May 28, 2004

Bougainville: Commonwealth head visited Bougainville


Community leaders from Bougainville have commended the Commonwealth Secretary General for visiting the Papua New Guinea province this week


Community leaders from Bougainville have commended the Commonwealth Secretary General for visiting the Papua New Guinea province this week. Secretary General Don McKinnon arrived in Port Moresby on Wednesday on a short official tour to PNG where he met senior government officials including Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Foreign Affairs Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu and other members of cabinet. The former New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister also spent yesterday in Bougainville to assess the peacekeeping process underway on the Island.

Presenter/Interviewer: Caroline Tiriman
Speakers: Joseph Kabui, President, Bougainville People's Congress, PNG

KABUI: "Basically the secretary general, right honourable Don McKinnon on his way to Fiji has called into Bougainville because Bougainville has got a special place in his heart no doubt. Being the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand Government in the late 90's, 1997 when the current peace process was stitched together.

"So Don McKinnon had a lot to do, particularly in the way that he approached the whole Bougainville conflict, and the approach was one that I can describe as Don McKinnon and the New Zealand Government saying yes, we will facilitate the talks and you Bougainvillean factions, you can all talk about your problems, you can all try to sort out your problems on your own first and foremost, before you can meet up with the National Government of Papua New Guinea.

"So that's why he is here and we are definitely pleased that he has called in here first time as a secretary-general of the Commonwealth. The last time he was in Bougainville was when he was the Minister for Foreign Minister and Trade in the New Zealand Government and being in charge of the Bougainville peace process."

TIRIMAN: Round about the end of June last year, all members of the peace monitoring group left Bougainville and returned to their respective countries. What's happening now with regard to assistanace with law and order issues?

KABUI: "Now we are just staying with the police who are out here, police from New Zealand and also there's also police from Australia who are coming into help us with youth, law and order and of course the other important international presence on Bougainville is the office of the United Nations of Self-admission on Bougainville.

"Though they are here on the delegated body, a body that has been delegated down from what it was before for much body on the ground, but still carrying on with the monitoring of the peace process, particularly to working on the weapons disposal plan that has now covered about 80 per cent of all the registered or recorded weapons have now been destroyed right throughout Bougainville. That is the main task that the office of UN observer mission is now doing on Bougainville, leading up to the elections of the autonomous government."

TIRIMAN: And are you hopeful of collecting all the weapons there is in Bougainville?

KABUI: "Eh yeap, I think they say a certain amount of confidence in the way things are progressing, yes. We should be able to collect everything as we move along."

 

Source: Radio Oz