Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama has visited Guava village in the heartland of the Panguna mine in Central Bougainville to pay his respects to the resting place of Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) leader Francis Ona.

It was the first time President Toroama had visited Guava in 25 years after the 1997 Roreinang coup that split the BRA into two factions.

Ona, who was president and supreme commander of the BRA, favoured a “fight to the last man’’ strategy.

The other faction, headed by his second-in-command Joseph Kabui, wanted a peaceful solution to the Bougainville Civil War.

President Toroama, who was then the BRA’s chief of defence, sided with Kabui and so began the peace talks that would result in a ceasefire and the eventual signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001.

Ona remained in Panguna with his Mekamui faction.

“As a young man, in 1989 I joined many others in the Bougainville Civil War,” Toroama said.

“We were not called, nor were we recruited.

‘Revolutionary ideals’
“We simply believed in Francis Ona’s revolutionary ideals to protect the land and our people,’’ Toroama said.

“Within the first 18 months, we had closed the Panguna mine and began our fight for political independence.

“We started the revolution with bows and arrows in 1989 but towards the end we were launching offensives against the security forces with better equipment and tactics.

“From 1989 to 1997 we gave our lives to protect Francis Ona and his dreams of independence for Bougainville,’’ President Toroama said.

“I am here today to remind the family of Francis Ona and the people of Guava and Panguna that my commitment to the revolutionary ideals of our leader has not wavered.’’

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Ishmael Toroama built his reputation as a bold fighter and later a commander in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) in its struggle to close the Panguna copper and gold mine and gain independence for Bougainville from Papua New Guinea in the 10-year civil war of the 1990s.

Later, in 2001, he became a signatory of the Bougainville Peace Agreement under the auspices of which last year’s referendum on Bougainville independence recorded a huge vote in favour of the province’s separation from PNG.

But in more recent years, Toroama, from Central Bougainville, returned to what his family has done for generations – peacefully grow cocoa.

In this capacity he once told a journalist that he had a dream: “One day I’d like to be able to buy a bar of Amataa chocolate – with a focus on the flavour.”

And now he stands on the threshold of becoming the next president of Bougainville. A Bougainville which itself may be standing on the threshold of independence.

Bougainville Presidential Count Update
21st Elimination – Tuesday afternoon
47,145 – Ishmael Toroama
29,896 – Simon Duraminu
20,953 – Peter Tsiamalili
20,107 – Thomas Raivet

Toroama, whose body bears the scars of many hard fought battles, joined the BRA in its early days and according to one story was the first BRA guerrilla to obtain an automatic weapon from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).

In a journal article ‘The Gangs of Bougainville’ by Stan Starygin, Toroama was portrayed as a ‘Rambo’ . He came to wider attention in the documentary film, The Coconut Revolution, which sought to portray the BRA as a band of convivial guerrillas in pursuit of self-reliance and a return to a traditional lifestyle.

Field commander
Toroama did not take long to become a prominent ‘field commander’ in the BRA and later succeeded the BRA’s first ‘chief of defence’, Sam Kauona, who happens to be an eliminated candidate in the current election.

As journalist Dominic Rotheroe wrote in an article in The Independent (The Green Guerrillas, 13 September 1998) Toroama is nothing if not a very strong and intimidating man:

“Ten minutes further into this training patrol, a mock ambush is launched and Ishmael Toroama hurtles into the bush, M-16 blazing, while his soldiers blast the jungle with a mix of captured M-l6s, rejuvenated Second World World War guns, and home-made rifles. This may be to keep the ‘boys’, as everyone calls the BRA, on their toes. But the tear gas is purely for us, a short sharp dose of Bougainville reality.

“Ishmael is fond of dishing out such medicine. Later, as he accelerates his battered 4×4 Hi-lux truck along a track more hole than road, he admits that on these training exercises he attacks his men with live ammunition.

“‘Ever hit any?’ I ask. ‘Oh yes.’ ‘How many?’ ‘Twelve.’ ‘Twelve! Seriously injured?’ ‘Er, one yes, very.’ It is training like this that has turned the BRA into such an effective fighting force. There are no half-measures here.”

But Jesus was to come into Toroama’s life when, during a skirmish with PNG government forces in 1997, he was critically wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Rotheroe wrote:

“Jesus has come into Ishmael’s life in a big way. The big man is ‘no longer proud to be a fighter’. Inside his house a picture of Rambo is now dwarfed by a flock of evangelical posters. He tells us how Jesus appeared to him after he was wounded. ‘He said to me, you are an inch from death now. Follow me, because I am the Lord.’ And this he did; when the war ends, he says, he would like to become a preacher.”

Peace agreement
Well, this did not happen. First Toroama helped negotiate the peace agreement, then took the lead in subsequent reconciliations, next benefited greatly from selling scrap mine equipment from Panguna and later returned to the family tradition of cocoa farming.

During this post-war period, Toroama and his group not only expanded their activities by dismantling and selling scrap metal from Panguna but by offering ‘protection services’ to local businesses and visitors.

Starygin writes that during the disarmament process endorsed by the peace agreement, “Toroama presented himself as an agent of peace”.

Toroama’s role was accepted by the international peace brokers who worked with him on the disarmament process and he acquired status by tapping the largesse they brought to Bougainville, becoming the virtual master of ceremonies at peace and reconciliation events.

This role, Starygin says, “went beyond the use of his celebrity to bring disputants together and grew to include event management by Toroama’s gang and those businesses in which Toroama ‘had an interest’ which, in turn, became the main conduits for AusAid and UNDP’s reconciliation dollars.”

Starygin writes:

“Toroama’s BRA-days notoriety, his role in the peace process, the magnitude of his post-crisis ‘economic activity’ and the possession of weapons and loyalty of the men who carry them have made Toroama a viable political force in Central Bougainville. Toroama has not won an election yet but it is not for want of trying.

“He is no underdog and has come a solid second in the last two elections, although the voters each time preferred a civil servant with a record of service to Toroama. Encouraged by his numbers and undeterred by defeat Toroama has announced his candidacy for President of Bougainville for the 2015 election.”

Distant second
He finished a distant second to John Momis (who in that election received more than 51,000 votes to Toroama’s 18,466) but now, five years on, it seems that his political ambition is about to be fulfilled.

Ishmael Toroama – fighter, rebel leader, peace broker, scrap metal dealer, security boss and coca farmer – now seems likely to be fifth president of Bougainville.

We can only surmise from his background that he is well experienced and that he is a formidable man.

But we don’t yet know how this personal history will transition into how he will perform in the role of a significant Melanesian political leader.

What we do know is that Toroama has been an independence fighter, that a majority of the Bougainville people want independence, that the Papua New Guinea government has shown no support for this and that the epic question of Bougainville independence is one that is up for answering.

What we do suspect is that, although Ishmael Toroama has shown himself to be a shrewd operator, there is no proof of any illegality or corruption in his varied and volatile career.

That is an important consideration given that corruption in Bougainville, as it is in PNG, has been a problem of mounting concern.

We do indeed live in interesting times.

Keith Jackson is a retired educator, school publications editor and communications lecturer and consultant in Papua New Guinea who has managed radio stations in Rabaul and Bougainville and was head of policy and planning in the National Broadcasting Commission at independence in 1975. He has also worked in development and communication roles for UNESCO in Fiji, Indonesia, India, Maldives and the Philippines. He began his PNG Attitude blog in 2006. Pacific Media Centre articles are republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The trend is your friend, it is said, and the trend in counting votes for the next president of Bougainville remains firmly with former Bougaiville Revolutionary Army commander Ishmael Toroama, who continues to move ahead of the field.

With the elimination of the 14th presidential candidate late afternoon it became clear that only the two leaders among the 11 remaining contenders can come close to an absolute majority of 71,725 votes.

The release of updated figures this afternoon showed Ishmael Toroama consolidating his position as the likely winner as he moved out to a 10,500 vote lead over second-placed candidate Father Simon Dumarinu.

READ MORE: Earlier Bougainville vote stories

There were a few changes in the positions of the top 10 candidates during the day, the main one being Peter Tsiamalili moving into fourth place pushing Fidelis Semoso down to fifth.

But it seems that neither candidate can win from here.

Dumarinu remains about 7000 votes ahead of a bunch of three candidates – Thomas Raivet, Peter Tsiamalili and Fidelis Semoso – who all need the current preference trend to switch steeply their way to remain in the race.

Standings after the 14th count:
Ishmael Toroama – 33,007
Simon Dumarinu – 22,474
Thomas Raivet – 14,779
Peter Tsiamalili – 14,324
Fidelis Semoso – 14,038
Samuel Kauona – 9,240
Joe Lera – 9,325
James Tanis – 9,096
Wesma Piika – 5,159
Sione Paasia – 4,973

Keith Jackson is a retired educator, school publications editor and communications lecturer in Papua New Guinea who has managed radio stations in Rabaul and Bougainville and was head of policy and planning in the National Broadcasting Commission at independence in 1975. He has also worked in development and communication roles for UNESCO in Fiji, Indonesia, India, Maldives and the Philippines. He began his PNG Attitude blog in 2006. Pacific Media Centre articles are republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former Bougainville Revolutionary Army commander, Ishmael Toroama, is starting to build a substantial lead after count 206 in the presidential vote.

With counting of the northern votes happening through the weekend, Toroama has established a buffer of more than 2200 votes over second placed Father Simon Dumarinu.

A number of other candidates continue to pick up significant numbers of votes, with Thomas Raivet in third but nearly 10,000 votes back, the former head of the Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation, Peter Tsiamalili, making up considerable ground to be fourth, Toroama’s BRA colleague Sam Kauona coming into the picture.

But as James Tanis, who is slipping down the leaderboard, has previously pointed out, the critical factor will be how the preference votes end up being allocated.

And with 25 candidates in the race there are many thousands of those.

Count toss up
There was an unusual event near the end of the count in the southern region seat, Makis, on Saturday.

The Bougainville Electoral Commission reports that the two leading candidates were tied with one elimination stage to go, so a coin toss was used to decide which of them would go forward before the last of those preference votes could be shared.

So one candidate was duly eliminated but the eventual winner was Junior Tumare, who had been lying in third spot before the toss.

Confirmed returns
Several incumbents have been returned, including long time Bougainville MP, Ezekiel Masatt, in Tonsu, John Tabinaman in Mahari and Chris Kakapetai in Teua.

Kakapetai’s success came as no surprise to one of his competitors, Chris Siriosi.

He finished third after the 8th elimination and said Kakapetai got a large number of votes from one part of the constituency.

Siriosi said, in addition, he lacked the funds others had going into the poll.

He is a former acting secretary for the government and said he will now focus on getting a job.

“I have got to get back to the government on employment. That kind of arrangement, either with the Ombudsman Commission – my interest lies with the Ombudsman Commission, or with the administration. My services are needed there anyway, ” Siriosi said.

Peace focus
One newcomer to the Bougainville Parliament is hoping to continue his work in peace building.

Emmanuel-Carl Kataevara won the Baba constituency in South Bougainville.

He said it was his second attempt to get into Parliament and he came more prepared this time round.

Kataevara, who has worked with the Bougainville government and the United Nations as a peace builder, is hoping he can still be involved in that process.

He said he hoped for a cabinet role and his focus remained on Bougainville achieving its independence goal.

“We shouldn’t lose focus, we shouldn’t lose sight of the objective and the whole reason for the conflict on Bougainville, and as much as possible ensure that the process works towards achieving that objective,” he said.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Inter-government and Bougainville Relations Minister Timothy Masiu says the people of Bougainville are closely watching developments over the purported “appointment” of Sir Julius Chan as caretaker PM by Peter O’Neill. The following commentary was published on journalist Sylvester Gawi’s blog Graun Blong Mi – My Land.

With all due respect to Sir Julius as a founding father of this nation, the Sandline Affair, a defining moment in the history of Papua New Guinea, which resulted in his resignation as Prime Minister has not yet been forgotten by not just the people of Bougainville, but also the many Papua New Guineans that took to the streets to protest against the involvement of foreign mercenaries in ending the Bougainville crisis.

The team leading the country at the time also included the former Deputy Prime Minister, and current Governor of Gulf Chris
Haivetta.

For those of you who may have forgotten the details, or who may have been too young to remember, or who may have a more watered down recollection, let me remind you on behalf of the people of Bougainville of the events of March 1997.

READ MORE: ‘I’m not PNG’s acting PM,’ Chan tells nation

After failed attempts to both negotiate a peace deal and also defeat the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, the Chan-Haivetta government turned to Sandline International, a company led by a retired Scots Guards Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Spicer, as both Australia and New Zealand had refused to assist.

Sandline specialised in providing arms, equipment, and contractors to participate in conflicts. At the heart of the conflict was control over CRA’s Panguna mine.

When the Sandline Affair was leaked in the Australian news media by The Australian newspaper there was a public uproar. The news quickly broke in Papua New Guinea.

PNGDF soldiers were approached by members of a local NGO called Melanesian Solidarity which wanted to consolidate a military and civil society protest against the Chan-Haivetta decision to engage Sandline.

Forced to resign
Chan was forced to resign as Prime Minister after operation “Rausim Kwick” which was planned by the then Commander of the PNG Defence Force Jerry Singirok and commanded by Major Walter Enuma, and began on the evening of the 16 March 1997.

In 24 hours they had arrested and disarmed the mercenaries.

On March 17, Singirok gave Chan, Haivetta and Defence Minister Mathias Ijape 48 hours to resign. Chan responded by refusing to resign and instead sacked Singirok.

The NGOs began nationwide strikes in support of General Singirok. Singirok accepted his termination and urged the rank and file to support his replacement. He denied that he had sought to take power in any sort of coup.

During this period the Governor-General, Sir Wiwa Korowi took out a
full page ad accusing the government of widespread corruption.

Protests continued to grow, and despite the potential for defence/
police clashes, the army observed great discipline under the watchful
eye of Major Enuma.

Chan was forced to cancel the Sandline deal and announce an inquiry –
Singirok and Enuma had achieved their most important goal. However,
they continued to demand Chan, Haivetta, and Ijapes resignations.

Sandline withdrawn
On March 21 all Sandline personnel were withdrawn from PNG. Only Tim Spicer remained to give evidence.

After immense public pressure, Chan sacked both Haivetta and Ijape and resigned himself on March 26.

The following year a peace deal was negotiated in Bougainville.

Too often here in PNG we suffer from a short memory in relation to issues of national significance such as this.

I urge those members of Parliament who continue to support the O’Neill regime camped at the Crown Hotel to think carefully and follow your conscience before any vote takes place on the floor of Parliament.

Only on the floor of Parliament can a Prime Minister be selected.

Race for copper
In a race to secure access to a commodity, copper, during the Sandline Affair the leaders of the day, Chan and Haivetta were willing to sacrifice the safety and security of the innocent men, women and children of Bougainville and the integrity of processes of government and state institutions.

This is not the type of leadership Papua New Guinea needs today as our
natural resources have grown ten-fold.

We must think of our people in Hela, Southern Highlands, Western Province, Gulf, Central, Enga, Madang, Morobe, New Ireland and now Sepik.

Our people need leadership that will protect their interests with a collective approach towards managing national assets in the national interest.”

HON TIMOTHY MASIU MP
Deputy Opposition Leader and Member for South Bougainville

• Republished from Sylvester Gawi’s bog with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz