Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama has called for greater understanding of his people’s history and their journey toward achieving their political aspirations, economic development and continued peace-building efforts.
“Our aspirations for self-determination existed well before the idea of an independent Papua New Guinea came into being,” he said during the Bougainville House of Representatives sitting last Wednesday.
“For more than a century our people have expressed our aspirations for independence.
“This was driven by our cultural identity, geography and more importantly our historical experiences with the colonialists and in the recent past, the government of Papua New Guinea.
“To truly understand the aspirations of our people, which is reflected by the 97.7 percent of the people who want independence, you must understand Bougainville’s story in full.
“You must understand our history, our contributions to nation building and you must understand the sacrifices that we have made.”
Toroama was responding to the report tabled by Bipartisan Parliamentary Committee on Bougainville Matters chairman and Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat in Parliament on 02 June, which prompted discussions and views shared by MPs.
“The discussions in the Parliament gave us first-hand the expressed views of national leaders on Bougainville’s history, our government, and, more importantly, our political aspirations for a future independent sovereign state of Bougainville,” he said.
“The most important point that Bougainville and PNG must remember is that autonomy was never intended to be our final destination. Autonomy was intended to be a transitional arrangement to allow Bougainville to rebuild after the war while preparing for a future political settlement.
“Many of the so-called failures of autonomy stem from the fact that Bougainville has been rebuilding a post-conflict society under an arrangement that was intended to be transitional and not in any way permanent.”
Toroama reiterated that the Bougainville Peace Agreement remained the foundation of the political process and emphasised that autonomy was established as a transitional arrangement to support Bougainville’s post-conflict recovery while preparing for a future political settlement.
“If there is to be a genuine understanding and lasting peace, it must begin with honestly acknowledging our history and respecting the democratic will of our people,” he said.
