PNG’s MPs have been debating whether to ratify Bougainville’s vote for independence
Photo: RNZ / Russell Palmer
The Autonomous Bougainville Government has hit back at a Papua New Guinea MP’s attack on it during debate about the autonomous PNG region’s political future status.
The PNG parliament has begun debating whether to ratify Bougainville’s overwhelming vote for independence, as a bipartisan committee on Bougainville Affairs tabled its report on public consultations over the outcome of the region’s landmark referendum.
The non-binding referendum held in Bougainville in 2019 saw a resounding 97.7 percent of people vote in favour of independence – but the national parliament has the final say on whether to ratify.
Namah on the attack
The most aggressive PNG argument against saying yes came from the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Belden Namah, a former PNG soldier who served in the Bougainville conflict.
Namah argued that the referendum result should not be ratified because Bougainville had failed to comply with commitments on arms disposal and governance as required by the Bougainville Peace Agreement.
He claimed the ABG has been behaving like it was already an independent state and that it needs to be reined in.
In particular, Namah hit out at the President of Bougainville, Ishmael Toroama, for making public appearances in military attire and being referred to as the chief of Bougainville’s defence force. Bougainville is not able to have adefence force under PNG’s constitution.
“This is utterly unacceptable and must not be taken lightly by this parliament. This is an act of sedition. The president must be summoned and held accountable for his actions. No one will tell him – I am telling him.”
Papua New Guinea MP for Vanimo-Green, Belden Namah.
Photo: Alex Smith
Echoing the concerns of many PNG MPs that letting Bougainville go would trigger a disintegration of PNG as a state, with other regions looking to break away or gain more autonomy, Namah said it was not simply a political issue.
“It is an issue of national sovereignty, it is an issue of constitutional integrity, it is an issue of peace, unity, sacrifice and the future survival of Papua New Guinea as one nation,” he said.
‘He was sent to kill’
The ABG has taken umbrage at Namah’s claim that, as a PNGDF soldier, he fought the war for the unity of PNG and out of “love for Bougainvillieans”.
“He repeatedly calls himself a hero because of the Sandline affair and having saved 300,000 Bougainville lives. He is not. He was not sent to Bougainville as a soldier, on a Peace Mission.
“He was sent to kill, amongst other things. He can disclose how many lives he took on Bougainville,” said Bougainville’s vice president Ezekiel Masatt, noting that Namah was also convicted of mutiny (although later pardoned).
Masatt, who described Namah’s attacks on himself and Toroama as “below the belt”, said PNG MPs who spoke in the debate yesterday did so out of ignorance, when the post referendum consultation process wasn’t yet finalised.
Photo: Supplied/ FB -Autonomous Bougainville Government
Meanwhile, Toroama urged Bougainvilleans not to be sidetracked by sentiments expressed by the PNG government on this issue, saying they were being “tested”.
“I urge all Bougainvilleans to remain calm, united, and respectful. Let us not be distracted by rhetoric or discouraged by differing opinions,” the president said.
“Our strength has always been our unity of purpose and our faith in the justice of our cause. No parliamentary debate can erase our history. No report can diminish the democratic mandate expressed by our people.”
Potential middle way
Earlier, Bougainvillean MPs in the national parliament said it was time for PNG to let Bougainville go. They urged MPs to have courage and to do the right thing by Bougainvilleans, who had opted peacefully and overwhelmingly for independence.
The Bougainville regional member, Peter Tsiamalili Jr, acknowledged the huge importance of the decision MPs were tasked with making, and said the debate was about completing a peace process, not about breaking PNG up.
“We have an opportunity to demonstrate that the word of Papua New Guinea remains unbroken. For peace was the process, And peace must remain the legacy” Tsiamalili said.
The Prime Minister James Marape, who said parliament would make a decision on the ratification question on 30 August, hinted at a possible middle way for Bougainville.
Marape cited the examples of autonomous Catalonia within Spain; the Cook Islands’ relationship with New Zealand; and the four home countries within the United Kingdom.
He later revealed that discussions between his government and the ABG had explored multiple future governance arrangements and relationship models.
Whatever PNG’s parliamernt decides on, Toroama has already said that Bougainville will declare independence in 2027.
