21 July 2009
By Judith Martin
A lushly green island just east of Papua New Guinea, was one of the jewels of the Pacific until it was ravaged by a bitter 10-year war in which as many as 15,000 people may have died.
The crisis in Bougainville began in 1989, and at the core of the conflict was the huge Panguna copper mine, and Panguna landowners. Although Bougainville is an island of Papua New Guinea, many Bougainvillians are ethnically different from Papua New Guineans, and much of the conflict arose out of a sense of ethnic difference. Landowners felt alienated from their land, and wanted a share in mine profits, and greater environmental protection for their land.
Violence erupted in January 1989 between the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. A resistance movement was later to form when hundreds of BRA combatants broke away and aligned themselves to the PNGDF.
The New Zealand Defence Force’s role in the peacekeeping process in Bougainville began with the signing of the Endeavour Peace Accord on board HMNZS Endeavour off the island’s coast in 1990, as HMNZ ships Waikato and Canterbury waited nearby.
It was a fragile peace however, and the bloodshed and displacement of people continued, virtually unabated.
Statistics paint a dismal picture of a community that once enjoyed among the best health and education systems in the south Pacific, and a relatively high standard of living.
It is estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 people may have died in the conflict, either killed in skirmishes or as a result of disease which became rampant as the island’s infrastructure disintegrated. Up to 40,000 people were displaced as whole villages were razed, including schools, hospitals and health clinics.
In 1997 New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Don McKinnon helped negotiate the Burnham Peace Talks in Christchurch, which were attended by representatives of all factions involved in Bougainville. The Burnham Truce was signed, and in October 1987 the New Zealand-led truce Monitoring Team deployed to Bougainville. It consisted of NZDF personnel, Australian Defence and civilian personnel, and military personnel from Fiji and Vanuatu.
Personnel from 2 Engineer regiment played a vital role, not only in reconstruction on the island, but in the early days of negotiations with the Bougainvillians. At least two spoke fluent Pidgin English, had extensive experience working with Pacific communities, and they were able to facilitate talks on the island, and look after delegations during peace talks.
A joint New Zealand/Australian reconnaissance team prepared the way for the Truce Monitoring Group (TMG), to which the New Zealand Government committed 150 Army personnel, a detachment of Iroquois helicopters, and for varying periods, HMNZ ships Canterbury, Manawanui and Endeavour.
The first three-month rotation of the New Zealand-lead TMG from November 1997 to March 1998 was lead by Brig. Roger Mortlock.
The second three-month rotation of the TMG was led by then Brig. Jerry Mateparae (March–June 1998).
After the peace accord was signed the TMG became the PMG (Peace Monitoring Group) and became an Australian-led mission from this time on.
The number of NZDF personnel on the island was reduced. A weapons disposal plan began in May 2001, and in June 2003 the second stage of the disposal plan was verified by the United Nations, leaving the way clear for elections to be held for an autonomous Bougainville government.
The derelict copper processing plant at Loloho looked an eyesore when the RNZN ships Canterbury and Endeavour first sighted what was to become the logistics base and home for the majority of New Zealand, Australian, Fijian and Vanuatu peacekeepers.
One more casualty of the Bougainville conflict, it had been wrecked inside and out, and had burnt-out vehicles and machinery lying around. There was no electricity, although a power plant was just outside the port compound, but that, too, had been destroyed in the war.
One of Canterbury’s first jobs was to survey the wharf and adjacent seabed, as there was a concern booby-traps may have been set. The ship’s company then set to with shovels, brooms and hoses, making the structure which came to be known as the “opera house”, and adjacent buildings habitable. Makeshift ablution blocks were built, and the frigate’s electricians rewired the base and wharf lighting. Tradesmen from the ship rebuilt houses to be used by truce monitors at bases in Buin and Arawa.
Canterbury returned to New Zealand, and was replaced by HMNZ ships Endeavour and Manawanui. Endeavour held fuel for the No.3 Squadron helicopter detachment. The diving tender Manawanui, with divers embarked, tried unsuccessfully to remove a wreck from Kieta Harbour. The wreck, a small coastal freighter, had become caught up in the conflict and had been sunk in the harbour, where it was blocking a roll-on, roll-off ramp that was needed.
While the sunken freighter could not be moved far, many tonnes of supplies were, with Manawanui making frequent trips to Papua New Guinea to pick up food and petrol, the latter for use in the Army’s landrovers.
Laying the foundations for the push for peace in Bougainville fell to Major General (Rtd) Clive Lilley.
Then a Colonel, MAJGEN Lilley led a 30-strong team of NZDF and Australian Defence Force personnel to the war-torn island to prepare for the arrival of the Truce Monitoring Team.
An RNZAF C-130 Hercules landed him and his team on the island of Buka at the northern tip of Bougainville. The first of his many tasks was to get engineering equipment across the Buka strait and down to Kieta, so the Aropa airfield there could be repaired and reinstated.
The once-international airport was full of metre-deep trenches, and in the heart of Bougainville Revolutionary Army territory. It had been destroyed during the crisis to prevent aircraft from landing, and had to be reopened by a specific date to enable the truce-monitoring mission to proceed.
Things did not run smoothly when he first arrived. The ship which was to take equipment across the strait, left earlier than expected, and the roads on the island were only just passable, being overgrown after 10 years without maintenance, with bridges washed away. An Army truck and back hoe tractor took two full days to travel the 175km south to Arawa.
MAJGEN Lilley said he made it clear at the first meeting held with Bougainville officials and protagonists that that they were unarmed, and that if the locals wanted international support his team must be able to move around without threat.
“When I was in BRA territory I made sure I always took someone from the PNGDF with me, and if I went into their territory, I took a BRA person with me. It was one method we used in the early days of breaking down animosities.”
In between sorting out where various bases should be established there were extensive discussions held with village leaders, and representatives of the various factions on the island. The truce monitors’ mission was explained, and local co-operation sought.
The team established a logistics base at the almost derelict copper processing plant beside the wharf at Loloho. The latter was to become the base for most of the truce and peace monitors for the next five years. A headquarters, and housing for the first of the truce monitors, was also established. The team decided which port would be most appropriate, and what area would be suitable for the RNZAF helicopter squadron that was soon to arrive.
New Zealand was at the forefront of forging peace on the island after a first tentative maritime mission there in 1990.
Thirteen years later, New Zealand Defence Force peace monitors left the island. The vicious fighting of the 1990s had stopped, most of the island’s weapons had been contained and disposed of, and the United Nations had verified that elections could be held for an autonomous Bougainville government.
The dry, almost breath-taking heat was Kelly Carter’s first impression of Bougainville.
It was the first overseas deployment for the then 19-year-old Signaler Carter.
“We received a really great welcome from the people we were replacing. But the heat really took a lot of getting used to. At first I used to try to stay awake at night because it felt like I might not wake up again, the heat was so intense.”
Now Sergeant Carter, a physical training instructor at Burnham Camp, says the deployment was a significant milestone in her military career. It allowed her to develop, among other things, leadership and organisational skills, and to discover exactly what she was capable of as a soldier.
“When I arrived in Bougainville I was nervous and a bit scared I suppose. But as time went by and I was given more responsibility and I gained confidence I realised being there was one of the best things that had ever happened to me.”
SGT Carter was the Headquarters signaler, which involved logging all communications, and relaying messages for the HQ element. When she had been on the island for about a month an RNZAF colleague took sick leave, and she took over his role as ground liaison officer, working with the RAAF helicopter element deployed on the mission.
“I worked directly with the Australians, organising their schedules and sorting out where the helos were going on the island. It was a real challenge and I loved it.”
The sports-loving soldier played volleyball and basketball with other military personnel and local Bougainvillians. There were always games organised, and the New Zealand contingent had turned a small part of the camp into “Kiwi Corner”.
SGT Carter was the first and only female to be part of the GMT (ground maintenance team) trained by the Australian SAS. “We were called on if there was a threat on the compound and we all had our positions and roles on evacuating the compound in a withdrawal scenario. We trained in vests and helmets, using batons and night vision kit, and worked alongside the navy ships with our zodiac boats - practising getting on and off the ship while it was moving. We also did hoisting - in and out of the helicopters which were at a hover.
“This was extra training after hours and into the night - it was a real challenge being so physical and having to hold your own. I learned a lot during the training exercises like beaching the zodiacs (inflatable boats) and driving them alongside the ships to off-load soldiers, driving them onto the ship itself when the front of the ship came down. Even driving the vehicles off the ships was a challenge, just getting the wheels all lined up! Doing all this at night as well with night vision was as you can imagine, at times very interesting to say the least!
“Another amazing part was the networking - I still speak to and catch up regularly with people I worked with over there.”
Timeline
- 1973 PNG attains self-government
- 1975 Bougainville votes to secede from PNG, adopts the title of North Solomons, and declares independence.
- 1981 Provincial Bougainville government demands equity in Bougainville Copper Ltd, better royalties, and environmental protection.
- 1990 March PNG Government security forces withdraw. Bougainville Revolutionary Army assumes control and declares an independent republic.
August Three Royal New Zealand Navy warships deploy to the Bougainville coast to act as a venue for peace talks between the Papua New Guinea Government and secessionist leaders. The Endeavour Accord is signed.
September PNG Government security forces return.
- 1995 Bougainville Transitional Government established under PNG Government.
- 1997 July Burnham Peace Talks (Round 1) results in Burnham Declaration, committing all parties to unify and reconcile.
October Burnham: Burnham Truce signed. The New Zealand-led Truce Monitoring Group deployed to Bougainville.
- 1998 January Lincoln: Permanent ceasefire signed by PNG and Bougainville leaders.
May Australian-led Peace Monitoring Group replaces the Truce Monitoring Group. Formal cease-fire comes into force.
- 2001 May Weapons Containment Plan begins
- 2003 June Verification of Stage 2 of the Weapons Disposal Plan under consideration by the United Nations.
June 30 Cessation of Peace Monitoring Group. Talks continue to decide future New Zealand involvement in Bougainville.