The “silent P” in the Asia-Pacific

BY NORMAN BREWER

SYDNEY – Representatives of different struggles for self-determination in the South Pacific region held workshops and featured plenaries at the 2nd Asia-Pacific International Solidarity Conference over Easter in Sydney. They 
gave a voice to the colonisation-riddled peoples of what Jimmy Naouna labelled the “forgotten part of the world” or the “silent P” in the Asia-Pacific. Naouna is the Assistant Director for Decolonisation and Indigenous Rights of 
the Pacific Concerns Resources Centre (PCRC), the Fiji-based secretariat of the numerous NGOs of the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement. The following article gives an overview of the current issues faced by the mainly 
Melanesian liberation movements and discussed in a stream of 6 workshops.

Papua New Guinea

The “Effects of globalisation on Papua New Guinea” were outlined by Dr Karen Kaipa on behalf of her colleague Dr Julienne Kaman from the Pacific Network for Globalisation (PANG). Both are academics at the University of PNG. 
Kaipa vividly described the destructive impact of capitalism and western-imposed parliamentary “democracy” on the traditional society of PNG. The decentralised nature of this still mainly tribal culture has handicapped the 
widespread grassroots movement against the now ongoing excessive privatisation. The anti-privatisation movement lacks the nation-wide cohesive organisation needed to effectively oppose the present neoliberal attacks by the IMF and the 
World Bank. These attacks are carried out by the submissive PNG Government and the still largely ustralian-controlled administration. They resulted in Australian-trained PNG riot police murdering 4 peaceful protesters in June last 
year.[ MORE CONTENTIOUS ALTERNATIVE TO LAST SENTENCE:The opposition to the privatisation campaigns has been led by the students, particularly those of the Port Moresby University of PNG, who have paid a heavy price for their stand. During student-led protests in June last year Australian-trained PNG riot police, normally used to protect Australian 
mining sites in the Highlands, were flown to Port Moresby and murdered 4 peaceful protesters, including 3 students. ]

In Australia unions and student groups, shocked by this now rather old-fashioned classical old-style colonialist aggression, reacted by forming a new PNG Solidarity Action group (PNGSA). Initially Sydney-based, PNGSA now 
has links throughout Australia. It organised the workshop on “International solidarity: the case of PNG and Australia”. Interviews with PNG students were shown in a new documentary by well-known filmmakers Mandy King and 
Fabio Cavadini (Frontyard Films). These provided an authentic insight into the hearts and minds of a new generation of increasingly organised activists.

The following lively discussion centered on the possibilities for activists here in Australia to raise awareness and organise support for our closest neighbours. A motion on key issues was formulated and later accepted unanimously by the entire conference (see separate article on this page).

PNGSA continues to work on these issues. It has initiated a well-received street theatre action together with Aid/Watch and the International Youth Parliament of Oxfam/Community Aid Abroad on M1 (May Day) at the Sydney 
World Bank office. PNGSA needs more activists for their fortnightly meetings to cover additional issues, such as the ongoing destructive logging, mineral exploitation/toxification, and writing submissions for the recently set up “Senate inquiry into Australia’s relationship with PNG and other Pacific island countries”.

Australian imperialism

In another well-attended workshop, Melita Grant from Aid/Watch investigated the “Commercialisation of aid in the Pacific”, and revealed the imperialist agenda of the allegedly so humanitarian Australian Government’s aid 
program. The allocation of AusAID money is highly selective and ultimately serves only Australian business interest.

In a case study Vikki John from the Bougainville Freedom Movement described the negative experience of the Bougainvillean people. These have struggled, especially since the war began in 1988, against the intended divisive and corruptive impact of “big money” on their predominantly subsistence economy. In a divide and conquer strategy the Australian government used its “humanitarian” aid program in an attempt to crush the increasing support for the 
Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), which was particularly strong in Central and South Bougainville. To this end AusAID funded infrastructure first in the PNG-controlled north, especially Buka, and then along the coast.

Further expert information was provided by participants from APHEDA (Union Aid Abroad) and PCRC.

Bougainville

“Bougainville and the Pacific in a globalised world” was the topic chosen by Moses Havini, the international representative of the Bougainville Interim Government (now re-baptised Bougainville People’s Congress). The BIG 
was the political wing of the BRA. Quite incredibly the BRA finally defeated PNG/Australia/Rio Tinto after 10 years of armed struggle. Moses Havini also featured on the plenary about ”Neoliberalism and resistance after Porto 
Alegre” (he attended the World Social Forum in this Brazilian city in February this year). 

He outlined the challenges that the reconciled Bougainvilleans are facing on their way to far-reaching Autonomy, including a guaranteed referendum on independence after 10 years. After the military victory of the BRA the 
PNG parliament voted twice unanimously for the constitutional changes necessary to accommodate the possibility for Bougainville’s secession after a referendum on independence. Also the PNG government has accepted laws on special 
Autonomy. Now the UN Observer Mission to Bougainville has to announce when it considers the weapons disposal agreements fulfilled.

The different Bougainvillean factions are already working on a radical-democratic structure allowing bottom-up decision-making. This shows they have given heed to the mistakes of East Timor, which was forced to adopt a 
western-style parliamentary system despite success with the grassroots decision-making structure set up by the Falintil guerrillas during the Indonesian occupation.

Bougainville will need continuous international solidarity to stand firm against the economic pressure of globalised capitalism, as there will certainly be many attempts to corrupt the people and leaders of this highly fertile and 
resource-rich country. A successful outcome of the lawsuit filed by the Bougainvilleans in the Los Angeles Federal court will certainly help counter that pressure. The lawsuit seeks several billion (!) dollars compensation from mining giant scumbag Rio Tinto, not only for the ecocidal destruction caused by their now defunct (but once world’s largest) Panguna copper mine, but also for actively supporting or even conducting 10 years of war against Bougainville to recover their “stolen mine”. That war killed up to 20,000 people, about 10% of the island’s population.

“The struggle of Bougainville women for peace and freedom” in this matrilineal society – where the land usually belongs to the women and the men marry into their wife’s clan – was highlighted by Marilyn Havini in another 
workshop. It is the women who play the crucial role in the reconciliation process that is so important for developing the spirit of cooperation necessary to successfully govern a united, autonomous (and eventually independent) Bougainville.

West-Papua

Yet to win “West-Papua’s struggle for independence” is the Free Papua Movement (OPM), represented by Dr John Ondawame and Rex Rumakiek and supported by Joe Collins from the Australian West-Papua Association (AWPA). Ample background information was combined with a lively discussion in a strong spirit of solidarity with the “brothers and sisters” from East Timor, Aceh, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

It is the Indonesian military (TNI) that still rules without much control in West-Papua and it is their special units Kopassus, long trained and organised by Australia, that are responsible for the murder of the charismatic Papua 
Presidium Council chairperson Theys Eluay in November last year. Almost 100% of the indigenous Papuans – in contrast to the hundreds of thousands Indonesian transmigrants – clearly reject the hypocritical “Autonomy” offer. This offers 
only cosmetic changes, such as adopting “Papua” as the province’s new name, or allowing the long fought over use of the Morning Star flag, which serves as symbol for the Papuan’s desire for independence.

Activists around the world have recently launched a global campaign for the rescission of the 1969 UN approved “Act of No (Free) Choice” after senior UN officials admitted that this had been nothing else but a big sham, a stunt for 
the world public.

Ondawame also featured in the final plenary on “Why an Asia Pacific Social Forum?” where he expressed his support in extending the international solidarity networks and intensifying the cooperation of progressive organisations.

Meanwhile there have been more meetings between AWPA and Acehnese activists. Rex Rumakiek and Erwanto, international officer of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) spoke at a public meeting of ASAP (Action 
in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific), the successor organisation of ASIET (which focussed on Indonesia and East Timor). West-Papua and Aceh both face the same enemy, and hence very similar maneuvers like fake “Autonomy” 
offers and the deployment of TNI-trained “Laskar Jihad” militias (a strong reminder of the Indonesian war on East Timor).

Whereas most “Asia-Pacific” countries spawned more or less organised liberation movements, groups, or even fronts, there are also less consciously organised struggles in other parts of this region, especially in PNG and the smaller 
countries of Melanesia. Thus there remains plenty of solidarity work to be done to make the “silent P” of the Pacific cry for freedom.

[ Dear Editor, DON’T CUT OUT “cry for freedom” as it always was, always will be a prominent slogan of the Indigenous Pacific Islanders. ]

---
Following issues of Green Left Weekly will cover interviews with different representatives from the Melanesian liberation struggles in West-Papua, Papua New Guinea, and Bougainville.


Motion on Papua New Guinea (carried anonymously by APISC 2002)

That the conference:

– calls for the immediate release of the imprisoned soldiers from Wewak, who [all] oppose the World Bank and the IMF, support the student struggle and oppose the privatisation of land and public assets

– calls on the PNG Prime Minister to immediately release the findings of the Woods Inquiry into the murders of protesters in 2001 [now defunct – the report has been tabled in the PNG Parliament as of March 28]

– calls on the University of PNG Administration to reinstate all suspended or terminated students and to immediately hold elections for the SRC

– calls on the PNG Government to respect the independence of the media

– calls on the PNG Government to allow international observers in all districts during the PNG National elections to be held this year [highly contested in June: 1400 candidates and 42 parties stand for 109 seats under a corruption-prone and undemocratic First-Pass-the-Post voting system without preference system.]

– condemns the “Pacific Solution” and calls on the Australian Government to cease it immediately [New refugee prisons have been set up in Nauru and on Manus Island (PNG), which is most likely unconstitutional in PNG.]

– calls on the PNG Government and the United Nations to recognise all the West-Papuan refugees inside PNG [An agreement has been found for the 400 refugees around Vanimo mid-May.]

---
Get in touch with PNG Solidarity Action & Network:
Visit < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PNGSA/ > or call Jesse Wynhausen on 
0402 317 497