whole economy now, and I don’t know

where we are going. I don’t think any body else does either; and that is very

frightening.”

In the third week of January, the country was subjected to escalating vio lence on Bougainville and throughout the country. In direct retaliation to the Government announcement of an all out

military operation, Bougainville militants

stole into the Kuveria prison on Wednes day, January 17, and killed seven people.

Two adults were incinerated when the house which they were sleeping in was torched, four warders and a young girl were shot. The mostly Bougainvillean prisoners were freed.

That week a 15-seater Sirkosy helicop ter and various properties throughout Bougainville were burnt. Previously, un touched Buka island on the northern tip of Bougainville was affected when the Government station there was torched as well. For the first time since the crisis began, a Briton resident of Australia was killed by militants.

It was also a warning to Australian ministers attending a PNGAustralia joint ministerial forum in Port Moresby that the militants were serious.

Whether intentionally or uninten tionally two Australian citizens, including a journalist were wounded in the same week. The message hit home. Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Senator Gareth Evans announced that Australia would evacuate its citizens on Bougainville if their lives were in dan ger. Bougainville Copper mine brought its resting heavy equipment into use on

Friday, January 19, and completed an

airfield in two days. The airfield on the mine site, is reportedly large enough to take a Hercules aircraft.

At the same time, PNG requested Au stralia at the ministerial forum for assist ance to solve its economic and Bougain ville crisis. Australia agreed to help fund, train and equip an additional 600 men for the defence force. Australian defence instructors are to fly into the country in the next few weeks to conduct training of soldiers before they are deployed on Bougainville.

A shipment of small arms are also re ported to be on the way from Australia to replenish depleted supplies on Bougainville. Australia has also commit ted an additional K 1 million on top of a Kl 4 million five-year project aid prog ramme to upgrade the PNG police force.

The additional aid will be used to up grade the mobile and riot squads of the constabulary. No commitment was made on a request for K 15.5 million uncom mitted, budget support aid. That is the scene which opened the New Year and the decade for 15-year-old Papua New Guinea. □