Statement:
The situation in Bougainville is a war of national liberation in exercise of the right to self-determination.
Background:
For eight years, a war for self-rule has been fought on this Papua New Guinea-controlled island. After Papua New Guinea obtained independence from Australia in 1975, a secessionist threat by Bougainville was mollified by granting the island self-government. Fighting began in 1988 when land owners were denied billions of dollars in compensation for environmental damage caused by an Australian owned copper mine. The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) declared the island's independence in 1990 and maintained complete control until 1992.
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) are said to be especially brutal, but there are also allegations that the BRA has carried out extrajudicial killings of suspected spies. The PNGDF has blockaded needed food and medical supplies from civilians and is alleged to have forcibly removed 20,000-40,000 villagers to "care centers," and then burned their villages. Since the beginning of the conflict, Papua New Guinea has suspended constitutional, judicial, and other human rights protections.
Current Situation:
The PNGDF launched a new offensive against the BRA in the spring of 1996, but the rebels continue to control most of the island's south and central regions. The attack increased the numbers of displaced and led to acute food shortages.
The October 1996 murder of Theodore Miriung, a former rebel and legal council to the BRA who had recently accepted a post as head of a transitional government for the island, has set back the momentum towards peace begun by last year's multiple rounds of talks. The PNGDF is believed to be responsible for his death, but it remains undermined. The BRA have asked for a vote on independence under the auspices of the U.N. and with the presence of international peacekeepers.
An estimated 6000 people have died in the fighting.
U.N. Action:
ECOSOC Dec. 1994/267.
Comm'n Res. 1995/65. Comm'n Res. 1994/81.
Comm'n Res. 1993/76. Comm'n Dec.
1993/111.
Sub-Comm'n Res. 1994/21. Sub-Comm'n Res. 1992/19.
Rpt. Sec.-Gen. (E/CN.4/1996/58).
Rpt. Sec.-Gen. (E/CN.4/1995/60 & Add.1).
Rpt. Sec.-Gen. (E/CN.4/1994/58).
Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture (P. Kooijmans: E/CN.4/1991/17).
Reports of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions:
(S. Amos Wako: E/CN.4/1991/36).
(Bacre Waly N'diaye: E/CN.4/1994/7; E/CN.4/1996/4 & Add.2).