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Date: June 1990
Location: Indonesia, Irian-Jaya, West Papua
Distributor: Channel 4 UK & world-wide distribution.
Credits: directed and filmed by Claudio von Planta
Editor: Charles Frater / Executive Producer: Alan Hayling
REBELS OF THE FORGOTTEN WORLD offers the first ever insight into the West Papuan independence struggle against the Indonesian Army, which occupied the Western part of New Guinea in 1963.
This is the most extreme and complicated film I ever produced. The preparations took me more than a year, I lost an airplane in the jungle of Irian Jaya, escaped the Indonesian Army for six month and got eventually rescued by helicopter. My survival depended on the Papuans, many amazing friends and also my parents back in Switzerland who helped coordinating the rescue operation.
All the footage with the Papuans was shot by myself and the filming on the Indonesian side was organised by Alan Hayling. His input made it possible to illustrate 3 aspects of Indonesia’s colonialism.
First, the exploitation of copper and gold at Tembagapura is probably the main reason why the Indonesians invaded West Papua. The American run mining company, Freeport McMoRan is today one of Indonesia’s biggest tax payers and is therefore financing Indonesian’s colonialism in West Papua.
Second, the Indonesian government created many transmigration camps all over West Papua where they settled over 1 million peasants from overpopulated Java. It helps alleviate population pressure but the Melanesian Papuans who are mainly Christians perceive these Malay and Islamic immigrants as foreign invaders.
Third, the Indonesian government dismisses the West Papuan claim for sovereignty and the army crushes any opposition against their supremacy with an iron fist. They try to ban all media coverage and continue to commit genocidal atrocities against the indigenous Papuan population.
Posted by Claudio von Planta on 06.18.1990 at 3:08 pm// Tagged: // Have your say »
BLOOD ON THE STONE
BY ANY MEANS (2)
COMMANDO CHAPLAINS
GUNS FOR HIRE - AFGHANISTAN
GUNS FOR HIRE - CONGO DRC
HULL FREEDOM TRAIL
KARZAN'S BROTHERS
LIVING WITH AIDS
LONG WAY DOWN
LONG WAY ROUND
NEIL'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
PAKISTAN ON THE TIGHTROPE
RACING GREEN
RAPE TRADE
REBELS OF THE FORGOTTEN WORLD
RWANDA-17 Healing a Nation
SADDAM'S LEGACY
SADDAM'S SECRET TIME BOMB
SPELL OF THE ALBINO
SURVIVING SUDAN
THE CUBA CONNECTION
THE ORGAN TRADERS
THE PEOPLE SMUGGLERS
THE SAUDI TAPES
THE THIN BLUE LINE
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