Unhappy BRA goes home

Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea Post-Courier/PINA Nius Online) – The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) representatives in the negotiations with the National Government have pulled out.

Confirming this last night, co-leader of the Bougainville negotiation team and President of the Bougainville People’s Congress Joseph Kabui said this had been expected.

Mr. Kabui, who is in Port Moresby for further talks with the National Government, said the withdrawal of the BRA would dampen negotiations but added the National Government had to take full responsibility for this newest twist, because it had been too slow on agreeing to issues already discussed and reached in agreements at Loloata Island and Rabaul this year.

This is what we have been afraid of, Mr. Kabui said. We have been telling the National Government this but they have not listened. They seem to have been too slow. But it is not too late. What it means is that we must reach agreement on a timetable on referendum on these round of talks otherwise we are going to push these people further away.

A statement from the faction said: As of the 10th of November, the BRA has fully withdrawn from the peace process because it has no more trust on the leaders and the politicians who are involved on negotiating the referendum for independence for Bougainville.

We are sick and tired on too many negotiations involving empty promises. We will no longer believe what the leaders are negotiating, therefore we will now stay out of the peace process, they said.

Mr. Kabui said the BRA was strong on the issue of holding a referendum on the political future of Bougainville. There was not an element of danger in the ex-combatants being forced to go bush but Mr. Kabui added, there was still a very strong feeling among the people against taking up arms again.

Bougainvilleans do not want to go back to the old days of fighting. The people do not want that, but we must not take that feeling for granted, Mr. Kabui said.

He said the Bougainville delegation had been under the impression that agreement had been reached on the issue of referendum and autonomy for the province, and that subsequent negotiations were to deal only with fixing a timetable on the issue.

The team has found that the Government has done an about face on the issue. These round of talks were to have started yesterday and end today.

Mr. Kabui said he reached agreement with the leader of the Government team and Bougainville Affairs Minister Sir Michael Somare to postpone the talks to today because the government was not ready.