The return of the remains of a young man to his family in Buin, from Tonsu Constituency in Buka district, will set a positive trend to strengthen reconciliation and unity.
This comment was raised by two leaders; the Member for Tonsu Constituency, Ezekiel Masat, and the Director for Peace and Reconciliation, Dr Patrick Diou, during a bone exhumation meeting at the Novah Village 3km outside of Buka Township yesterday.
Relatives from Kugumaru Village in Lule area, with the support of the Member for Tonsu, Masat, and his people of Novah Village, have started their search to find the missing bones of late Peter Kupai.
The victim was allegedly killed by opposing factions at Sohano Island in 1995 and his body dumped into the sea. The decomposed body was found floating in the sea and with the help of the Novah villagers, buried at their village cemetery.
They tried to retrieve the remains before, but their efforts were unsuccessful as the villagers could not locate the exact burial site.
“We will continue to dig until we find the victim’s bones, properly identify them and repatriate to Buin for his family to give a decent reburial – and this is our commitment to the people of Lule,” Masat said.
Masat stated that his people have positively helped in similar cases in the past, involving alleged murder cases and reburial of missing persons’ remains.
Bougainvilles’ Peace Director, Dr Patrick Diou, also said the final repatriation of the victim’s remains will strengthen the current peace efforts in Lule Constituency.
It is estimated that over 100 similar cases exist around Bougainville.
(Villagers at the Novah Village Cemetery dig up old graves to find the remains of a crisis victim)