End of a Dream

End of a Dream is an excerpt from the documentary Land of the Morning Star made in 2003.

Land of the Morning Star
The western half of the island of New Guinea has been known by many names including Netherlands New Guinea, West Papua, Irian Jaya and Papua. Narrated by Rachel Griffiths, Land of the Morning Star reveals the rich and turbulent history of a troubled country, swept up in the power-play of international politics. It highlights the role of the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, Indonesia and the UN at crucial points in the country’s history. And, by providing a background to this complex story, helps us understand this extraordinarily beautiful but strangely forgotten land.

A Film Australia National Interest Program. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Area of Study 3. Issues for the Millennium

In VCE History students have the opportunity to:

• Analyse issues faced by communities arising from political, economic and/or technological change. (Outcome 3.)
• Analyse factors which bought about change in the social experience of the community such as international regional or local events.
• Analyse the way in which the community and its supporters responded and were affected by these events; for example, revolt, acceptance, famine, immigration or adaptation.
• Analyse how this community or group has been represented in art, literature, film print and journalism, music or multimedia.
• Synthesise evidence to draw conclusions.

Since World War 2 in the aftermath of colonial rule, various Pacific islands have been included as part of newly independent nations even though the peoples living there may not share ethnicity, culture or a strong historical connection to the newly formed central authority. Sometimes, as with the case of Papua and Indonesia, what was shared was the colonial master — in this case the Dutch.

The Dutch had undertaken to let Papuans decide whether to be incorporated into Indonesia or to be independent. In what was named an ‘Act of Free Choice’, just over 1000 selected Papuans voted and the rest of the people were excluded from the ‘democratic referendum’. Papua became the 26th Province of Indonesia in 1969. Since then Papuans have complained that the vote was not an act of free choice. They want the one-person one-vote referendum they believe they should have had in the past.

The case of Papua outlines the difficulty of drawing together disparate peoples into new nation states where cultural and historical ties are tenuous and fear and mistrust reign.

In June 2000 the Papuan People’s Congress declared the independent state of West Papua and elected Chief Theys Eluay as its first president. In November 2001 he was found dead in his car and later a group of Indonesian Special Forces soldiers was found guilty of his murder. The Indonesian government had in October 2001 passed a special autonomy law giving the Province a greater say over the way its resources are managed, to try to placate a separatist movement.

Today Papua continues to be an Indonesian province.

1. This video clip from the documentary Land of the Morning Star is an important resource that examines the international events and factors which have led to Papua as we know it today. Describe the events that led to the situation in Papua today, include transmigration in your explanation.
2. The internet offers a virtual global community of groups to support Papuan independence. Use these websites to research online the reasons for supporting Papuan independence. Analyse these reasons in terms of evidence for their claims and assertions.
3. Use this video clip to describe and analyse how this community has been represented. What do you think was Mark Worth’s motivation in making this documentary? How has this motivation been translated into scenes in the video clip?
4. Review the complex reasons for both sides of the Papuan situation from supporting the Indonesian claim to Papua against the claims of the indigenous Papuans, to supporting the claim to independence. What is Australia’s policy towards Papua and what are the resultant diplomatic issues that impact Australia’s relations with Indonesia.

Go to Pacific Stories Learning for Interactive Compass Map with facts about the Pacific region.

For interview transcripts, books and references for this Digital Resource go to Pacific Stories, choose Land of the Morning Star, select INDEX, and go to MORE INFORMATION.