|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chief and others on boat in river | Chanting |
|
Chief Theys | Bowling: Chief Theys Eluay, remarkably relaxed as he enjoys the peace and beauty of Lake Sentani, near the Papuan capital of Jayapura. | 00:12 |
| But the tranquillity here is in stark contrast to the turbulent long running struggle to break free from Indonesia and set up a new independent nation. |
|
| Chief Theys: If I count the bad things conducted by Indonesia the Japanese are better - Vietnam is better -Germany with Hitler was better. | 00:36 |
Chief Theys | It all relates to one another. As long as the Dutch were colonising us there was never a single Papuan shot in public. |
|
Crowd in traditional dress | This (Indonesia) is an evil nation. |
|
| FX: Crowd |
|
| Bowling: Papuans emotions are running high. And with such a mood for change, t here are fears of a violent boilover. | 01:02 |
| It's hard to separate the sentiment here from what's going on in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. |
|
Chief Theys | Chief Theys: We don't want to be colonised by other nations because we were created by God as a nation. | 01:20 |
Map Papua | FX: Drum |
|
Amungme women in plane | Bowling: For these Amungme women from Papua's highlands, this is a rare journey. Unfamiliar with anything outside their own tribal land, they're off to take part in what promises to be the greatest ever show of pan-Papuan solidarity - an historic independence congress in Jayapura. | 01:42 |
Morning Star flag | Chanting |
|
| Bowling: The Morning Star flag is the Papuan symbol of the struggle for freedom. The last time the Amungme people flew the flag was late last year in their home town of Timika - police opened fire killing one independence supporter, and injuring 50 more. | 02:09 |
Lani gathering | Up in the hills of the capital, another highland tribe, the Lani, from Mulia, have arrived after walking for five weeks. | 02:31 |
| The mood for freedom and independence is infectious, a new found sense of Papuan nationalism is sweeping the province. |
|
| Chanting/singing |
|
Nabire gathering in town | Bowling: Down in the town centre, the Nabire people, who've also travelled hundreds of kilometres, are making their presence felt. | 03:00 |
| While it's not a sight to strike fear into the hearts of the despised Indonesian military, it's nonetheless a provocative and illegal act. |
|
Leader of Nabire group | Leader of group: I demand independence...! I demand independence...! | 03:20 |
|
| |
|
|
|
Flue band/Chief in audience | Leading the charge for independence is Chief Theys Eluay, the man they call Big Leader. Thirty-one years ago, he was one of the thousand or so delegates to take part in the so-called Act of Free Choice. | 03:32 |
Chief Theys | Chief Theys: What they (Indonesia) wanted, we did it. It was against our hearts and we were forced to. We were threatened. If we didn't do what they wanted we wouldn't see our homes again. There wasn't any freedom at the time. | 03:47 |
Chief Theys addresses gathering | Bowling: Theys Eluay is a tribal chief. At 62, he commands royal respect in a close knit community on the outskirts of Jayapura. For years he was a fairly unremarkable member of parliament, and signed up with the ruling Golkar party of former President Suharto. | 04:05 |
| Then two years ago, with Suharto's fall, Chief Theys began speaking out strongly in favour of independence, and organising flag raisings, for which he was arrested. |
|
Chief Theys | Chief Theys: They killed and slaughtered the people of Papua who had done nothing wrong. When they demanded their rights as the people of Papua they were killed and slaughtered - almost 800 thousand people. | 04:37 |
| Bowling: Putting his faith in Jesus, Chief Theys now claims to be the chosen one, ready to set his people free. | 04:54 |
Prayer meeting | Chief Theys: I never thought that one day I would lead this struggle. |
|
Chief Theys Super: Chief Theys Eluay Independence Leader | It looks like God wanted me that way, as a small device ready to do God's deed. That's what people expect from a leader - and I have promised to the people I will sacrifice my life for this struggle. |
|
SATGAS guys marching | Singing |
|
| Bowling: If the chief is the chosen one to regain the promised land, then this is the outfit to provide the muscle - the newly formed pro-independence militia group SATGAS, or task force. | 05:47 |
| Singing |
|
| Bowling: Armed only with sticks, they're not exactly a formidable fighting force. Indeed, among this rag-tag army, are thugs and criminals. But no matter what their form, ultimately these militiamen answer to Chief Theys Eluay. | 06:04 |
Flag raising | Chief Theys: For the time being they are confined to maintaining peace and order but some day when we're independent we will train them to handle the security in Papua. | 06:21 |
| Chanting |
|
Tribal gathering | Bowling: It's part of Melanesian culture to mark and important day in this way. The supporters of the self-proclaimed Papuan leader provide a fitting send off. | 06:50 |
| Resplendent and ready he's dressed for the big occasion - the opening of the historic congress on independence. |
|
| Chanting/drums |
|
Wenda standing in open car | Bowling: Joining the convoy and casting an entirely different figure, another who's played a key role in the long and often brutal struggle against Indonesian rule. | 07:24 |
| Mathias Wenda is an enemy of the state, a rebel leader with the Free Papua Movement, the OPM. This is a rare public appearance. He risks immediate arrest and jail. | 07:39 |
Wenda | Wenda: Indonesia shoots at us...killing us...cutting us. Many Papuans have become victims. I don't want any more war. | 07:53 |
Chief waves to crowd |
|
|
| Bowling: The Chief, who's the star attraction, has pledged a peaceful campaign. The Indonesian Government has even helped finance the congress. | 08:16 |
Chief enters congress | President Abdurrahman Wahid promised to upstage the chief and formally open proceeding. But he's a famous no-show. In line with strict government policy, he can't be seen to publicly support the breakaway movement. And there's one compelling reason - money. | 08:29 |
Aerials of Freeport mine/cable car | Music |
|
| Bowling: This is no tourist cable car. It's taking these men to an altitude of more than 4,000 metres, to work on one of the worlds most extraordinary projects - Freeport. | 08:59 |
| It's one of the richest gold and copper mines in the world. |
|
Hollenbeck Super: Leroy Hollenbeck Freeport Mine | Hollenbeck: Are we the crown jewel? I guess you could say we are, in the sense that we are the biggest operation out here, we employ 14,000 people, we provide an economic livelihood for thousands and thousands of people beyond that. So I guess that's my definition of what we are out here. | 09:20 |
Grasberg open cut mine | Bowling: Grasberg, a complete mountain, has been gouged away, to reveal a vast open cut pit, a vast open pit of money for its American shareholders, and a colossal windfall for the Indonesian Government. | 09:45 |
| The company is Indonesia's biggest taxpayer, shovelling more than a billion dollars into the government's coffers in the past few years. |
|
| It would be a bitter blow to Indonesia if it were to lose Freeport. And a massive gain to Papuans who dream of a new nation. |
|
Beanal | Beanal: The work contracts were signed with the Indonesians - not the Papuans - so I think that the contracts must be remade when Papua finally gets its independence. And we are about to start fighting. Papua is just beginning to fight. | 10:22 |
Beanal at independence gathering | Bowling: Amungme leader, Tom Beanal, is another key leader in the struggle for Papuan independence. | 10:49 |
| Five years ago he sued Freeport, alleging human rights abuses, and the destruction of Papua's resources. The case was thrown out. The mining giant responded by appointed Beanal to its board of commissioners. But on the question of independence, Freeport is sitting firmly on the fence. |
|
Hollenbeck | Hollenbeck: I can respect Tom for what he feels and what he believes and is thinking that independence would be far better than any kind of autonomy that the Indonesian Government could grant to the people of Papua. | 11:24 |
Freeport mine | Bowling: While Freeport might profess respect for those calling for Papuan independence, it has no wish to negotiate a new contract, much less any intention of offending the Indonesian Government. | 11:40 |
| Indeed, Indonesian security forces patrol the mine site, because of fears of sabotage by OPM guerillas. While there's been no recent attack, the mine and the military remain on constant alert. |
|
Fatworak | Fatworak: I'm a police officer. As a subordinate I'm only following orders from my superiors to keep the Freeport area secure - especially Grasberg. | 12:14 |
Hollenbeck | Hollenbeck: The government has made a decision that a military presence is necessary to guard one of the vital assets of the country of Indonesia. | 12:32 |
OPM gathering outside congress | Bowling: Since the 1960s, the OPM has fought against the Indonesian military. Some members of the Free Papua Movement have emerged from the jungle to join this charging, chanting throng outside the independence congress. | 12:46 |
| Operating from jungle bases along the border, and inside neighbouring Papua New Guinea, the rebels have carried out a low level insurgency against vast numbers of Indonesian troops stationed in Papua Province. |
|
Wenda with OPM members | Mathias Wenda is an OPM leader who's engaged in the guerilla warfare. But the odds against his rebel band have been overwhelming. The Indonesian military stands accused of brutal repression, killing and torturing tens of thousands of Papuans. Now Mathias Wenda is armed with a new strategy. | 13:19 |
| Wenda: We just want a full independence. We abide by God's laws. We will not kill or shoot. The law of God, the law of the tribe, and international law. We Papuans abide by these laws. | 13:38 |
Beanal | Beanal: The people in the jungle, like Mathias Wenda or Kelly Kwalik, are the enemy. In the Congress we view them as a party. But if we're independent we'll take them as our army. | 14:00 |
SATGAS militia | Bowling: The ,7000 men of the SATGAS militia would also be prime recruits for any future fighting force. | 14:27 |
| But while SATGAS has close ties with Chief Theys, some rank and file members have not exactly embraced his message of peace and godliness. The militia's image has been tarnished by acts of violence and intimidation, against businesspeople and others who oppose the independence movement. |
|
Chief Theys | Chief Theys: Surely there'll be a miracle from God for t his nation. We have paid the price for independence by having our people killed. Definitely God will understand this. If at some point we feel threatened we just might have to use force. | 14:59 |
Inter island ferry | Bowling: That's a prospect which scares those who don't share the dream of independence. Twice a week, Indonesia's inter-island ferries pull into Jayapura harbour. Among the thousands of passengers, many from Java looking to make new lives. | 15:29 |
Ferry docks | Their arrival will add to the rich cultural mix here, but rapid transmigration means Papuans may soon be a minority in their own land. In the early 1970s, Indonesians made up only four percent of Papua's population. Today, that figure has climbed to nearly 50 percent. To the indigenous Papuans, it's yet another form of Indonesian domination. | 15:49 |
Efi in soup kitchen | Bowling: Efi Perwirantomo and her husband run a humble soup kitchen in Jayapura. They left crowded central Java two years ago, a time of rioting and economic hardship, when neither of them could find work. Papua for them offered new hope. And the Papuans are their customers and neighbours. | 16:23 |
Efi | Efi: I don't think it's so hard for Javanese to live next door to Papuans. If you're asking if Javanese can get along with locals here, yes, they can - we can socialise here... yes we can. | 16:45 |
Diners in soup kitchen | Bowling: But there remains a fear of the same instability that plagues much of Indonesia. So what if Papua was to break away? | 17:02 |
Efi | Efi: I would go home to Java - go back to my village. | 17:11 |
Chief Theys and Beanal at congress | Bowling: Papuans rejoicing. Congress delegates don't actually declare independence outright, but they do take a bold first step, declaring the provinces incorporation into Indonesia in 1963 to be invalid. | 17:22 |
| Amid the jubilation, the independence movement can point to the name change from Irian Jaya to Papua, the right to raise their flag, and sing the national anthem. But these gains are largely symbolic. The United States, the European Union, and Australia, all back Indonesia and President Wahid. | 17:42 |
Wahid Super: Abdurrahman Wahid President, Indonesia | Wahid: But once they organise themselves, or initiate the steps to realise that kind of independence, then those people are against us. And will take actions without any, let's say compromise, with anybody on that. | 18:03 |
Chief Theys | Chief Theys: That's according to Wahid - according to Papuans it's different. We're different to ordinary Indonesians - we have different hair and skin colour. We're Melanesians. He's blind to see that. | 18:30 |
Independence march | Bowling: Papuan identity has found a new vibrant expression. The struggle for Melanesian rights in Fiji and the Solomons will only fuel a new militancy. Indonesia has lost its hold over these people. | 18:57 |
| It's difficult to gauge the will of all who call Papua province home. But there's never been a referendum, as there was in East Timor. Short of Indonesia changing its hardline stand, it's unlikely there ever will be. | 19:16 |
|
19'38'' END Credits: Reporter: Mark Bowling Camera: David Anderson Editor: Garth Thomas Producer: Ian Altschwager
| 19:38 |