142 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
142 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Bougainville!
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The war over Bougainville is escalating. Members of the Bougainville
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Revolutionary Army (BRA) have been waging a war of independence for 7 years.
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They want independence from the rest of Papua New Guinea (PNG). At the end
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of June, the war took a new turn. PNG troops invaded the neighbouring
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Solomons to search out rebel soldiers of the BRA. They claim the Solomons
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government are harbouring revolutionary soldiers. This latest action has
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earned condemnation internationally. The New Zealand government has offered
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to mediate.
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Class Struggle backgrounds the conflict as a problem created by imperialism
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which imperialism cannot solve . It is necessasry to fight for an
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international workers solution.
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Solomons Proximity
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If the Solomons are involved, it puts in question the claim that the
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Bougainville conflict is a civil war inside PNG.There is strong sympathy in
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the Solomons for the rebels. The BRA have an office in Honiara, capital of
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the Solomons. This time the PNG government forces have taken action against
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the Solomons. In 1992 they blew up a tank on Shortland Island.
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Geographically, Bougainville is part of an archipelago, the northernmost
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island in the Solomons chain. The culture, language and physical
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characteristics of Bougainvillians are closer to Solomon Islanders than
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either Papuans or New Guineans. Suggestions that Bougainville be made part
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of the Solomons have re-surfaced during this latest skirmish.
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But the Bougainvillians want independence. They do not ask imperialists to
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allocate them another `protector'. Their close relationship to the Solomons
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is a support for their primary aim - self determination.
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Imperialist Creation
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The attachment of Bougainville to PNG was an outcome of European imperialism
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in the Pacific. Germany colonised PNG and Bougainville, while Britain
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colonised the Solomons. This arbitrary carve up cut through historic
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connections between Bougainville and the Solomons in pre-European times.
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After the defeat of Germany in World War 1, the League of Nations gave New
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Guinea, including Bougainville, to Australia to administer, while Britain
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kept the Solomons. (New Zealand got trusteeship of Western Samoa at the same
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time.) This has meant that the fate of Bougainville continues to be tied to
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the machinations of imperialism, now to mini-Imperialist Australia.
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After the next world war, political independence was on the agenda.
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Australia granted PNG independence in 1975. But Bougainville demonstrated
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its unwillingness to be tied in to PNG, declaring itself independent 15 days
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before the mainland.
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This act of independence could not be tolerated. Prime Minister of PNG,
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Michael Somare, claimed this independence was at risk from the exploitation
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of the Australian company that ran the big copper mine in Bougainville,
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Conzinc Riotinto Australia (CRA). Bougainvillians submitted to Somare when
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he claimed he was rescuing them from CRA.
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Profit First; mining giant CRA
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Bougainville regretted their compliance as Somare showed himself to be on
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the side of multi-national capital, the mining company CRA, and the
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Australian government.
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The CRA and Australian governments have worked in collusion. Initially CRA
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established itself in Bougainville with the support of the Australian
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colonial police in a paramilitary operation to subdue locals. The copper
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mine at Pangua made an enormous hole in the middle of Bougainville. CRA made
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billions from it. They gave generous donations to the Australian Labour
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Party election campaigns. Australian PM Goff Whitlam, in granting
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independence to PNG, was not about to make life precarious for CRA. His
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lackey, Somare, protected them.
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Somare's independent PNG was still economically dependent on Australian
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capital.. Big Australian companies like Burns Phillip ran the local economy.
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The CRA copper mine was a particularly massive earner of foreign exchange
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for PNG, an essential part of the new PNG state. Somare misled
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Bourgainvillians into believing that he was protecting them from CRA, when
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it was CRA he was protecting.
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It was in Somare's interests to protect CRA. He and his mates operated as a
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comprador elite, working to serve imperialism, ensuring CRA and other
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companies ran unrestricted plunder for Australian capital in PNG. In return
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Somare's clique made personal fortunes while the local economy flagged. Even
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the World Bank noted this `excess spending' into the pockets of the
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bureaucratic elite was endemic in a corrupt administration.
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Independence from mining
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Although Somare brought in the troops to quell striking miners at Pangua,
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jailing 800 workers just before PNG independence, it was troubles at the
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mine after independence, that triggered the strongest reaction.
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Locals demanded compensation for the damage to the environment that the `big
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hole' CRA mine was causing. CRA have expropriated land by force. Waste from
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the mine polluted rivers and destroyed fishing. It polluted the land the
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locals depend on for their livelihood.
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After 24 years of fruitlessly pursuing legal channels for compensation,
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locals began a guerilla campaign of sabotage against the mine. PNG reacted
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with an armed blitz. Despite official Australian non-involvement, PNG forces
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were engineered by Australia. They continue to be backed by Australian
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military hardware and personnel. Australian helicopters and mortar shells
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have not defeated Bougainvillians.
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The mine closed in 1989, followed by a declaration of independence from BRA.
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The war continues.
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Peasants not workers
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Although the Bougainville revolt has erupted over mining, its real purpose
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is secession. The Revolutionary Army want to end the exploitation of the
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CRA. They want to reclaim their traditional lifestyle, and end the
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connection to PNG.
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The BRA are the military wing of the Panguan people, small farmers who are
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fighting against the loss or damage of their land by CRA. They support
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traditional Melanesian socialism based on land tenure. They do not see the
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exploitation of mine workers as their reason for struggle. They reject workin
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g class struggle. They do not want to be part of the working class. They are
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not revolutionaries against capitalism.
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Their support in NZ comes from church groups who recognise the justice of
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their fight for human rights.But as their fight involves a challenge to a
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multi-national company, they are confronting imperialism, the spread of
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capitalism internationally. We know that it is impossible for oppressed nation
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s to free themselves from imperialism short of a socialist revolution. That
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is why it is important for workers to support their fight. Only the
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organised working class can defeat the capitalist system that nurtures
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companies like CRA.
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We can do this by campaigning in our unions to put bans on CRA and the other
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companies ripping off Bougainville. We can mobilise workers aid for their
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military struggle, and we can oppose the NZ government deploying its armed
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forces in Bourgainville, as back-up forces for the Australian military,
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or posing as "peace-brokers. Only by supporting their right to
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self-determination can the Bougainville freedom fighters be won to the
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struggle for international working class revolution.
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[This article is extracted from the latest edition of the Zine - Cockroach.
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Complete copies are available on request from Robert Malecki -
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malecki@algonet.se]
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