‘Stupid Explanation’: Bougainville Slams New Zealand Over Military Aircraft Landing In Buka

Teuila
Fuatai, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

The
Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) is criticising
Aotearoa over the presence of a New Zealand Defence Force
(NZDF) plane in the region.

The Hercules aircraft
landed in Buka, in the autonomous region of Papua New
Guinea, last Thursday to deliver humanitarian supplies. It
is in the country for a range of military activities that
were being co-ordinated by the Papua New Guinea Defence
Force (PNGDF), with ten countries participating in the
military activities.

Bougainville Attorney-General
Ezekiel Massat said the plane’s flight and landing in Buka
breached the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) as his
government had no prior knowledge of it. The landing also
occurred the day before the region went to the polls for its
general election.

The BPA states that while the PNGDF
may conduct activities in Bougainville, it must consult with
both its government and the Bougainville government before
doing so.

Massat said the tenet was fundamental to the
agreement and reflected the dark history and trauma of
Bougainville’s ten-year civil war and crisis.

“What we
saw in the crisis was the unilateral declaration by the PNG
government for a state of emergency. And based on that, the
military came into Bougainville, not only the PNG Defence
Force, but using military apparatus from the Australian
Government and it caused massive human rights
abuse.”

More than 20,000 people were believed to have
died in the conflict. Many disappeared without being
accounted for. Independence from Papua New Guinea remains a
key issue for the region.

Massat said there was no
excuse to override the Peace Agreement, and that New Zealand
should know better because it has been involved in brokering
and maintaining peace in the region for nearly 30
years.

“My sisters and daughters were raped. You know
the famous human rights pictures in South Africa where…
tires are doused in patrol and bent around [people’s] necks,
well that happened in Bougainville in my constituency,”
Massat said.

“I’m not going to sit around and accept
some stupid explanation from the New Zealand government that
they had permission to land.

“Of all the people, the
New Zealand government should be the first ones to know
about the Bougainville Peace Agreement. They were here.
They’ve been here since day one. We had a moderator from New
Zealand. The New Zealand police are still playing a big part
on Bougainville.”

In a statement, the NZDF said it
obtained permission to fly in the Papua New Guinea
airspace.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters also
acknowledged the dissatisfaction of the ABG, and a
spokesperson from his office reiterated the plane’s
humanitarian mission, which included the delivery of
first-aid equipment, books and clothing.

“As the
Attorney-General notes, New Zealand has a long, proud
association with Bougainville,” the spokesperson
said.

“The Minister is aware of the Attorney-General’s
public comments on this matter. He would be pleased to
re-connect with the Attorney-General, or another appropriate
representative of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, at
the right time to discuss this issue.”

Massat said he
was not dismissing the possibility that human error in a
government department may have led to the lack of required
consultation.

“The chief administrator has been
instructed to get to the bottom of this.”

Papua New
Guinea Prime Minister James Marape did not respond to
requests for comment.

Meanwhile, ballot counting for
the Bougainville election is expected to be underway
today.

The count was initially scheduled to begin on
Tuesday but was delayed due to major
flooding, which disrupted the transportation of ballot
boxes.

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