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Australia to Show Bipartisan Support to Bougainville Peace
Australia will show a bipartisan support to the Bougainville peace treaty.
The Australian Associated Press reported Friday that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton will both fly to the former Bougainville capital, Arawa, to take part in the signing ceremony on Thursday.
The peace treaty will end more than nine years of civil war in Papua New Guinea (PNG) which killed up to 20,000 people.
As the former suzerain of PNG, Australia played a decisive role in the peace process. About 2,000 Australian Defense Force personnel and 260 civilians have taken part in the peace monitoring group in Bougainville that has been led by Australia since April 1999. The country hosted several rounds of talks between the rivals.
The province, to be named as North Solomons Province, will have an autonomous government. Under a peace deal negotiated since a ceasefire in 1998, the province will get more power with its own judiciary, police force and taxation regime.
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