Goodbye Bougainville

Packed up and ready to go home .... Peace Monitoring Group and Aeromedical Evacuation Team members Squadron Leader Kathleen Pyne, Flight Sergeant Peter Jackman and Leading Aircraftwoman Fiona Scholes. Photo by CPL Belinda Mepham.

From his perch on the shoulders of his dad, Sam Simiha, 7, high-fives CDF General Peter Cosgrove at celebrations to mark the end of the PMG. Photo by CPL Belinda Mepham.

By CAPT Matt Grant and
CPL Belinda Mepham

AFTER more than five years in which 4000 personnel have monitored the peace process in Bougainville, the multinational Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) has ceased operations.

Operation Bel Isi II members stood in soaking rain with thousands of Bougainvilleans on June 30 at Independence Park in Arawa to celebrate the cessation of the PMG.

The Wakunai Cultural Group danced and made an offering of food as recognition for the part the PMG had played during its five-year term.

Under a leaky tent an Army band played for the local children’s school group choir who sung the PNG national anthem and Bougainville’s provincial anthem in a downpour.

After the formal ceremony, a lunch for visitors, representatives and PMG members was held at Loloho Wharf.

The PMG comprised unarmed military and civilian personnel from four nations – Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu – which maintained neutrality in all dealings with the people of Bougainville.

The ultimate goal of all the parties involved in the Bougainville peace process has been to create the conditions in which peace will be self-sustaining.

This work has involved a number of strategies aimed at weapons containment and assisting in the establishment of a framework that will provide a secure and peaceful future.

A prime objective has been to provide support during the transition to the establishment of the autonomous Bougainville Government under the terms of the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

PMG Commander Brigadier Ian Lillie said the value of the work carried out by the PMG was not only in weapons containment and furthering the peace process on Bougainville, but also in establishing a model of cooperation that set a new standard in the promotion of peace in a post-conflict situation.

“The wish of the people of Bougainville is to live in peace and the mandate of the PMG is to facilitate that desire,” he said. “It has not been a simple process but it has been rewarding. It has also been a valuable experience for the four nations contributing to the PMG and has established a new benchmark that will stand as a reference point for the future of peace in the region.

“For more than five years the men and women who make up the PMG have worked to form strong and lasting bonds with the Bougainvilleans.

“There are many among us who will return home with fond memories of Bougainville in our hearts. Our hope is that we will leave the legacy of peace and friendship in the hearts of the Bougainvilleans.”

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