Callers were able to press 1 to hear information on peacebuilding, 2 for autonomy, 3 for the referendum and 4 for weapons disposal. She said that the work Sr Loraine  is doing must be supported by donor partners. The first Agenda was concerning the request by the BRC to extend the Referendum date by six weeks from October 12th Polling to November 23rd Polling. [online] Culturalsurvival.org. Bougainville’s leader, President John Momis, believes that large-scale mining offers the best chance for income generation and is keen both to revive Panguna and encourage other projects. But the process of becoming a separate nation could take years to achieve. Bougainville faces mental health issues legacy from the civil war | Asia Pacific Report. Bougainville News 2020 : The Bougainville referendum and the fate of Melanesia: Which Way, Big Man? He said as the Minister for Bougainville Affairs Minister it was only proper to thank these countries for their continued support especially assisting PNG on the Bougainville issue. “Will we see ourselves in the long shadows of the dwindling light and the advanced darkness of the evening dusk, or will we see ourselves in the long and radiant rays of the rising sun? Adherence to good governance must be the message delivered in unison by the people to their representatives in the House of Representatives and to Leaders in Government. Bougainville News Webinar Alert : The use of mobile technologies in the 2019 Bougainville referendum presents both opportunities and challenges for the future of democracy in the Pacific, post-referendum negotiation process now taking place, Bougainville News Alert : WEBINAR – Mobile telephones on for public messaging: Did the Bougainville referendum information hotline make a difference? [6]. “I suppose copper stands to the Provisional Provincial Government of Bougainville as does oil to the Scottish Nationalist Party,” he said. This Sunday Nov 17 a special #60Mins, Bougainville Experience Tours Arawa see Part 3 below, “Bougainville set to hold long-awaited independence referendum”, “Bougainville referendum not binding – PM”, “Move to postpone Bougainville Referendum”, “Bougainville and Papua New Guinea set target date for independence referendum”, “Independence vote delayed for Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville”, “PNG leader apologises to Bougainville for bloody 1990s civil war”, “Bougainville ‘very happy’ to have Bertie Ahern involved”, “Question agreed for Bougainville’s independence referendum”. People voted overwhelmingly for independence (97.71 per cent) in what was widely regarded to be a successful process, with an informed and engaged citizenry. While China gives most of its aid to PNG and Fiji, the region’s two biggest economies, Jubilee’s Fletcher says China giving aid to an independent Bougainville was “feasible.”, Geoff Hiscock is a Sydney-based journalist with a focus on international business. Let us not forget the foundation stones and the building blocks of good government, regardless of what form that Government takes. The original paper can be found here. Australia, China, and Bougainville’s Choices. (USA NEWS ). Also, this week a survey of more than 1,000 Bougainvilleans found people still need to know more about the Bougainville Peace Agreement and the referendum. “We don’t need another microstate emerging in the Pacific.”. Presenters assisted Sister Loraine in presenting what the women peace builders have been doing silently to make the place free from violence and human right abuses in the communities. Simon Pentanu MHR GCL Under the terms of the 2001 peace agreement, a vote on independence within 20 years was promised. The results will be announced in December. Nana Buba from New Dawn Reports on visit to Bougainville. The legacy of Damien Dameng, the father of Meekamui. With a projected vote on independence from Papua New Guinea just three months away, suddenly Bougainville is the centre of a lot of activity. The President Momis mentioned the people of Bougainville that despite so many problems they have faced in the past kept their faith for the future of Bougainville as clearly demonstrated by their vote. This is a war between industrial civilization versus the natural world. Part 2 Report and pictures from Ben Bohane. Their claims of developing the Pacific Islands are a mere smokescreen for their true ambitions of a regional and global hegemony, as they strategies how to carve up the Pacific region pie. [3] The vote was originally scheduled for 15 June 2019,[4] before being delayed to 17 October due to a row over funding. ” Chair of the Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC)  Bertie Ahern last  week  stressed to the UN the need for focus on maintaining peace in Papua New Guinea after an independence referendum in the region later this year. Visitors to the tree have attempted to graft buds from other plants in order to stimulate production, but with little success. [9] http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/general/resources/1983-Bernard-Narokobi-Melanesian-Way.pdf, [10] Pacific Media Watch (2019). The … This directed us to engage in clean battle. The women had representatives that came all the way from North,Central and South Bougainville for this meeting. He said that this significant relationship between our three countries have grown over the years and continue strengthen our friendship. Here I say, take heed the soothsayers say, or forever hold your breath.”, Hon. Election officers also traveled by overnight boat to get to some of the five offshore atolls and visited a police lockup to collect votes from prisoners. Nevertheless, the landslide victory will put pressure on PNG to grant Bougainville independence. 3,043 voted for greater autonomy Photo: Autonomous Bougainville Government. The BPA declares that in the Constitution of the Papua New Guinea National Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARoB) is guaranteed a referendum on Bougainville’s political future to be held amongst Bougainvilleans 10-15 years after the establishment of the Autonomous Bougainville Government. pic.twitter.com/mlOchQpiJ1, — 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) November 14, 2019, The Bougainville visit by the 6 man 60 minutes team was managed by Zhon Bosco Miriona , Steven Tamiung and Colin Cowell from Bougainville Experience Tours Arawa see Part 3 below, Main agenda was a link with China in the Pacific and Bougainville, Picture below Steven Tamiung with the 60 Minutes Crew, Part 1 U.S. edges China out of race to fund Bougainville independence vote. “The conduct of the vote was excellent. There is a widespread expectation that Bougainvilleans will vote in favour of independence in a result that would then have to be ratified by the PNG parliament, where it could face opposition from MPs who fear other provinces could follow. Added to that, the Bougainville Referendum Commission only secured its funding in March. Sir Puka said a national reconciliation and another involving former combatants were postponed last month because of the PNG government’s change of leadership. The enemy of the people are the industrial nations with the support of local governments who don’t understand the complex networks of indigenous social structures, value systems and their deep connection to their ancestral land. The service was the first of its kind in PNG and was envisaged as a short pilot to identify the usefulness of the technology for public information dissemination in Bougainville. Results announced on Wednesday, had the case for independence backed by 97.7 per cent of the 206,000 registered voters. EMTV is Papua New Guinea’s oldest and largest television station and has been the country’s window to the world for over three decades, EMTV offers a free-to-air, general entertainment television channel and provides one of the most respected and trusted sources of news and information in the country today. 18 Dec 2019 | James Batley. PNG playwright and poet, Nora Vagi Brash, in her five plays,  “Which Way, Big man?”, reflect  dramatic changes taking place in PNG and difficult decisions  that Papuans must make about their history, lives and future as they struggle to juggle between the two worlds – the world of their ancestors colonised and the new modern world of coloniser. Tragically, crises such as those in Bougainville are typically reported on as “primitive tribes fighting”. The results will be announced in mid-December. Are the current Melanesian leaders still holding onto this important vision? The new country – should it happen – would be small, with a land mass of less than 10,000 sq km (slightly larger than Cyprus, and slightly smaller than Lebanon). So, what are the implications for the delivery of public information in Bougainville and elsewhere in the Pacific? Mobile telephones, particularly when paired with other mediums, can play a role in delivering civic education and increasing community engagement throughout the Pacific. 5 major news alerts this week ( July 1- 7) on the Bougainville Referendum, 1 : Ahern urges focus on post-referendum peace in Bougainville ( From Irish Times ), 2. There was much discussion about the need to improve mobile network coverage, which participants said was weak and inconsistent, with no coverage in some villages. The qualitative research findings, which were recently published as a part of the Discussion Paper Series of the Department of Pacific Affairs, assess the effectiveness of the telephone hotline in delivering government information directly to citizens. The hotline was one element of a multi-media package of government information initiatives supported by Australia and New Zealand. [i]   Hermkens, A.-K. (2015). Let us not tire of talking about good governance, honest and transparent leadership, common sense, and not being above or beyond reproach. He also thanked the Donor partners, International organizations that observed the polling and the count the UN team, High Commissioners of Britain, Australia, New Zealand and many who were part of the peace process on Bougainville. See Bougainville Referendum Commission Website. Bougainvilleans are still traumatized from the civil war that erupted in the late 1980’s, which resulted in the closure of the giant, Australian-owned Panguna mine. In the nearby French overseas territory of New Caledonia, voters rejected independence from France by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin in November 2018. The root of the problem is our worldview: this civilization is based on individual, materialistic desires and selfish actions. We are all facing the same existential threats under the current global world order. This was followed by subsequent weekly text messages announcing the availability of new recordings. This hotline was relatively simple to use, providing a free-call number, with four options of audio messages to listen to. For example, in South Bougainville, participants reported substantial challenges with the quality and reach of mobile network signals and said that they had almost no access to radio stations, newspapers or television. Result of an alien tree within Oceania that has been crippled by the generational that... 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