Building governance in Bougainville, post-conflict

Bougainville was granted autonomy following a bitter civil war in the 1990s. It is now readying for a referendum on independence.

It is difficult to imagine that 20,000 people were killed during the conflict in this laid back province of 220,000 people just north of the Solomon Islands. Pre-secessionist movements already surfaced in Bougainville or, North Solomons province as it was known, in the 1960s and 1970s. When its people faced losing land rights over the planned exploitation of the Panguna copper mine, it sought to break away from Australian colonial control of PNG at that time. In the 1970s and 1980s, taxes and dividends from Bougainville Copper Ltd., a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, the mining company exploiting Panguna   then the biggest open-cast copper mine in the world   made up in excess of 20 per cent of PNG’s national budget. In 1987, Francis Ona and Pepetua Sereo formed the Panguna Landowners Association to demand payments and compensation from the mining company. This lost cause led to the establishment of the 1988 of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA).

The ‘Sandline Affair’

Facing increasing attacks from the BRA, the Panguna mine was forced to close in 1989 and a state of emergency was declared on Bougainville. The PNG army was sent to the province and conflict spread island-wide. In 1990, PNG’s government withdrew its army but put a blockade in place against Bougainville which caused hardship and led to mounting calls within the province for independence. The BRA was believed to bring its supplies via the Solomon Islands. The PNG army raided alleged BRA bases in the Solomons side of the border resulting in bloodshed and international outcry. In 1997, the revelation that then Prime Minister Julius Chan had hired a company of mercenary soldiers, ‘Sandline’, to put down disturbances in Bougainville forced him to stand down. The ‘Sandline’ affair did, however, prompt peace talks brokered by New Zealand and eventual autonomy for the province in 2002 apart from areas such as foreign affairs, immigration and defence. The peace deal includes a referendum on Bougainville’s independence to take place between 2015-2020.

John Momis is current President of the Autonomous Province (or of the “transitional government”, according to some) comprising 40 members of parliament (including three seats held for women) and 14 ministerial positions. Its headquarters are still in Buka Island, separated by a 300-metre sea passage from Bougainville although there are plans to relocate to Arawa, the province’s capital pre-conflict.

Disarmament still an issue

Aloysius Laukai manages Buka-based ‘New Dawn’, a private radio station which broadcasts 18 hours a day, seven days a week. He stressed the need for full disarmament and a land policy. There are still localised skirmishes in the south. Disarmament, formerly in the hands of the United Nations is now the Autonomous Government’s responsibility. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re free to move around”, he says, adding, “everyone wants independence”.

Other Bougainvilleans warn that the province should not rush into independence. “We must first make autonomy work”, says Dr. Joel Banun, a former member of the Council of Elders of Bougainville who was involved in the peace talks. This involves building the administrative capacity and economy of Bougainville which is largely a leadership issue, he says. Trying to attract outside investment John Momis recently went to China and organised a visit by the Australian Business Council to the province. Private individuals are also moving ahead with their business plans from distribution of produce (there are complaints that the province runs out of beer all too often!) to more air connections.

Debra Percival