Opposition spokesperson for Bougainville affairs Sir Puka Temu has warned the Papua New Guinea government not to take the Bougainville ratification process lightly and has called for an urgent leadership meeting.

He urged Prime Minister James Marape and his Minister for Bougainville Affairs, Manasseh Makibato, convene an urgent meeting between the two governments.

Sir Puka said that the government’s inability to ratify the referendum results last year went against the understanding set out in the Era Kone Covenant and the Wabag Roadmap by both the Autonomous Bougainville government (ABG) and the government of PNG.

“Prime Minister James Marape and the Minister for Bougainville Affairs need to come out clearly on when they will ratify the referendum results in Parliament and give their assurance that they will not fail on their part of the agreement,” Sir Puka said.

“The ratification is the responsibility of the national government and not the ABG’s.

“The people of Bougainville did their part by peacefully conducting the referendum and engaging in meaningful dialogue with the national government on when to ratify the results.

“The Marape/PANGU-led government have already failed their end of the bargain to ratify the results in 2023. And they are continuing to fail the people of Bougainville by delaying their decision on when the results will be ratified.

PM ‘not serious’
“It is evident the Prime Minister and his government are not serious about Bougainville, as there was no mention of it in the first sitting of Parliament this year had it not been for a question without notice from the Member for North Bougainville Francesca
Semoso.

“If the government were serious about ratifying the results, they would have made the ratification a priority of theirs on the first sitting of Parliament.

“Yet the government has opted to adjourn Parliament to May 28 nearly halfway through the year, and even then, the ratification of the results are not guaranteed to be a business of the Parliament.

“With the ABG presidential elections set for next year, the people and leaders of
Bougainville are running out of time.”

Sir Puka said Marape had had more than five years to ratify the referendum results, yet there had been many promises and little action.

“James Marape is in fact the post-referendum prime minister – it is his leadership that will coincide with the future of Bougainville, and he must not take that status lightly,” Sir Puka said.

Now that Marape had exhausted his international trips over the last two
years, he should pay serious attention to the pressing issue domestically.

‘Delaying and distracting’
The leaders and people of Bougainville would soon catch on to Marape-led government’s approach of “delaying and distracting”.

“ABG President Ishmael Toroama and his leaders have been very diplomatic, very
patient, and understanding throughout this ongoing process, however, Mr Marape must not think that this considerate treatment will last forever.

“I also appeal to the four Bougainvillean MPs in government to critically assess if Mr Marape is doing all he can in his powers to fulfill the results of the referendum.

“Three of you are in PANGU Pati yet the party leader and your fellow colleague PANGU MP and Minister for Bougainville Affairs are causing rifts and not results.

“The people of Bougainville have decided, and regardless of the ratification process that continues to be delayed, those results will still be there in history. The ball is in the government’s side of the court to guide this process or stand by and watch if they take too long.”

Sir Puka also said he would ask to meet President Toroama to formally discuss the opposition’s alternative policies and position regarding Bougainville as the shadow minister.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) wants to delay the next meeting of the Joint Supervisory Body with the Papua New Guinea government, claiming Port Moresby is “dragging the chain” on drawing up critical constitutional regulations..

The key focus of the ABG is on achieving independence by 2027 by the latest.

This latest dispute comes despite both governments committing last April to the Era Kone Covenant which lays out how the independence referendum results would be tabled in the national Parliament, and the manner in which that institution may ratify the results.

At that time Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama commended the national government for its unwavering support for the Bougainville Peace Process.

He said the Era Kone Covenant laid out a timeline and a roadmap for the ratification of the referendum results in the national Parliament.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape at the time reaffirmed his commitment to the outcomes, saying his government would continue to work within the spirit of the peace agreement.

“We’ve established a pathway that we should work towards and we on the national government side, I just want to assure Bougainville that it doesn’t matter who sits in this chair in 3 months’ time, the work for Bougainville has been set and the work we have set will continue on,” Marape said.

Failed to engage
But a national government’s technical team has since failed to engage with its Bougainville counterparts to develop a jointly agreed draft of the regulations.

ABG Minister Ezekiel Masatt said this week this lack of commitment from the national government has frustrated the ABG leadership and prompted its call for a deferral of the Joint Supervisory Body meeting.

The PNG government, and its technical team, have called for nationwide consultations on the Bougainville issue, but Masatt said the ABG’s position was that ratification of the outcome of the consultation on independence was for the national Parliament and not all the citizens of PNG.

He said there was no legal basis for such a proposed nationwide consultation.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz