AN INDEPENDENT STATE OF BOUGAINVILLE?

By Dr. Joe Ketan

The aspirations of Bougainvillian leaders are well known. They want a separate nation-state. That is the message that has been constantly published in the media. What we do not know is the aspirations of the people of Bougainville. We will know that soon. The will of the voters during the coming Referendum - an important provision in our Constitution - must not be distorted by electoral fraud, violence and intimidation. The ugly rebel must not infringe the right of voters to choose freely in a fair election. The people of Bougainville must be given the opportunity to vote without intimidation or undue influence.

The question on the ballot paper must be simple and clear to understand: that you are voting for full independence and there will be no returning if your experimentation with independence fails. This is not a game.

I have spoken with several advisers on Bougainville, including Professor Ted Wolfers, Dr Thomas Webster and Dr Henry Okole, and I understand that they report to different bosses of entities with different, often conflicting, interests. I have also spoken with Bougainville leaders, including John Momis, and I got the impression that most Bougainvillian leaders do not trust our experts, even though they may appear to respect them as professionals. That is a cause for concern.
What is even more worrying is that our experts have not provided our government with a contingency plan. What if things go wrong? What if Bougainville is granted independence and others express the desire to go that way? What if Bougainvillian vote against independence, but militant leaders still want to secede? What can the PNG parliament do in the event that the vote appears undistorted and unanimously in favour of independence? What are the milestones for independence and for autonomy?

I would expert both the PNG and the Australian governments to ask more of our experts before paying them large fees. It is already bad enough for PNG to have its best and brightest poached, but it is ludicrous to have fat PNG experts dressed up like peacocks and sitting in plump offices because it looks good to have a Melanesian face there. Both governments can gain much by putting these people to work on strategic projects of mutual benefit to both countries - and to Bougainville. We can start by demanding strategies to achieve development objectives, strategic plans, and, above all, sensible risk management plans for situations that may arise out of the Bougainville Referendum.