Bougainville

They have agreed on the criteria for non-Bougainville residents to take part in the Referendum.  

In the recent JSB meeting held in Arawa, both the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, under section 55, 1 of the Organic Law on Peace Building in Bougainville, agreed on two criteria to determine the links with Bougainville, that a non-resident Bougainvillean must have in order to vote at the Referendum.

The first criteria is that; the person is a Bougainvillean, as defined in section 7, 1 of the Bougainville Constitution.

From 2015 to 2018, the Australian Government provided K33.8 million for the upgrade of the then Arawa Health Centre to a district hospital. Under the partnership arrangement, the Autonomous Bougainville Government purchased equipment for the hospital at a value of K4 million.

The hospital was officially opened on Friday, June 29^th, by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, John Momis, and Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Bruce Davis.

The vast Panguna copper and gold mine once generated nearly half of PNG's annual export revenue.

BCL ran Panguna until the outbreak of civil war in 1989 in which grievances caused by the mine were central to the 10 year conflict that cost over 20,000 lives.

It is one of two companies that have been vying to re-open Panguna and has told the market it will continue to pursue the rights of its shareholders.

BCL company secretary Mark Hitchcock said the company was due back in court next month as it was seeking a judicial review over the non-renewal of the licence.

The police patrol boat, Lata, is currently in the Shortland Islands, which are very close to the south of Bougainville main island.

Deputy Police Commissioner, Gabriel Manelusi, said that the Lata is carrying specialist staff who have teamed up with local police to investigate alleged criminal activities by people crossing the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea border.

He said the officers wanted to ensure the Shortlands' communities are not undermined by any foreign nationals acting illegally.

That is the main reason why elections in Bougainville have been quiet since nominations period.

Assistant Commissioner for Police (ACP) and Chief of Bougainville Police, Francis Tokura, said election preparations have been quiet, unlike previous years of election.

Tokura said from information he has gathered, one of the significant changes that Bougainville has seen is candidates going into wards and communities by themselves to do their own campaigning.

“In the past, we would see truckloads and groups of supporters driving around with candidates.”

The former speaker and also rebel hardliner during the crisis told PNG Loop that BCL boss Peter Taylor, should be ashamed of himself for entering Bougainville without addressing and compensating the 20,000 lives lost.

“First of all we should all know and understand the fact that this are the very people who caused a war for us to be slaughtered, it should have been admirable if they approached us in a more culturally related fashion.”

 “Like bringing a pig and shell money,” Miriki said.

This time it is now attacking the younger generation and posing a real threat to the future of Bougainville’s coming referendum.

An officer within the health division in Buka says excessive consumption of alcohol and other sweet stuff, including lack of exercise, are the major contributors to diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.

“In health we’re trying our very best to educate and even treat people, make open tests to the public, giving out handouts, go to outreach in remote areas,” he said.

ABG President Dr John Momis made this statement in commemoration of International Women’s Day.

“The traditional role of women in most parts of Bougainville has always been custodians of the land, providing a safety net to society and keepers of the peace, this role has not changed; women still play a vital role in contemporary Bougainville today,” Momis said.

“I am also proud to say today that a new role that Bougainville women have assumed is one that has redefined their roles in Bougainville and that is of peace maker.”

 Officially launched by NCD Governor Powes Parkop last week, two primary schools, Lontis Primary School and Petats primary, are the first two schools to have little doctors.

The Little Doctors concept is similar to the ones first introduced in India and Bangladesh and recently in Indonesia, in the aftermath of tsunamis that devastated these countries.