Party leader hopes to end war

By Wally Hiambohn

A NEW mediator has appeared on the scene with the hope of bringing an end to the war on Bougainville. Joseph Onguglo, leader and sole member of the Blacks Action Party in the local sense has the remotest connection with Bou gainville, but being a Papua New Guinea nationalist whose political

party’s principles mean Papua New

Guinea for Papua New Guineans he has made very radical suggestions to solving the Bougainville crisis. His party is offering that if it gets into government it will grant amnesty to Francis Ona and his band of rebels who started the armed conflict, grant 100 per cent ownership of the Panguna copper mine to landowners who would then contract developers (the same would go for any other resource projects in the country), and the party would push for the immediate full involvement of the United Nations in bringing normalcy to the island.

While Port Moresby took a passing interest or ignored it as another poli

tician seeking publicity, those with connections with the Bougainville Rev-

olutionary Army (BRA) seized the

opportunity and took Ongugio into

their confidence. ' '

... , . . „ . . 0 W Jthin a , we <* Ongugio was m the Solomon Islands capital Honiara to h . old talks , wlth B RA representatives, those oi the sell-styled Bougainville Interim Government, and even members of the Solomon Islands govern- JJjrludmg Prime Minister francis Blll Y Hilly to seek a way to rekindle the hope for renewed dialogue for peace which had been lost since the Endeavour Accord and the Honiara Declarations of three years ago.

The talks led to Ongugio speaking to BRA commander Francis Ona by radio.

In their discussions Qua indicated his endorsement of Onguglo’s party policies y or cer t a i n members of the Bougainville insurgency to be granted amnesty from prosecution, that the Panguna mine be £ wned 100 per cent by landowners who would then contact foreign developers, and that the United Nations take full charge of the peace process on the

island, as being the first step in the right direction and “only realistic way’ to establishing dialogue between the two disputing parties the PNG govern ment and pro-secessionist rebels, , , , , ,•

Ona also agreed to Ongugio leading

a delegation of Pacific parliamentarians to visit the rebel-held areas which was, for security reasons, avoided by an

Australian parliamentary delegation

which toured the government con trolled areas the same week. In a statement Ona issued alter speaking with Ongugio he said —• “We are most encouraged by the fact that we have had this chance to talk directly with a parliamentarian from PNG after all these years. We fully endorse the

principles being proposed by Ongugio

and his Blacks Acd ° n Part^* “We still believe that it is a matter that we Bougainvilleans need to sort out among ourselves before we talk formally with PNG about a political settlement ...” Ona said a lot needed to be done to bring peace to Bougainville and that he welcomed Ongugio s fresh initiatives as “a promising start . D