Bougainville Agreement
p. 15 · Read in the full issue
In ‘True Melanesian Style’
Bougainville Island will stay with Papua New Guinea. .. !? la I nd ' s leaders announced on August 9 the end of secession pressures which had threatened to split the young nation of PNG. And in the National Parlia ment in Port Moresby the Prime Minister, Mr Somare, announced that he had signed a formal agreement of unity with Bougainville.
Under the agreement, the island's 100,000 people will gel defined revenues and will hold defined powers over many of their own affairs. But they will recognise the central authority of the PNG Government and their own status as a province of PNG.
The Bougainville signatories to the agreement were led by the Premier-elect of Bougainville Province, Dr Alexis Sarei, who flew to Port Moresby for the final stages of the unity negotiations.
Mr Somare revealed to parliament that by January this year he had considered the situation -beyond hope". But extreme patience, and a true spirit of com promise on both sides, had brought a settlement in what he called "true Melane sian style".
The joint communique which Mr Somare tabled in parliament also used the expression "true Melanesian spirit" in attaining a settlement of the secession cold war.