Precis

Just north of Australia a secret war is being fought. West Papuan independence fighters and Indonesian security forces are involved in a protracted and bloody battle over the issue of Papuan independence. The conflict escalated after young West Papuan fighters killed Indonesian road workers building a highway into Papua’s central highlands.

The Indonesia government hit back hard, deploying hundreds of police and military who attacked the region in an effort to root out the rebels.

Last year mass protests broke out, with civil resistance leaders from in and outside West Papua calling for freedom from Indonesia.

With foreign media largely shut out, the story of this unfolding humanitarian disaster remains untold.

Hundreds have died and local officials estimate that over 40 000 people have been displaced. There are allegations of torture and human rights abuses.

Foreign Correspondent has been able to report from inside the conflict zone, gaining access to exclusive pictures of the recent unrest and speaking to eyewitnesses of the violence.

"I have to yell out to the world…because if I don’t, we’re going to be weaker and the indigenous people will be wiped out," says one West Papuan highlander, who’s looking after children orphaned in the recent fighting.

"We will not retreat. We will not run. We will fight until recognition dawns," says a member of West Papua’s young guerrilla force whose ranks include teenagers orphaned in the ongoing conflict.

"Dialogue is needed but dialogue which is constructive," says Indonesia’s former Security Minister. "We have closed the door for dialogue on a referendum. No dialogue for independence."

Sally Sara reports on a war with no end in sight.

Episode tease.

00:00

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  A secret war, right on our doorstep. West Papuans activists are fighting for independence from Indonesia like never before.  Jakarta is cracking down hard, cutting communications and banning foreign media, but we’ve managed to get inside, where a long running insurgency has reignited.  

00:07

This is the story Indonesia doesn’t want the world to know.  

00:44

Aerial. Port Moresby GVs. Super:
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Music

00:52

Performers apply paint for performance. Title: The War Next Door

01:11

Super:
Reporter
Sally Sara

Music

01:17

SALLY SARA, Reporter: We start our journey in Port Moresby, where the Morning Star flag, the symbol of West Papuan independence, is being celebrated. 

01:27

Ronny preparing for performance, face painting

Musician, Ronny Kareni wears the colours with pride. 

RONNY KARENI: For me, it

01:37

Ronny interview

represents my people.  And the significance of how many people have suffered or died or imprisoned, just for that Morning Star flag. 

01:43

Ronny and band perform

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Ronny fled from West Papua nearly 40 years ago and now lives in Australia.  The performers are drumming up support  for their compatriots across the border.

01:56

Man waves Morning Star flag

In Indonesian controlled West Papua, flying this flag can get you arrested or worse. 

02:16

Ronny interview

RONNY KARENI:  It makes what we are fighting for and representing that Morning Star becomes so significant that it is something that we will die for.    

02:23

Band perform

[singing] "Sorong Samarai… one people one soul one destiny… Sorong Samarai… We’ve got to keep on pushing forward….Sorong Samarai…"

02:32

Sally watches performance

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  The band, Sorong Samarai sings the soundtrack of the independence struggle. It calls for the island of New Guinea to be one nation from Sorong in the west, to Samarai in the east.  While Papua New Guinea is independent, West Papua is part of Indonesia.

02:45

Band perform

[singing]

03:05

Parkop addresses audience

Powes Parkop, Governor of Port Moresby: "One people, one culture, one ancestor."

03:18

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  The outspoken governor of Port Moresby, Powes Parkop, is urging Papua New Guineans and the international community to support West Papuan independence.  

03:23

Powes Parkop, Governor of Port Moresby: "I have chosen and committed not to live in fear any more. To be courageous and to be brave and to tell the truth, this is our weapon of choice."

03:34

Band perform

[singing]

03:48

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  The voices for change are growing louder, but can they undo the past?  

03:54

Archival. Villagers dance/UN meeting

Music

04:00

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  The western side of New Guinea was given to Indonesia in a deal brokered by the UN.

04:07

Archival. 1969 ballot

In 1969, Indonesia held a ballot, called the ‘act of free choice’, but they only selected just over a thousand West Papuans to vote  and then declared a unanimous victory.

04:14

Archival. Conflict

 There’s been conflict ever since – bloodshed and human rights abuses.

04:35

Statue of soldier

 It still overshadows the lives of many West Papuans. 

04:43

Fly River GFX:  Map New Guinea showing border

Music

04:49

SALLY SARA, Reporter: The Fly River is one of the biggest in Papua New Guinea. It makes up part of the border with Indonesian controlled Papua. 

05:04

Tony and Sara in boat of Fly River

For Tony Sapioper, getting out on the water is a chance to forget his troubles for a short while.  

Sally Sara:  "Are there many families living by the river?"  

Tony: "Yeah. 

05:19

These Yongu people, they are West Papuans, but they have been crossing the border for so many years."

05:30

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Tony is one of thousands of West Papuan refugees living along the border in PNG.

05:38

Tony interview

TONY SAPIOPER:  I sometimes feel depressed, because of the situation that we face here, we are facing here.  Firstly, the government of Papua New Guinea is not really looking after the refugees here.  That’s what sometimes makes us feel angry.  Feel frustration.  Feel depressed. But I think that the only dream that we have is the fight for our freedom.  

05:53

Riverside houses

Music

06:19

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Tony has a makeshift house near the riverbank. 

06:26

Tony and Sara walk to home and greet Estervine

He lives with his 71 year old widowed mother, Estervine.  The family fled West Papua in 1984, because of unrest.  

06:30

ESTERVINE:  We have lived in this country for 35 years, Papua New Guinea,

06:47

Estervine interview

with all sorts of difficulties and shortcomings. We have experienced sickness and death.

06:54

Estervine and Tony fry bananas

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Estervine sells fried banana to earn a small living. 

07:06

ESTERVINE:  We've reached the point where we long to return to our country,

07:14

Estervine interview

to our land of Papua.  

07:21

Photo. Estervine teaching

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Before she became a refugee, she was a teacher in West Papua.  Her husband worked for a UN agency. 

07:23

Family photos

The family was middle class.  

TONY SAPIOPER:  I used to tell her that

07:32

Tony interview

it’s ok, it’s ok, don’t cry.  Because you know, because of your aim, because of  your dream for your homeland to be free, that’s why you took us here.  So you don’t need to cry.  Just wait patiently.  Struggle.  And then you will see the result of it. 

07:42

Estervine selling fried banana

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  It's an impossible choice, to endure a lack of freedom in West Papua or live in poverty in Papua New Guinea.  

Tony [singing]:  "You can’t imagine or foresee…"

08:04

Tony playing guitar and singing

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Tony is part of a lost generation, lacking education and opportunity. 

08:19

Tony [singing]:  "This is how it is, the reality…"

SALLY SARA, Reporter: The rest of the family has returned and Estervine wonders if it's better to go back too, but her health is failing. 

08:25

Estervine interview

ESTERVINE:  I beg, I plead, I express the wishes of my heart,  I want freedom.  I want to go home.  I no longer want to live in someone else’s country.  As a Papuan, I want to take back my country, my land and my nation.    

08:42

Tony playing guitar and singing

Tony [singing]:  "There’s nothing else, only freedom…"

09:06

Tony interview

TONY SAPIOPER:  I immediately want to go to West Papua and fight, instead of wasting my time here. Because that’s the only dream I have.  That's the only dream that I still carry on.  That I hope that one day West Papua will be free.    

09:19

Fly River GFX:  Map New Guinea showing Kiunga

Music

09:35

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  When there’s trouble in West Papua, it’s felt here across the border in Kiunga. It’s one of the biggest towns in this part of Western Province. This is the place that asylum seekers try to reach for safety. The latest

09:40

Kiunga street

arrivals are being processed on the outskirts of town. 

09:54

Asylum seeker camp

Music

09:59

Sara to camera at camp

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  This is the camp behind me where the new arrivals are being housed. We have a media visa to be here in PNG that's been approved all the way from the Prime Minister's office, and it includes permission to speak with people who have crossed over the border, but local officials are not allowing us to go inside the camp or to hear the stories of these people who fled during last year’s unrest.  

10:06

Asylum seekers at camp

These are the first pictures of the more than 100 men, women and children who crossed the border last November. No one from the PNG government here will give us an interview.  Off camera they say they want to protect their relationship with Indonesia. 

10:29

West Papua protests

Last year, the world got a rare glimpse of tensions erupting in West Papua.

10:56

These videos, shared online, show Papuan students being surrounded by Indonesian mobs and racially abused. 

Man on street:  You're a monkey! Monkey! Hey monkey, get out!

11:04

Protest march

Protest leader: Our action today is one of dignity.

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Thousands of people took to the streets across West Papua demanding an end to racism and crying 'Papua merdeka'. 'Freedom for Papua.'

11:20

Student march

Students marched in solidarity, but Indonesia's then Security Minister, former general Wiranto rejected the calls. 

11:39

Wiranto press conference

FORMER SECURITY MINISTER WIRANTO:  Dialogue is important. Dialogue is necessary, but dialogue that is constructive. We have closed the door for dialogue on a referendum. There is no dialogue about independence.

11:47

Police fire at protestors

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Peaceful protests soon turned violent.

Protestors:  "Freedom! Freedom!"

12:04

Police with riot shields

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  More than 6,000 Indonesian soldiers and police were deployed. 

12:13

Police fire at protestors

This video shows police shooting at unarmed civilians; Indonesia says it was in self-defence. Pro-Indonesia militia groups joined the fight. 

12:19

Militia members with flag

Militia man: "I’m willing to die for the red and white flag.  No fear. I'm determined to fight."

12:32

Bodies and injured

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  The region descended into the bloodiest unrest in decades. Hundreds of protestors were detained. An internet blackout was enforced across the region.

12:38

Driving. Night.

12:55

Sara in car

We’re on our way to a secret meeting.  One of the activists on the top of Indonesia's most wanted list has agreed to an interview.  He’s crossed the border illegally into Papua New Guinea. Finally, we reach a safe house. Victor Yeimo arrives in the early hours of the morning. 

13:02

Sar and Yeimo at safe house

"How much do you worry for your safety at the moment in West Papua?"

13:43

Yeimo interview

VICTOR YEIMO:  All my life I worry about my life.  Not only me, I worry about my people’s lives.  All the people of West Papua worry about their lives.  There is no future for people of West Papua today.  I grew up with suffering, I was born with suffering,

13:52

Photo. Yeimo at protest

and I live with suffering. 

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Victor Yeimo is the leader of a growing West Papuan civil resistance movement,

14:06

Yeimo at protest

and was a key organiser of last year’s protests. 

VICTOR YEIMO:  People of West Papua,

14:13

Yeimo interview

for us it’s better for us to fight before dying, for our dignity. It’s better than just sit down and give up, be silent and be killed. Occupied by Indonesia. So fighting is something -- a duty. It's a role of young generation, like me. 

14:25

Student protest

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Victor Yeimo is urging Australia to support West Papuan independence. 

14:49

Yeimo interview

VICTOR YEIMO: If you can do for East Timor, you can do the same thing with the West Papuan people. Humanity is more important, so please I believe the people of Australia today, take care of us. You will be remembered by the generations of West Papua. You will become part of the history of our nation. 

14:56

Music

15:22

Mambor walks on street

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  After last year’s unrest Indonesia banned foreign media in West Papua,

15:28

Sara and Mambor at laptop looking at demonstration footage

but one journalist is determined to get the story out.  Victor Mambor is the editor of a West Papuan newspaper.  He reported on the 2019 demonstrations.

15:44

 "Is it dangerous for you to get some of these stories?"

VICTOR MAMBOR:  Yeah, it’s dangerous.  

15:58

SALLY SARA, Reporter: With an Indonesian mother and West Papuan father, he’s trusted by both sides.

16:03

Mambor interview

VICTOR MAMBOR:  Maybe I am one of them lucky journalists, because I can work on the Papuan side, but also on the Indonesian side. This is my advantage to help my people. 

16:09

Mambor at laptop looking at footage

SALLY SARA, Reporter: He’s been doing what we can’t  -- filming inside West Papua for Foreign Correspondent.  

16:20

"How important is it for the world to know what's happening in West Papua?"  

16:27

Mambor interview

VICTOR MAMBOR:  I think it's very important for the world to know what happened in West Papua because the human rights abuses happen every day and every place. 

16:33

Mambor in plane to central highlands

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Victor Mambor travelled to West Papua’s remote central highlands. There's long been unrest here,

16:47

but the fighting between separatists and Indonesian forces has intensified.

16:57

River. GFX: Map showing Nduga

The recent conflict started here in the district of Nduga, causing a humanitarian disaster. Local officials say

17:07

Mambor driving to meet with Raga

45,000 people have been displaced. Victor is meeting Raga Kogoya, a highlander helping those who’ve fled. 

17:19

Raga at home

RAGA: We have 38 heads of family here and 220 people.  There are more children here than adults.  

17:39

Raga with Mambor

We've stopped taking notes of who died because per day there were one to five or one to six deaths a day, children adults and women.

17:52

Aerials. Trans Papuan Highway

SALLY SARA, Reporter:  Construction of this road triggered the current fighting. A 4000 kilometre link called the Trans Papuan Highway. Jakarta says it will bring economic opportunity and improve living standards. But many West Papuans  fear Indonesia will use it to take land, exploit natural resources and destroy local culture.  

18:06

Raga interview

RAGA: They need the natural resources but they don’t need the people of Papua.

18:33

Road workers vehicles

SALLY SARA, Reporter: In December 2018, a group of West Papuan independence fighters ambushed and slaughtered at least 16 Indonesian road workers. 

18:38

Helicopter. Indonesian troops

Indonesia retaliated with a security offensive to capture those responsible. 

18:48

Wiranto press conference

FORMER SECURITY MINISTER WIRANTO: "In this country there is no armed group that is legitimate, who just commit murder and create disorder. Whatever country they are in, we will pursue them and we will finish them."

18:56

Video footage. Razed burnt homes

 SALLY SARA, Reporter: Foreign Correspondent has obtained exclusive video of the aftermath of Indonesia's operation. It shows houses burnt to the ground and villages abandoned.

19:16

Villagers bury dead

Thousands of local fled to the jungle for safety, some only venturing out to bury the dead. 

19:30

Man tends injury

Others suffered severe injuries in the attack. Allegations of chemical weapons have surfaced -- a claim Indonesia strenuously denies.

19:46

Aerial. Nduga

Human rights groups estimate that more than 200 West Papuans have died. 

19:58

Raga at house

Irian Kogoya witnessed the violence and is still traumatised.

20:08

Irian with Mambor

IRIAN KOGOYA: They had a helicopter above us, and they dropped bombs. People were murdered, arrested, tortured, forced to dig a hole so when they got killed they would be buried there. 

20:13

Group of children

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Indonesia denies using bombs but admits grenades were launched during the military operation.

20:30

Human rights workers at grave

Last year, human rights workers discovered this grave, containing the bodies of three Papuan women and two children who had allegedly been shot dead.  Activists want the United Nations to investigate events in Nduga.  

20:38

Aerial drone shot. Nduga

Indonesia’s former Security Minister, Wiranto, and the Indonesian ambassador to Australia declined our requests for an interview. In a written statement they blame separatists for the violence and say Indonesian security forces “respect and promote human rights”.  They say 'only 2000 civilians were affected by the situation in Nduga.'

21:00

Rebel soldier group

Rebel Leader: "We will not retreat. We will not run. We will fight until we are recognised. We demand independence. We want to free ourselves from the state of Indonesia.

SALLY SARA, Reporter: These are the rebels that Indonesia is hunting;

21:24

Photo. Egianus with gun

19 year old commander Egianus Kogoya and his soldiers.

21:43

Child rebel soldiers

These pictures show children in the ranks.

21:48

Raga at home

Raga is Egianus Kogoya’s cousin and she says the use of child soldiers is a new and tragic part of the conflict. 

21:52

Raga interview

RAGA: At the moment those who fight under the leadership of  Egianus Kogoya  are children. 14 to 20 years old,  20 to 26 years old. There is no one in their 30s. The kids don’t come because  Egianus  called asked them, but those whose fathers got shot, tortured, then died, after that they would come and many school children in Nduga have come out to join the war.

22:05

Raga's home. Feeding orphan children

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Raga has opened her home in the main town of Wamena to care for children orphaned by the conflict. The children are severely traumatised and too scared to reveal their identity for fear of reprisal.  

NANESE:  When the first bombing happened they killed my father. 

22:35

INTERVIEWER: How did you feel?

NANESE:  I felt heartbroken. Indonesia must take responsibility for killing my father. 

22:56

Raga and Mambor

RAGA:  I believe I have to yell out to the world in particular to the media, because if I don’t, we'll be weaker and the indigenous people will be wiped out, because they are killed and slaughtered  like animals.

23:07

Aerial. Wamena town

Music

23:23

Sambom working on computer

SALLY SARA, Reporter: The spokesperson for the armed wing of the West Papuan independence movement is now based in PNG.  Sebby Sambom is a former political prisoner; he fled across the border in 2013.  

23:35

Sambom interview

"Will you kill again?"

23:52

SEBBY SAMBOM:  Of course. Before independence we will kill. We will fight. Continue to fight. No compromise.  

23:53

Child soldiers

SALLY SARA, Reporter: And he defends the use of child soldiers even though it’s banned under international law. He says it's the result of decades of repression and an estimated 100,000 deaths under Indonesian rule. 

24:02

SEBBY SAMBOM:  When they see their father being killed or their mother killed and then they grow up to be 12 to 15 years old, they will  become a soldier.  

24:16

Yeimo

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Victor Yeimo from the civil movement says they’re committed to peaceful action but defends the right of Papuans to take up arms. 

24:26

Yeimo interview

VICTOR YEIMO: They are not terrorists. They are not troublemakers. They are not criminals. They are, originally they are freedom fighters.

24:35

Ronny and Sara driving to Vanimo

 music

24:48

Aerial. Coastline. GFX:  Map showing Vanimo

SALLY SARA, Reporter: On Papua New Guinea’s north coast, the town of Vanimo sits close to the border. It’s a popular tourist spot for surfers from around the world.

25:11

Surfer

Music

25:22

Ronny at beach

 SALLY SARA, Reporter: Life is peaceful here, but for musician Ronny Kareni, this place is full of memories.

RONNY KARENI:  There is a lot of pain that my family has gone through and even my own

25:35

Ronny interview

 immediate family. But one thing that we also came to realise is the memory of suffering.

25:48

Photo. Young Ronny and family

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Ronny was a refugee here for seven years as a child. His family was one of thousands who fled West Papua, due to political unrest. 

25:56

Ronny interview

RONNY KARENI:  Growing up in a refugee camp in Vanimo, it's the survival of the fittest and it's living in limbo.

26:06

Driving to border

26:15

Border checkpoint

SALLY SARA, Reporter: We’ve travelled to the official border checkpoint between Indonesia and PNG.  Normally a busy trade route, today it’s closed because of coronavirus.

26:40

Ronny interview at checkpoint

RONNY KARENI:  I'm feeling emotional, especially where I know the land is one, it's like I'm already in my homeland, in West Papua. Although the fence behind me will separate me, but I'm home, this is my home. I feel like I'm home.  

26:55

Beach

27:16

Dorothy with boy

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Many families are spilt by the border. Ronny’s aunt, Dorothy Tekwie lives on the Papua New Guinean side. 

DOROTHY TEKWIE:  My great grandmother is

27:19

Dorothy interview

from the other side of the border, so we see our relatives on the other side. So while they enjoy certain economic benefits brought by Indonesia, there are other things that they don't enjoy that we enjoy.

27:29

Beachside village

Music

27:51

SALLY SARA, Reporter: Activism runs in the family. Dorothy is a long-time human rights and environmental campaigner.

DOROTHY TEKWIE:  It is time

27:55

Ronny, Dorothy and Sara walk on beach

the world look at what is happening in this little spot. Just because we are black and we happen to be Melanesians, and we don’t have tanks, we don’t have fighter jets, that you forget that there are people on this island that are suffering like that.  Something has to be done. 

28:03

Ronny and band performing

RONNY KARENI:  [singing] "Sorong Samarai… one people one soul one destiny… "

28:26

SALLY SARA, Reporter: The battle for independence continues, and the dream of West Papuan freedom.

28:36

Morning Star flag flies

VICTOR YEIMO: The Morning Star is our vision, our mission, our destination. 

28:42

Yeimo interview

After the night, there will be sunrise in the morning.  The people of West Papua hope that one day, the Morning Star will rise up.

28:47

Ronny and band performing. Credit start [see below]

Music

28:58

Outpoint after credits

29:39