driving around
366
00:35:59,205 --> 00:36:00,957
without any proper fuel supply
367
00:36:00,957 --> 00:36:03,393
after seven years of blockade.
368
00:36:03,393 --> 00:36:05,220
The secret, as I should have guessed,
369
00:36:05,220 --> 00:36:07,303
is growing all around me.
370
00:36:18,620 --> 00:36:21,120
(guns firing)
371
00:36:27,335 --> 00:36:29,319
- [Narrator] Francis once
stated that the war against
372
00:36:29,319 --> 00:36:32,126
Papua New Guinea would be won in a week.
373
00:36:32,126 --> 00:36:33,481
The war against Australia,
374
00:36:33,481 --> 00:36:36,353
that would take a little bit longer.
375
00:36:36,353 --> 00:36:38,471
And by 1996, the Bougainville
Revolutionary Army
376
00:36:38,471 --> 00:36:40,138
was winning.
377
00:36:40,138 --> 00:36:43,850
PNG's last big offensive
turned into its biggest route.
378
00:36:43,850 --> 00:36:45,153
And when we get to the island,
379
00:36:45,153 --> 00:36:48,903
the BRA hold about 80% of the territory.
380
00:37:11,770 --> 00:37:14,055
(Bouginvilleans singing
in foreign language)
381
00:37:14,055 --> 00:37:15,698
- [Narrator] The PNGDF
don't come any further
382
00:37:15,698 --> 00:37:17,469
not just because they're beaten,
383
00:37:17,469 --> 00:37:20,876
but also because they hardly care anymore.
384
00:37:20,876 --> 00:37:22,426
In the war for hearts and minds,
385
00:37:22,426 --> 00:37:24,746
the BRA were always winning.
386
00:37:24,746 --> 00:37:26,935
And when no other country
came to Bougainville's aid,
387
00:37:26,935 --> 00:37:29,442
the people found support
in a different realm,
388
00:37:29,442 --> 00:37:31,722
because the colonial
legacy they most embraced
389
00:37:31,722 --> 00:37:34,139
was that of the missionaries.
390
00:39:15,873 --> 00:39:17,149
- [Narrator] Once we've
broken enough bread
391
00:39:17,149 --> 00:39:19,284
and sweat together,
Ishmael trusts us enough
392
00:39:19,284 --> 00:39:23,117
to reveal the secret
chance he uses in combat.
393
00:40:07,774 --> 00:40:09,715
- [Narrator] Now that Ishmael
sees our camera batteries
394
00:40:09,715 --> 00:40:13,548
in a more positive way,
he lets us in further.
395
00:40:54,936 --> 00:40:59,103
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
396
00:41:04,011 --> 00:41:05,852
- [Narrator] The islanders'
devotion seemed to pay off
397
00:41:05,852 --> 00:41:08,268
in early 1997, when God moved
398
00:41:08,268 --> 00:41:11,389
in one of His most mysterious ways.
399
00:41:11,389 --> 00:41:13,364
Papua New Guinea basically admitted defeat
400
00:41:13,364 --> 00:41:17,060
by hiring mercenaries to
do what the PNGDF couldn't.
401
00:41:17,060 --> 00:41:19,117
They forked out 36 million dollars
402
00:41:19,117 --> 00:41:22,132
to the London-based company,
Sandline International,
403
00:41:22,132 --> 00:41:24,395
and presented the BRA with
the biggest armed threat
404
00:41:24,395 --> 00:41:26,267
it had ever faced.
405
00:41:26,267 --> 00:41:27,625
And then, lo and behold,
406
00:41:27,625 --> 00:41:30,922
the PNGDF itself came
to Bougainville's aid.
407
00:41:30,922 --> 00:41:33,950
Humiliated by the very idea
of needing foreign troops,
408
00:41:33,950 --> 00:41:36,168
and even more angry at the price,
409
00:41:36,168 --> 00:41:40,098
the underfunded PNG soldiers
rallied huge popular support,
410
00:41:40,098 --> 00:41:43,848
arrested the mercenaries,
and threw them out.
411
00:42:10,713 --> 00:42:12,158
- [Narrator] Finding
a way out is something
412
00:42:12,158 --> 00:42:15,975
the Bougainvilleans tend to
do with startling regularity.
413
00:42:15,975 --> 00:42:17,336
And none amazes me more than the way
414
00:42:17,336 --> 00:42:20,831
they fuel the transport so
crucial to fighting a war.
415
00:42:20,831 --> 00:42:22,482
With hundreds of abandoned mine vehicles
416
00:42:22,482 --> 00:42:23,755
littering the island,
417
00:42:23,755 --> 00:42:27,035
how were the BRA going to
run them without diesel?
418
00:42:27,035 --> 00:42:29,202
Finally, William shows us.
419
00:42:33,118 --> 00:42:36,285
(upbeat island music)
420
00:43:30,779 --> 00:43:34,946
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
421
00:43:50,963 --> 00:43:51,802
- [Narrator] Not only is coconut oil
422
00:43:51,802 --> 00:43:53,874
far less polluting than diesel,
423
00:43:53,874 --> 00:43:56,078
you also get double the mileage.
424
00:43:56,078 --> 00:43:57,745
Ishmael laughs that after the war,
425
00:43:57,745 --> 00:44:01,495
they're really going to
scare Esso and Shell.
426
00:44:14,573 --> 00:44:16,139
- [Narrator] And everyone
here is convinced
427
00:44:16,139 --> 00:44:17,543
that what they've achieved,
428
00:44:17,543 --> 00:44:19,413
despite having everything against them,
429
00:44:19,413 --> 00:44:22,874
proves beyond doubt that
they can run their own state,
430
00:44:22,874 --> 00:44:25,043
especially with all the
ecological innovations
431
00:44:25,043 --> 00:44:26,825
they're sworn to developing further
432
00:44:26,825 --> 00:44:29,598
when they become independent.
433
00:44:29,598 --> 00:44:32,583
- With the close of the
mine, we have been blessed.
434
00:44:32,583 --> 00:44:33,901
We have been blessed.
435
00:44:33,901 --> 00:44:36,933
We have been blessed to see,
you know, abundance of food.
436
00:44:36,933 --> 00:44:39,864
We have been blessed
with breathing fresh air.
437
00:44:39,864 --> 00:44:41,314
If we win this certainly,
438
00:44:41,314 --> 00:44:45,481
it's going to become quite
an important precedent.
439
00:44:47,983 --> 00:44:49,881
- [Narrator] In fact,
Bougainville has already become
440
00:44:49,881 --> 00:44:52,913
a precedent, inspiring many
other Pacific communities
441
00:44:52,913 --> 00:44:55,592
having holes dug in their backyards.
442
00:44:55,592 --> 00:44:58,465
Across the region, resistance
to and compensation from
443
00:44:58,465 --> 00:45:01,787
ecological devastation
has upped considerably.
444
00:45:01,787 --> 00:45:03,960
And when, thanks to the mercenary debacle,
445
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:06,104
the news broke of this
obscure bunch of islanders
446
00:45:06,104 --> 00:45:09,624
beating Papua New Guinea and
Australia and Rio Tinto Zinc,
447
00:45:09,624 --> 00:45:11,889
suddenly the international
community got interested
448
00:45:11,889 --> 00:45:14,972
in beginning peace talks in mid-1997.
449
00:45:24,073 --> 00:45:28,240
(Francis speaking foreign language)
450
00:45:30,132 --> 00:45:32,163
- [Narrator] Francis, who
has fears of winning the war,
451
00:45:32,163 --> 00:45:34,613
but losing the peace, steers
clear of the compromises
452
00:45:34,613 --> 00:45:37,080
involved in the proposed deal.
453
00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:38,961
He is labelled a hardliner for this.
454
00:45:38,961 --> 00:45:40,935
But maybe that's because
he's not the kind of leader
455
00:45:40,935 --> 00:45:43,286
we're used to, and knows
how easily Bougainville
456
00:45:43,286 --> 00:45:47,453
can lose its way in the jungle
of international politics.
457
00:46:40,327 --> 00:46:41,620
- [Narrator] The peace process though
458
00:46:41,620 --> 00:46:43,589
is creating a rift between Francis
459
00:46:43,589 --> 00:46:45,867
and one of the prime movers behind it,
460
00:46:45,867 --> 00:46:48,684
his Vice President, Joseph Kabui.
461
00:46:48,684 --> 00:46:49,517
- This is it.
462
00:46:49,517 --> 00:46:51,732
We will either make it, or break it.
463
00:46:51,732 --> 00:46:53,959
And because it is now, as I see it,
464
00:46:53,959 --> 00:46:56,845
it's now a game of survival,
of political survival,
465
00:46:56,845 --> 00:47:01,213
and there is a clear-cut
political game right now.
466
00:47:01,213 --> 00:47:04,867
Change is imminent, from the
ways things are now looking.
467
00:47:04,867 --> 00:47:06,240
- [Cameraman] What do you mean by change?
468
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,652
- Change the political
leadership, that is.
469
00:47:08,652 --> 00:47:10,883
Our President will be changed.
470
00:47:10,883 --> 00:47:12,969
Will be changed sometime soon.
471
00:47:12,969 --> 00:47:14,383
- [Cameraman] And who
would be the new President?
472
00:47:14,383 --> 00:47:15,937
(Joseph scoffs)
473
00:47:15,937 --> 00:47:18,503
- Well, it's up to people to decide.
474
00:47:18,503 --> 00:47:20,693
They'll have to be able to decide.
475
00:47:20,693 --> 00:47:23,767
So we will wait and see
how things will go about.
476
00:47:23,767 --> 00:47:25,770
- [Cameraman] Well it will
probably be you, won't it?
477
00:47:25,770 --> 00:47:29,770
- Well if it comes to me,
I'm ready and willing.
478
00:47:32,059 --> 00:47:34,881
- [Narrator] Joseph also
has Ishmael's support.
479
00:47:34,881 --> 00:47:36,549
But despite their different methods,
480
00:47:36,549 --> 00:47:39,706
they and Francis definitely
have the same end in mind;
481
00:47:39,706 --> 00:47:42,289
Independence, with a capital I.
482
00:48:54,897 --> 00:48:57,662
- [Narrator] The future,
rather than tales of past woes,
483
00:48:57,662 --> 00:49:00,779
is what all the Bougainvilleans
I've met focus upon.
484
00:49:00,779 --> 00:49:03,083
Despite the destruction of their land,
485
00:49:03,083 --> 00:49:06,436
eight years of isolation,
untold atrocities,
486
00:49:06,436 --> 00:49:08,709
and up to 15,000 deaths,
487
00:49:08,709 --> 00:49:11,259
the impression I take
home is of the people
488
00:49:11,259 --> 00:49:13,860
who don't seem to know
the meaning of self-pity,
489
00:49:13,860 --> 00:49:15,527
let alone pessimism.
490
00:49:17,337 --> 00:49:20,035
Before we leave to run the
blockade on our way out,
491
00:49:20,035 --> 00:49:21,864
Francis sends us off with one of the songs
492
00:49:21,864 --> 00:49:25,697
he writes for his regular
communal sing-sings.
493
00:50:00,283 --> 00:50:01,871
- [Narrator] Since we left Bougainville,
494
00:50:01,871 --> 00:50:05,545
the peace talks have led
to a permanent ceasefire,
495
00:50:05,545 --> 00:50:07,302
the blockade has been lifted,
496
00:50:07,302 --> 00:50:11,722
and reconciliation and
restoration are taking place.
497
00:50:11,722 --> 00:50:14,246
If Papua New Guinea is still
dodging the central demand
498
00:50:14,246 --> 00:50:17,888
of the BRA, a referendum on independence,
499
00:50:17,888 --> 00:50:19,785
things aren't over yet.
500
00:50:19,785 --> 00:50:21,469
But whatever happens,
501
00:50:21,469 --> 00:50:23,477
when it comes to self-help and ecology,
502
00:50:23,477 --> 00:50:25,234
the Bougainvilleans have
already given the world
503
00:50:25,234 --> 00:50:29,317
many lessons it can learn,
if it ever chooses to.
504
00:50:46,405 --> 00:50:50,572
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)
505
00:51:27,221 --> 00:51:31,388
(Bougainvilleans singing
in foreign language)