textfiles/politics/SPUNK/sp000733.txt

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Volume 1 Number 1                           No God, No Master




PACIFIC'S LONGEST  WAR                    -by  Brendan  Greenhill
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The 25th South Pacific Forum held in Brisbane in August  failedto
officially    recognise    the   Pacifics   longest   war   since
WW2.Australian Prime Minister Paul  Keating  dismissed  criticism
ofthe  handling  of  the  issue  and  the then PNG Prime Minister
PiasWingti  claimed  Bougainville  was  an  internal  matter  for
PapuaNew  Guinea.  As  he  spoke,  the  troops of the PNG Defence
Forcewere mounting  their  most  ambitious  operation.  This  was
theassault on the Australian owned CRA copper mine at Panguna;the
main prize for the  government  in  its  effort  to  eliminatethe
Bougainville  rebels (Conzinc Rio Tinto Australia, asubsidiary of
Rio Tinto Zinc - ed.

Despite reports that the PNG government  was  going  bankrupt,the
money  was found for one last offensive. Heavy fightingtook place
along the Panguna Mine  Access  road  between  thePNGDF  and  the
Bougainville  Revolutionary  Army  from the 31st ofJuly and early
August. Patrols pushed  towards  the  mine  butwere  met  by  BRA
resistance.

HIGH SPEED

On August 15th, Papua New Guinea began an assault to take themine
site.  Called  Operation  "High  Speed", it involved a majorthree
pronged advance to Moroni village, overlooking the minesite.  The
advances  were  backed up with helicopter landings ofmore troops.
One PNG soldier was killed on the first day

At this news Pias Wingti proclaimed that the  civil  war  wasover
and   the   mine   was  taken.  He  was  uncriticly  reported  by
theAustralian media. Newspapers and media outlets such as theAAP,
ABC,   Age,   Sydney   Morning   Herald,  the  Courier  Mail  and
theAustralian  Democrats  Vicki  Bourne  all  believed  this  was
thecase.   By  the  17th  the  PNGDF  had  moved  near  the  mine
site,including  Guava  village,  the   home   of   President   of
theBougainville    Interim    government,    Mr    Francis   Ona.
BrigadierGeneral Ted Dademo, the PNGDF's top officer  claimed  it
wascaptured  and  that  a  care  centre  was  being set up there.
Itseems that no one told  the  people  at  Panguna  as  villagers
wentabout their daily chores near the mine

DRAWING THE PNGDF OUT

At first the BRA offered little resistance to  troops  movinginto
the  area.  The  strategy  of the BRA was to draw the PNGDFout of
their bunkers on the coast into the mountains were theywere  more
vulnerable  to  attack.  The  PNGDF  was  also  at  the  endof  a
precarious supply line with the only hope of  supplies,relief  or
reinforcements  for  some  soldiers  being byhelicopter. And they
soon found out how  precarious  it  was.  OnMonday  the  15th  of
August,  a  "civilian" helicopter owned byHevi Lift, a helicopter
contractor for the PNG government washit by BRA  ground  fire  at
Tonu.  The  New Zealand pilot, MrDennis Killip, was wounded in an
attempt to evacuate a woundedPNGDF soldier from  the  battlefield
in  Siwai,  South  West  Bougainville. The damaged helicopter was
grounded at Wakunaion Bougainville. And later on Friday the 19th,
the  BRA counterattacked at Moroni near Panguna in Operation Warm
Up.Over 100 rounds were fired at a PNG helicopter by the BRAusing
homemade  guns,  SLR  and machine guns at Moroni. Accordingto the
BRA this helicopter was owned by the "NationalEmergency  Service"
and  bore  an  Australian  flag. The helicopterwas forced to limp
back and make an emergency landing atWakunai.  According  to  the
BRA the European pilot was alsowounded

Because  of  lack  of  air  support,  the   PNGDF   were   in   a
panic.Counterattacks  were  made  at  Dampari,  Java,  Moroni and
thePanguna   mine   site.   At   Lambalam,    the    PNGDF    and
militia"resistance forces" (Bougainvillians supporting supporting
thePNG  forces)  were   attacked   on   the   19th   of   August.
TheBougainville    Revolutionary    Army    shot   8   army   and
resistancefighters and suffered 1 casualty themselves

MOUNTING CASUALTIES

At the Mt Kaupara repeater station, a PNGDF unit  that  waslanded
there  by  helicopter was cut off due to lack of airsupport. They
later had to retreat and a soldier  was  woundedon  the  22nd  of
August. No helicopter was available to evacuatehim. The same day,
BRA were able  to  attack  the  provincialcapital,  Arawa  and  1
soldier  was  shot  at Arco motors. On the24th, 7 casualties were
suffered near Guava. 3  were  confirmedkilled.  Also  killed  was
Major  Kekebogi,  the  commander of theattack on Panguna; he died
near Guava. More  casualties  wereinflicted  at  the  Mt  Kaupara
repeater station on the 24th. LtColonel Jerry Singarok, the PNGDF
commander on Bougainville,was wounded on the 26th.  His  Iroquois
helicopter  was  also  hiton  a mission to recover the casualties
from Moroni. Thisheralded the disintegration  of  the  offensive.
PNGDF  were inretreat and BRA were on the offensive to regain the
advantage

According to BRA  sources,  casualties  suffered  by  both  sides
upuntil  the  26th  of  August  were: PNGDF and resistance forces
41killed or wounded.They described these as  conservativefigures.
BRA had 1 killed and 3 wounded in action.

REMODELLING

One further clash  occurred  on  Sunday  the  4th  of  September.
ThePNGDF  burnt  down  34  houses  at  Moroni.  This  village was
a"model" village set up by Bougainville Copper Ltd  when  themine
was  established in the '60s. The PNGDF attacked despiteorders to
remain  in  static  positions.  Local  BRA  who  lived   atMoroni
retaliated  and killed at least 2 soldiers. One body wasevacuated
by helicopter. This was the most serious breach  ofthe  ceasefire
but it has not jeopardised the peace process.

THE OFFENSIVE COLLAPSES

The collapse of the offensive and the rout of the  PNG  forceswas
now  complete. Units were cut off and cut to pieces,officers were
being killed and wounded, helicopters were beingshot up and their
pilots  wounded.It  was obvious operation"High Speed" had failed.
what made these successes by BRA  more  amazing  was  that  their
commander,  Sam  Kauona  had  left  Bougainville as the attack on
Panguna started. He describedthe attack as a complete flop and an
insult  to  the  peaceprocess  which  the Bougainville people had
embarked  on.  MartinMirori   from   the   Bougainville   Interim
Government  stated  thatthe fighting has helped the BIG negotiate
from a position ofstrength. He said  "The  fighting  has  made  a
difference  in thenegotiations because of the pressure the BRA is
putting on thePNGDF in the battlefront".

UN PRESSURE

The United Nations is also putting pressure on PNG to  resolvethe
Bougainville  conflict.  The  UN  Human  Rights committeepassed a
resolution on  Bougainville  on  25th  of  August.  Theresolution
called  on  PNG to return to the negotiating table,to immediately
allow medical supplies into the areas beingblockaded by  PNG  and
urged PNG to cooperate with the SpecialRapporteurs on Torture and
Extra Judicial Executions to enablethem to investigate reports of
human  rights  violations  onBougainvillle.  The  resolution also
requested  the  SecretaryGeneral  of  the  UN  to  consider   the
appropriateness  ofappointing a Special Representative concerning
the humanrights situation on Bougainville. This  move  served  to
furthererode PNG's reputation in the international community

Sam Kauona arrived in the Solomon Ils on Friday the 26th ofAugust
and met with Francis Saemala, Foreign Minister of theSolomon Ils.
Mr Saemala  then  convened  a  meeting  betweenofficials  of  the
Government  of Papua New Guinea and "theOrganisation known as the
Bougainville    Interim    Government"    andthe     Bougainville
Revolutionary Army on Saturday the 27th. SamKauona was present in
negotiations for the first time sincethe crisis started in  1989.
The  meeting  was held in a full andfrank atmosphere and resolved
that the first priority wasceasefire and peace. Other  issues  to
be  discussed  were  theconvening  of  a  Pan  Bougainville peace
conference   between   allBougainvillians   to   resolve    their
differences.  Consultativemeetings were held between the BIG, the
BRA and the sevenBougainville  Interim  Authorities  starting  on
Monday  the  29thof  August.  The Bougainville Interim Government
demanded thisfrom the PNG negotiators. Recommendations were  then
put to aMinisterial meeting held on the 2nd of September.

EXIT PIAS

In  the  meantime,  politics  caught  up  with  Pias  Wingti.  He
hadresigned  from  the  Prime  Minister's  job last year in order
tothwart a vote of no confidence in him. He was then reelectedand
became  Prime  Minister  again.  The  PNG  opposition  pursuedhis
constitutional coup though the courts and the SupremeCourt  found
that  he  had acted against the PNG constitution. Hewas forced to
act in a caretaker role as Prime Minister. Whenthe vote for a new
Prime Minister was held on the 30th ofAugust, his supporters fled
him and supported Sir Julius Chan.Chan was then elected  the  new
Prime  Minister  of  Papua  NewGuinea. His first priority was the
Bougainville issue andpeace talks. The one mystery of this little
saga  is  why  the PNG Supreme court brought down its decision at
such a crucialtime for Pias Wingti. The Supreme  Court  had  been
consideringthis  case  for  some  time and the decision could not
have comeat a worse time for  Wingti.  Who  knows  what  went  on
behind the scenes.

The parties agreed to cease operations from the  3rd  ofSeptember
and all military units were to remain in placepending an official
signing of instruments of ceasefire. Afurther clash  occurred  on
the  4th  but  apart  from this, noother fighting has occurred so
far. The ceasefire wasdifficult for the BRA  to  enforce  due  to
communicationdifficulties.  According  to Martin Miriori, despite
the bestefforts of the BRA leadership and broadcasts  over  Radio
FreeBougainville,  it  may  take  weeks  for all the BRA units to
be contacted.

The Ministerial Meeting was held in the Solomon Islands on the2nd
of  September  and  was  chaired  by  Solomon  Island Deputy Prime
Minister Francis Saemala. Sir Julius Chan led  the  PNG delegation
and  General  Sam  Kauona  of the BRA led theBougainville Interim
Government/BRA  delegation.  Called  the Honiara  Commitments   to
Peace, this agreement brought in apeace agreement for a cessation
of the five year war onBougainville. Sam  Kauona  said  that  the
consultative  processneeded  time  and  should  not be rushed. He
wanted the roots ofthe war to be addressed carefully.  Mr  Kauona
stated  that PNGfought the war to enforce its sovereignty but the
Bougainville people fought to protect their rights,  land  rights,
economicand  political  rights.  The  ceasefire  came into effect
onmidnight, Friday  9th  of  September  1994,  seven  days  after
the meeting.

PEACE CONFERENCE

The installation of a South Pacific peace keeping team wasseen as
a  priority.  The  BIG/BRA team also called for the lifting of the
blockade and the planning of a Bougainville Peace Conference to be
held  in  Bougainville.  Another  issue  to be  discussed  is  the
political  question   for   a   settlement   for the   people   of
Bougainville.   Moses   Havimi   from   the   BougainvilleInterim
Government said that  independence  was  definitely  stillon  the
cards.  It  was  hoped  that  Bougainville could carve outits own
future.

Concern  has  been  expressed  at  representation  in  the   Pan-
Bougainville   peace   conference.  Bougainville  land  ownership
hastraditionally rested with the women. The principlenegotiations
have   taken   place  between  men  so  far.  Lets  hopethat  all
Bougainvilleans can decide their own future and  thatgroups  such
as   the   Panguna  Womens  Association  will  have  astrong  and
representative  voice   in   the   future   of   Bougainville.The
Bougainville  Interim  Government  has stated that talks willtake
place between all people, women and men

The South Pacific Regional Peace Keeping Force itself seems  tobe
contentious.Some  observers  have  stated  that   200 troops and2
weeks to prepare for the Pan-Bougainville peace conference is not
enough  time.  With  1000s  of  people to go to theconference, it
seems that few peacekeepers would find itdifficult  to  guarantee
the  safety of Bougainvillians all overthe island. It is proposed
that a handover of arms by BRA toSPRPKF take place  but  the  BRA
obviously  don't want them in toend up in the hands of the PNGDF.
The haste at which the forcehas been set up and indeed the  whole
peace  process  isunseemly.  General  Sam  Kauona  of the BRA has
expressed deepdissatisfaction with the arrangements  being  made.
He  said  thatthere was supposed to be close consultation between
bothsides. This has not been taking place.

INNOCENT BYSTANDERS

There is also concern about Australia's role.  The  BRA  feel that
Australia   is   a   party   to  the  war  and  should  not  lead
the peacekeeping     force     or     enforce      the      border
arrangements.Australia   is  supplying  warships,  logistics  and
funding  for  thepeace  process.  Australia   may   possibly   be
manipulating  the process  to  gain  an  outcome favourable to its
interests and in the event that the peace process fails would have
substantialforces  in the area, nationals at "risk" and a perfect
excuse to intervene like what happened in Grenada  or  Haiti  with
theUS

DIVISIONS ON BOUGAINVILLE

The   distrust   between   the   BRA   and    the    Bougainville
Interimauthorities   seems   to   be   only   exceeded  by  their
mutualunhappiness with the way the peace arrangements are  going.
TheWakunai   resistance   leaders  won't  observe  the  ceasefire
unlessChan goes and talks to them. They want the  PNGDF  to  stay
andare  not  happy  with  the  BRA.  Nick  Penalai from the South
WestBougainville Interim  Authority,  for  instance,  could  find
thata  Peace  settlement  will  leave  him  out  on  a limb. This
appliesalso to the so called  "Cease  fire  BRAs".  These  people
arerenegades and criminal raskols who were in the BRA earlierthen
joined    resistance    forces.    They    allegedly    committed
manyatrocities.  They  may  find  their  position similar to that
ofthe South Vietnamese supporters of the US when Saigon  fell;Get
on the boat or off to "reeducation" camp

The PNGDF are also  are  spreading  disinformation.  They  spread
astory  that   Sam  Kauona  was  not  the  BRA representative and
hadbeen kicked off Bougainville. Clearly, this is absurd. Itseems
that  there are some groups in the PNGDF who don't wantto pullout
of Bougainville at  any  price.  But  they  may  bebrought  under
control.  Brigadier  General Daedemo was sacked bySir Julius Chan
because of long term animosities  and  hisbungling  of  the  last
offensive  and  inability to bring thePNGDF in Bougainville under
the control of the central PNGgovernment


The time is not one for complacency or belief that the war  isnow
over.  The  situation on the ground is very sensitive. Aceasefire
is a very delicate military state of affairs andrelies completely
on  good faith and consultation. And the restoration of essential
services must be a priority for  allBougainvilles  sake.  But  if
Australia intervenes, MartinMiriori has said though that if peace
fails the fight will goon



The Bougainville Freedom Movemen can be  contacted  at:   PO  Box
5409 West En Qld 410 Fax + 61 7 846 589 email zzzfm@peg.oz.au





CASH SCAM EXPOSED

Money from the Bougainville Peace Restoration Appeal is going  to
the  Papua  New  Guinea  Defence Force. The appeal is supposed to
provide funds to avert a Somalia or Rwanda type refugee crisis on
Bougainville.  Instead,  about  $60  000 is going to the PNGDF to
provide supplies for "care centres". The appeal is being  run  by
the  Faces  of Papua New Guinea Committee, which has direct links
with the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan.