Book 2 - Ebu

Learning Resource Kit: Book 2
from their homes. We heard of killings after killings in south Bougainville/Konnou. Today,
you hear people talking about peace, reconciliation and not war.
“The recent reconciliations at Mogoroi in Buin, Hongarai at Siwai, Mongai and
Wisai in Buin are all interconnected issues with the Konnou conflict. Although, these
reconciliations were dealt with separately, the issues in these areas are very much part of
the conflict in Konnou.
“The Konnou issue, which is now in its reconciliation process, has been a hurdle for quite
some time for the ABG to deliver the basic Government services to the Konnou people.
“In Koike’s short speech during the ceremony, he said ‘fate has finally arrived for us to put
away guns’.”
Analysis
This news item perpetuates the myth that peace-building is the domain of male
politicians and armed combatants only. The story appeared as a national report in
Papua New Guinea media in late 2011 and, while it was positioned within provincial
news pages, it has significant implications for regional and national peace and
security as well as provincial government structures within Papua New Guinea
(PNG).
It fails to account for the peace-building processes including efforts by women, who
contributed to the signing of the agreement. A significant exclusion is a reference to
the Minister of Women who is from Konnou and was highly visible in the process.
In 1987 a group of Bougainvillean landowners began campaigning for a better deal
– more compensations and tighter environmental controls. The group eventually
became the core of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), a guerrilla force
fighting for Bougainville’s total independence from PNG. In 1988 the group
destroyed the power pylons of the mine and succeeded in closing the operations in
1989. This was the beginning of the 10 years of war – the Bougainvilleans simply call
it “the crisis”.
Women greatly suffered the brunt of the crisis. Rape was used as a weapon against
women and young girls. A high level of gender-based violence was recorded during
the crisis.
Despite the brutality, abuses and marginalisation of women and girls during the
conflict, women crossed over conflict lines to negotiate peace with warring factions.
Others went into the jungle to plead with their husbands and sons to surrender their
weapons and settle the conflict through peaceful means.
During the period 1989-98 the political conflict in Bougainville had a greater impact
on women’s lives. To escape the fighting, women took their children to hide in the
caves and jungles of Bougainville without access to medicine, electricity, education
or communication. They survived in extremely harsh conditions for years. They
constructed makeshift dwellings from bush materials, planted vegetable gardens
in the jungles and made fuel from coconuts. Up to 12,000 people died during the
blockade, mainly through lack of medical attention for preventable diseases.
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