PNG faces biggest political crisis since 1975
PNG faces biggest political crisis since 1975
By Michael Perry
PORT MORESBY (Reuter): A military solution to the conflict on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island looked as far away as ever this week as the country faces its biggest political crisis since independence from Australia in 1975.
About 200 Papua New Guinea soldiers have been killed on Bougainville since secessionist rebels began their offensive in 1989, a source of turmoil for a nation already beset by widespread poverty, corruption and lawlessness.
Nobody really knows how many rebels, civilians or militia members have died in the conflict but estimates run as high as 10,000, mostly from disease and malnutrition on the blockaded island, 800 km (500 miles) north-east of Port Moresby.
Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan's latest efforts to solve the crisis could hardly have backfired more.
His plan to hire 70 mercenaries to assist government troops ended up with the army in revolt and the mercenaries kicked out by the very soldiers they were supposed to fight alongside.
Brigadier-General Jerry Singirok, who led the army revolt against the government and has called for dialogue with the rebels, was sacked for disloyalty, but apparently remains in control of the defense force.
As Chan's government wrestles with the latest crisis, some question whether the battle for Bouganville is worth it.
When Lt. Michael Jim of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force was killed in September while trying to rally his men against Bougainville Revolutionary Army rebels, his family, like many before, took out a condolence message in the local media.
"You have wasted your life," read the message in Port Moresby's Post Courier newspaper. "And we have lost you to a lost cause."
Singirok, with his allegations of corruption and his calls for more government accountability, spoke to a general mood of discontent and disillusionment in the country.
"What is happening out here on the streets and around the country is the cries of millions of Papua New Guineans who do not have services," he said as looters rampaged through Port Moresby last week.
Central government is often more a notion than a reality in this country where sorcery and cults co-exist with Christianity and a Westminster political system, and where tribal and political warfare have been a way of life for generations.
Adding to the challenge is Papua New Guinea's mix of more than 700 languages and ethnic groups among the country's 4.3 million people.
Bougainville itself is geographically and ethnically part of the Solomon Islands chain. Some say it could have ended up as part of the Solomon Islands independent nation during a 19th Century carve-up of colonies between Britain and Germany.
The main prize on the island is the giant Panguna copper mine, owned by Anglo-Australian mining group RTZ-CRA, which was generating a third of Papua New Guinea's foreign exchange before it was closed by rebel activity in 1989.
Since independence, various PNG governments have struggled to instill a national ethos that would unite the country.
But politicians themselves have failed to create a binding party system. Political allegiances are often bought and sold, sparking frequent votes of no confidence in parliament.
Since independence, none of the country's three main parties has adopted a clear ideological position or attracted a dominant membership. The parliament has one house and its 109 members regularly cross the floor to join another party.
Chan has won the prime ministership twice, but never at the ballot box. Both times he toppled rivals in no confidence votes. Politicians also struggle to balance allegiances to people in their constituencies with their political responsibilities, leading to conflicts of interest and corruption.
The two most publicized disputes between villagers and the state in recent years have been at the big Ok Tedi gold/copper mine, controlled by The Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd of Australia, and on Bougainville. In both cases, landowners rejected government deals with mining companies.
In PNG's traditional society, leaders maintain power by acquiring and distributing wealth.
Politicians have tried to emulate this system, using a government-approved slush fund to buy votes during elections. But political analysts say it has also resulted in corruption and allowed some politicians to accumulate enormous wealth.
A 1989 inquiry into the forest industry, for example, found bribes were widespread in the granting of timber leases.
The inquiry also found evidence that corrupt government officials allowed firms to ignore environmental clauses in their contracts. In 1991, deputy prime minister Ted Diro resigned following corruption allegations linked to the inquiry.
Political analysts say corruption will be a major issue in the upcoming election in June. Many feel voters will vent their anger at Chan and his ministers for failing to ensure that their resource-rich nation provided them with a better life.