File spoon-archives/marxism-news.archive/marxism-news_1998/marxism-news.9804, message 98


From: "Vikki John" <VIKKI-AT-lexsun.law.uts.edu.au>
Date:          Thu, 30 Apr 1998 10:39:08 GMT-1000
Subject: M-NEWS: (Fwd) BOUGAINVILLE NEWS - 30 April 98 (Nat)


The National (PNG) Newspaper - 30 April 1998

Deadlock at Arawa talks as rebels make new demands
By PHILIP KEPSON

ARAWA: The final consultative talks between the Government and Bougainville rebels continued
late last night following a deadlock over two last-minute demands by the rebels.

The demands were made just hours before the official signing of the permanent ceasefire agreement
today.

The rebels demanded the cancellation of the current military call-out in force on Bougainville, and the
demilitarising of Arawa and Loloho areas.

And to add to the uncertainty over whether an agreement would be signed today after all, rebel chief
Francis Ona made it official through Bougainville MPs that he would not attend the signing
ceremony.

The two sides were locked in discussions on the new demands at midnight last night after rebel
representatives Joseph Kabui, Sam Kauona, Mike Forster, Martin Miriori and Moses Havini put the
demands at the meeting. 

The talks are being held aboard Australian navy ship HMAS Tobruk.

The National Government has insisted that these demands are non-negotiable at this stage, saying
that they would be given special attention in further talks after the ceasefire agreement takes effect.

State negotiator Sir John Kaputin and Bougainville premier Gerard Sinato told the meeting earlier
that it was in the spirit of the Lincoln Agreement and the current peace process to leave the two
demands aside for the time being.

Mr Sinato said that the ceasefire agreement provided for the gradual withdrawal of the security
forces on Bougainville, the rescinding of the call-out state and the demilitarising of Arawa and
Loloho.

Earlier in the day, Bougainville MP John Momis conveyed Mr Ona's final decision to stay away from
the signing ceremony while criticising Premier Sinato for making misleading public statements about
Mr Ona.

And Mr Momis warned that should the ceasefire agreement collapse, the National Government and
the Bougainville Transitional Government would be directly responsible "for the simple reason that
they tied personal egos into the end results of the peace process".

Mr Momis and the other three Bougainville MPs who went to Mr Ona's Guava village on Tuesday
for a second round of informal talks said Mr Ona had reiterated that he was isolating himself from
effecting the ceasefire.

"Mr Ona has never deviated from his stated position that he will not sign the ceasefire agreement. He
has also reiterated his earlier position on not disrupting the signing ceremony," Mr Momis said.

"Mr Sinato and his public relations officials have been working overtime manufacturing deliberate lies
about Mr Ona, and came very close to sabotaging the national MPs meeting with Mr Ona yesterday
(Tuesday).

"Mr Ona was so angry that he had in fact cancelled the meeting. However, last minute desperate
pleas by his own men averted the total breakdown of these talks."

Mr Momis said Mr Ona had also expressed concern about rushing into the ceasefire agreement
instead of delaying it to give Bougainville leaders sufficient time for dialogue and consultation on the
contentious issues that came up during the Lincoln talks.

"Rightly or wrongly, Mr Ona has expressed grave fears and doubts about the National Government
and the Bougainville Transitional Government's ability and sincerity in delivering their promises after
the signing of the ceasefire agreement," he said.

Mr Momis said there has been a lot of representations to the UN in New York by the PNG
Government to gain legitimacy for its actions on Bougainville but surprisingly no effort had been
made to address the more substantial concerns of the key players in the Bougainville crisis.

He said that there has been so much attention given to the letter of the ceasefire agreement while
ignoring the human element in the agreement.

"I want to tell the people of Bougainville and indeed the people of Papua New Guinea that the
success of the ceasefire agreement hangs very much in the balance," said Mr Momis.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are flooding into Arawa from all parts of Bougainville to witness the
peace ceremony. 

The general sentiment among the people is in favour of peace. And many fear that the current
political struggle among the Bougainville leaders may sabotage the peace process.
============================
Our agenda is peace, not BCL: Downer
By NEVILLE TOGAREWA

PORT MORESBY: Australia was not interested in or concerned about re-opening the Panguna
copper mine on Bougainville, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday.

He said that Australia's only agenda was permanent and lasting peace after nine years of bloody
conflict.

Mr Downer was speaking at a press conference at the Jacksons airport after arriving here for the
signing of the historic Bougainville ceasefire agreement in Arawa today.

He was asked to comment on "suspicions" by rebel chief Francis Ona and other Bougainvilleans that
Australia was more interested in reopening the Panguna copper mine than seeing permanent peace
restored on the island.

"Firstly, I would say to Francis Ona that this peace process is overwhelmingly supported by the
people of Bougainville ... Secondly, he and the people of Bougainville have nothing to fear. We have
no objective and we have not been scheming to reopen the mine," he said.

Mr Downer said Australia wanted peace in the region and had offered not a blue print for peace but
to act as a facilitator, adding that ultimately permanent peace was the achievement of the people of
Bougainville and Papua New Guinea.

"We have no agenda except the agenda for peace ... we have a far greater interest in there being
peace in the region than being shareholders in the Panguna mine," he said.

Mr Downer also said Australia had been having discussions with PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon
Islands about who should lead the Peace Monitoring Group.

Prime Minister Bill Skate had said several days ago that Australia would do so.

Mr Downer paid tribute to the PNG Prime Minister and the governments and people of New
Zealand, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu for playing a key role in bringing about peace on the
island.

He described the signing of the ceasefire agreement today as truly an historical occasion.

He said when the Sandline debacle finally collapsed in April last year, he believed that there was a
real chance to achieve peace on the island.

When he visited Bougainville during a temporary peace in March/April in 1997, he witnessed a real
sense of community support and spirit that the people wanted peace, Mr Downer said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon said the giant Panguna copper mine that
sparked a decade-long civil war in Papua New Guinea would take at least 10 years and US$500
million (K1 billion) to reopen.

"Some day the mine may open but it will probably be a decade away," Mr McKinnon told a news
conference here.

"Everybody knows it will cost US$500 million to reopen," said Mr Mckinnon who is in PNG to
witness the signing of the Bougainville ceasefire agreement.

The mine produced copper concentrate for 17 years which represented 44 percent of PNG's total
export earnings. 
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