General Sam Kauona
For peace in Bougainville
For more than 40,000 years we have been a part of our land. Without it we can not be whole; it is our culture, our religion, our life. Papua New Guinea and international interests came and took our land without asking, destroyed it and tore it apart, poisoned our streams and made our people sick.
They were all greedy for money, and they tried to break us down. They sent the soldiers in to kill and rape and burn, and to force us to surrender this land of Bougainville. But God helps those that are persecuted unjustly. The ghosts of all our dead and of our enraged ancestors stand with us firmly here. You can break our bones, but you can never break our spirit. The land of Bougainville is ours. We will not give up this land.
I have fully cooperated with Papua New Guinea to bring about a peace process. I was part of the establishment and signing of the Commitment to Peace Agreement, the Bougainville Cease-Fire Agreement and its instrument and other agreements prior to that. I was, however, not made a part of the team that established the Status of Forces Agreement of the South Pacific Peace Keeping Force.
While Papua New Guinea had the right to invite members of the peace keeping force to Papua New Guinea and Bougainville, there were no legitimate reasons not to include myself in the drafting of the said agreement.
This resulted in the South Pacific Peace Keeping Force becoming no more than a token force, conveniently used by Papua New Guinea for its own ends and provided by Australia, continuing its military assistance to Papua New Guinea, in their war on Bougainville.
After the withdrawal of the peace keeping force the PNG Defence Forces did not even hesitate to move back into their army camps, demonstrating that Papua New Guinea did not really intend to make peace with Bougainvilleans.
Were they really a genuine party to the agreements? I say no. Did Sir Julius Chan really champion peace? Did he really turn every stone that he said was unturned?
Why did we take a cautious approach to the peace conference and why was it finally impossible for my delegation and our negotiators to be present at the conference in Arawa?
Simply because the control of the peace process machinery was not in neutral hands. The so-called peace plan and the peace keeping show was orchestrated from boardrooms, the peace plan timetable carefully manicured from Port Moresby and the agenda was already set and my delegation and myself were only expected to fall in line.
Critical to the whole peace process was the implementation of the Cease-fire Agreement an its instrument [guaranteeing] the well-being and safety of those attending, including Bougainville Revolutionary Army leaders and Bougainville Interim Government representatives.
I am deeply disappointed at Papua New Guinea's non-compliance with the most vital provisions of the Cease-Fire Agreement. I had very deep expectations of achieving peace and success this time. Indeed the involvement of the South Pacific Peace Keeping Force, including Australia and New Zealand, provided a huge expectation of success.
I will continue to maintain my position on the ground, but at the same time with my doors open to renegotiate the whole peace process with Papua New Guinea.
[General Sam Kauona is commander of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.]