The Guardian 20 July, 2005
"A new Bougainville
with a new generation at its helm"
"It was a very special time; a lot of people had tears in their eyes as the flag went up just as
sunrise was breaking through from the Eastern horizon", said Moses Havini, describing the
birth of the Autonomous Bougainville. Representatives and friends from Papua New Guinea
and the international community joined the people of Bougainville in celebrations from June
14-16 as they raised the flag and inaugurated the swearing-in of members the first
Autonomous Government of Bougainville.
"I was lost for words, a bit choked as well with tears; to sit there and realise that all our work,
however long it took, was finally worth it", wrote Moses Havini after the ceremony. Mr Havini, who
was the Bougainville representative in Australia, returned to Bougainville towards the end of May to
observe the elections and assist with the formation of the new government. On board the same
flight as him were the last of the "international observers" flying in to observe and monitor the
historic Bougainville elections.
The "all our work" he refers to has its origins in an independence struggle dating back three
decades or more, including the forced closure of the Bougainville Copper mine at Panguna by
angry landowners in 1989, then 10 years of war followed by eight years of reconciliation and
difficult negotiations. This resulted in the Papua New Guinea government ratifying a new
constitution for Bougainville, giving it autonomy and providing for a referendum on full
independence within 10-15 years.
Historically, geographically, culturally and ethnically Bougainville is linked with the Solomon
Islands. Its attachment to Papua New Guinea is a legacy of 19th and 20th century carve-ups of the
region by colonial powers. (See Guardian 1-6-05 for more background information.)
So when voting began on May 20 for a president and 39 other members of the new house of
representatives it was a very emotional occasion with memories of the hardships of war and the
loss of life and suffering that took place, and as Mr Havini said, the realisation that it was "finally
worth it".
On arrival, Mr Havini proceeded immediately to Gnalkobul, his home village, on Buka Island, to the
north of Bougainville to be welcomed by his clan.
"Whilst at home in Gnalkobul I did my usual 'bush/forest inspection' accompanied by the men of the
clan. I also used the 'digi walker' to measure the distances from the village to all the important
'landmarks' right up to the head of the land. From the village on the coast to the interior is nearly 8
km — quite a distance, I must say. We cleared a spot on the headland where we will plant some
fruit trees to mark the area, and possibly the second settlement/village for our clan to expand and
use the land.
"Along the way, we heard some dogs barking, apparently hot on the trail of wild boars as we could
hear them squealing from the track. So Hihis broke away from our party to check the dogs. He
walked straight into the chase as the dogs cornered the pig against the roots of a giant tree and he
completed the hunt with his machete. He waited for the owner of the dogs to turn up to hand over
the kill, but guess what?
"These packs of dogs were wild dogs hunting on their own as they took off immediately as soon as
they saw Hihis. So all the families were all shocked when we came home with some meat for the
farewell party! The party went very well, speeches and lots of tucker."
Long-awaited occasion
Polling commenced as scheduled and international observers were posted in all major centres of
Bougainville, observing and monitoring the election. These included Australia, New Zealand, the
United Nations and members of Pacific Islands governments. The Head of the Observer Mission
was a representative from the Fiji government.
"This was an occasion that the people had been long waiting for — to exercise their democratic
rights in electing representatives to their own Legislature. As a result of this the people literally
voted with their feet. They turned up in their hundreds to their respective polling stations to caste
their votes. The excitement was infectious…", said Mr Havini in a letter from
Bougainville.
"The people and their Chiefs in effect were in total control of the polling, from beginning to end.
Each candidate was given a fair hearing despite unsubstantiated rumours of 'vote buying' by some
well-heeled candidates."
New President
Joseph Kabui, the leader of the Bougainville Peoples Congress Party (BPCP) was elected with an
outright majority and convincing lead of almost 15,000 over his nearest rival John Momis (37,928 to
22,970 votes). The other three candidates were far behind, the most successful of them receiving
only 2710 votes.
Mr Momis had resigned as a regional MP for Bougainville in the PNG Parliament just weeks before
the Bougainville election writs were issued, and formed his Bougainville First Party, believing that
the electorate was on his side. He had been the Bougainville MP in the PNG parliament for 33
years. (The BPCP was formed in response to Momis's formation of the Bougainville First
party.)
Whereas Mr Kabui had only stood for one provincial government election in 1988 which he won
from a Momis-backed candidate for the premiership of the then "North Solomons Province". While
a "rookie" in elections, he was close to his people, having played a leading role in the war and
negotiations that followed, never letting up in his pursuit of an independent Bougainville.
As Momis was lagging behind and never managing to catch up to Kabui, serious allegations began
to be raised from his camp that there was "vote rigging" going on in Central Bougainville, where
Kabui comes from.
Even before the counting ended, the PNG government, unannounced, dispatched its official
government plane, the Kumul 1 with three lawyers to Bougainville to start digging up dirt on Kabui.
This immediately caused a widespread stir in Bougainville that the "PNG Government" was now
interfering in Bougainville matters. The Administrator was so furious that he publicly made his
disappointment known to the PNG government. The Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare replied
that, as far as he was concerned, he could land his plane anywhere he liked. The Administrator
responded by saying, he could land his plane on the moon if he wanted to, but on Bougainville
authorities had to be informed first.
Following the election, Mr Momis claimed that he was wrongly robbed of the "presidency" but,
discredited by the helicopter incident, has since pulled back from challenging the results and
handed over leadership of his party to the member for Tonsu, Izekiel Mazat.
Observers praise election conduct
The Report of the Polling presented by the international observers to the PNG government
confirmed that, this was the most trouble-free and most orderly poll they have observed in a long
while. This Report was presented to the PNG Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare as true and
accurate.
There were some difficulties with many eligible voters not being registered and roadblocks in one
area preventing voters reaching polls.
The incomplete registration of voters has its roots in historical events caused by the war and PNG's
decade-long blockade of Bougainville and lack of realisation by many people that they were not on
the new post-war register. Steps are being taken to rectify this for future elections.
The roadblocks, however, were erected by the Mekamui Faction headed by long-time fighter for
independence, recluse Francis Ona, who although remaining outside the election process, did
allow people to proceed to the polling booths towards the end of voting.
In true Bougainville tradition, Mr Ona and the Mekamui Faction have been given their due respect
and are being encouraged to "remove the roadblocks" so that services such as schools, health, etc,
could be provided in their area.
"Our leaders however swallowed hard, to forgive this kind of immature behaviour by Francis Ona
and his so-called Mekamui government. Our leaders understood that one has the right to choose
whether to vote or not to vote, but not to prevent others from doing so", said Mr Havini.
Grand coalition
BPCP members were elected to 35 of the 40 seats (including presidency), giving Mr Kabui a
substantial majority.
Following the elections, Mr Mazat, the new leader of the New Bougainville Party told a press
conference that his party was ready to work under President Kabui with all newly elected members
of the Autonomous Bougainville Government.
Mr Kabui welcomed the New Bougainville Party to the fold and said he was willing to work with all
elected members. He said this new development is a victory for the people of Bougainville. He also
announced his intention to run the Autonomous Bougainville Government as a grand
coalition.
As of midnight Thursday June 9, 2005, the Interim Bougainville Provincial Government ceased to
exist. The Swearing-In Ceremony of the President and a Care-taker Cabinet was conducted in
Arawa, Central Bougainville on Friday June 10, 2005.
Traditional Initiation Ceremony
Moses writes: "The Swearing-In Ceremony on June 10 was two-fold.
"There was first of all a 'Traditional Initiation Ceremony' performed on the president-elect, by the
Lavele Clan [his wife Rose's clan]; called the 'Poma Traditional Ceremony', where a Chief is
officially installed.
"This gathering was empowering the new President of Bougainville with a traditional, chiefly
mandate, his traditional power to be a leader of Bougainville."
"He was adorned with traditional beroanas [shell money worn on his chest] and a kind of a hat that
resembles the Upei. He then entered through a special entrance and on the ground, stood on the
pig, for final empowerment."
The Upei is the symbol in the centre of the flag, a headdress used in the initiation or coming of age
ceremony, unique to Bougainville. It has become a symbol of unity for Bougainville since the
1970s, as an initiation to nationhood.
"So, he is not only a Chief in his own clan but also a Chief in his wife's clan, with a wide mandate to
lead the new Autonomous Government", said Mr Havini.
"This is unheard of recognition by a 'tambu' [in-law] clan, to receive him as their own chief, for him
to be respected in a much closer way than one can ever be to a 'tambu'.
"Obviously, Rose Kabui's clan are witnessing to all of Bougainville their belief in the integrity and
leadership of this special individual who has been elected as the first historical President for all of
Bougainville."
The second, official swearing-in ceremony, with its western electoral style mandate complemented
the traditional chiefly mandate from the first traditional ceremony.
The care-taker cabinet took over governance until the full government took office 14 days
later.
Historic day
The official Inauguration began on Tuesday June 14. PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare
attended along with other representatives from PNG, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and
other Pacific Nations besides the UNOMB (United Nations Observer Mission to Bougainville)
representing the United Nations.
"What can I say, but the anticipation that came from everyone you could read on their faces, was
just like expecting the birth of a new baby! The participation of all the students from all the
secondary schools, primary and elementary schools was just amazing. They put on a lovely show
for the people in displaying the Bougainville Flag in different colours on the ground.
"It was almost like the opening of the Olympic Games in 2000 in Sydney. Besides this display, they
were also displaying and running with two huge flags, about 30 kg each."
Sacred ceremonies
A couple of the MPs came in their traditional attire including Hon. Fransisca Semoso.
Semoso put together a Sole dancing group in her village at Gogohe to dance and bring her to the
official dais. The Gogohe Sole dancing group in all their traditional dress did dance the Sole, and
brought her right up to the official dais. She thus chose to involve and honour women during this
time of celebration and not only during her polling. The Sole is part of a sacred traditional ceremony
to escort a bride to a betrothal ceremony. In this case it was used to escort the elected female
leader, acknowledging the role of women in Bougainville society.
The other highlight was the "UPEI group" of young boys undergoing initiation deep in the jungles of
Kunua, north west Bougainville. They came days before the Inauguration, camping in the coconut
plantation/bush just outside of the Hahela Catholic Mission. Once the Swearing-In Ceremony was
concluded, the MPs proceeded to the Parliament House to have their First Session. They were led
by this Upei group as a sign of empowerment and legitimacy.
"The final part of this ceremony was the official Swearing-In Ceremony and taking of Oath to the
new Autonomous Government of Bougainville. Then there was the very impressive Police Parade
and Guard of Honour, inspected by Prime Minister Somare and President Kabui. It was quite
amazing to see an all 'Bougainville Police Force' … very smart and performing to the occasion."
Special souvenir cards with the Bougainville flag printed on them were distributed to the
international and PNG dignitaries; and all the new MPs of the House of
Representatives.
"The day was concluded with lots of traditional singsings/dances, the people celebrating with much
gusto and happiness."
Mr Havini described it as a "historical day for Bougainville", the "Harvest Day for Bougainville to put
it in plain language".
"As we harvest the first fruits, then we must also now begin replanting the new
'gardens'."
Challenges
"Our challenges will be to make sure that we plant the 'right crop' and to be very aggressive
towards weeding out the 'weeds'. If we sow on 'rocky soil', i.e., a corrupt system, then we will end
up in the 'pig pens'. I am going to insist that we institute more anti-corruption
mechanisms."
"Well, the big challenge is that we obviously first have to find ways and means of trying to get
money for Bougainville and get our policies in place and to ensure that the autonomy that we have
now in place has got money to support it, to make it work. And this is funding on top of funding that
is already legislated in the peace agreement come into Bougainville in the form of grants", Mr Kabui
told a journalist. The government must also look at means of raising their own revenues from within
Bougainville.
"Education is going to be one of our number one priorities followed up with of course health", said
Mr Kabui. "Apart from that, communication is one area we will also look into … equipping all parts
of Bougainville with modern communications."
Recalling the role of the students in the celebrations, Mr Havini said, "The vision that came to me
was 'this is their celebration, their show, their era and this ABG is theirs'. We the 'lapuns' [old
people and elders] were simply just clearing the new grounds for this 'new seed' to
germinate."
"It once again re-assured me that the 'struggle had been legitimate all along' for the people to
receive and to enjoy their 'human right'. It was also good for all our visitors, PNG Officials and
others to see and witness that this was a 'new Bougainville with a new generation' at its
helm."
Three regional seats were specifically for women. One of those, Magdalena Toroansi, is now a
cabinet minister in the ABG and Francisca Semoso is deputy speaker of parliament.
"More than three-quarters of the Members of Parliament are new leaders in politics. In one sense
this is a good sign. It shows the way forward, new blood and no way can they look
back."