Nearly five years after the islanders of remote Bougainville voted decisively in a referendum for independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG), local frustrations are rising as the political process falters.
More than 97 percent of voters in the autonomous island region of about 300,000 people, in eastern PNG, chose independence over greater autonomy in a 2019 referendum. But there cannot be a change in its political status until the result has been ratified by PNG’s parliament.
After high-level talks stalled, parliamentary ratification, which was supposed to take place last year, failed to happen. Achieving it this year is “a possibility, but not yet a likelihood”, Professor Anthony Regan of the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University (ANU) told Al Jazeera.
Last year, major disagreements about how the ratification process should work led to a breakdown in talks between the national and Bougainville governments. A major bone of contention is that Bougainville wants the parliamentary vote to be a simple majority, while PNG says it should be a two-thirds majority.
Both parties have agreed an international moderator is needed to break the deadlock, but any appointment is likely to take time.
“I am not too satisfied with the current progress [of Bougainville’s Independence]. It’s almost five years since the referendum, and there is still no positive response from the PNG government,” Barbara Tanne, president of the Bougainville Women’s Federation, told Al Jazeera.
It is deeply “frustrating”, Theresa Jaintong, a local government member in Arawa, Central Bougainville, added. “After joint government meetings, the resolutions passed are not honoured … The PNG government must come out clear as we people of Bougainville must know.”
For 56-year-old Ishmael Toroama, the former rebel fighter who was elected Bougainville’s president in 2020 with a mandate to achieve statehood, the pressure is intensifying.
Last month, he called on PNG’s parliament to make good on their promises.
“I am committed to the independence of Bougainville,” he said in a statement.
Former rebel military commander Ishmael Toroama was elected president of Bougainville in 2020 and has stressed his commitment to independence [Chris Noble/Handout via Reuters]
Bougainville, reluctantly incorporated into the new nation of PNG in 1975, has long wanted to manage its own affairs. Demands for secession rose in the following decade amid anger about the severe environmental and social impacts of the Panguna copper mine in central Bougainville, then majority-owned by British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and the PNG government.
In 1989, an armed landowner uprising shut down the mine, and Bougainville and PNG became embroiled in civil war until 1998. A peace agreement in 2001 paved the way for autonomous government in 2005 and then the referendum.
But since the people of Bougainville voted emphatically for independence, PNG’s leaders have given the impression that they do not favour the region breaking away.
Last month, PNG Prime Minister James Marape stressed the need for the PNG parliament’s approval and acknowledged Bougainville’s request for an independent moderator in the discussions.
“While I personally sympathise with the desires of Bougainville, as prime minister, I must uphold our sovereignty and the rule of law,” Marape said in a public statement on May 9.
That could create trouble. “If the national government says no and does not want to ratify the referendum result, then there are options that Bougainville will take that could be harsh and heavy,” Peter Arwin, a landowner in Panguna, Central Bougainville, told Al Jazeera in an interview.
ANU’s Regan said that a ‘no’ vote by PNG would “be intended to make it clear that talk about the possibility of independence is over”. He said discussions might explore other options which fall short of independence, such as greater autonomy – although Bougainville’s Attorney General and Minister for Independence Ezekiel Masatt has dismissed the idea.
“There is open talk in Bougainville of the likely risks of leaders losing their lives were they to compromise … That possible threat indicates how little room there is to manoeuvre for the Bougainville government,” Regan said.
Mine controversy
Meanwhile, the Panguna mine, previously at the centre of the civil war, is now party to two competing legal challenges.
In May, a class action suit against Rio Tinto by nearly 4,000 local landowners and residents affected by the mine’s former operations was announced. The case, funded by unnamed foreign investors, is seeking billions of dollars in compensation for the mine’s social and environmental impact, which includes contamination of agricultural land and waterways.
“Rio Tinto have had more than 50 years to do right by the people of Bougainville, more than 25 years since the end of the civil war, and they have not done so. We are tired of waiting for justice and tired of Rio Tinto alone deciding what is best for Bougainville through their legacy impact assessment,” the lead claimant, Martin Miriori, told Al Jazeera.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson told the media the company was reviewing the details of the claim.
The Bougainville government hopes to revive the controversial Panguna copper mine, which was at the centre of a decade-long civil war in the 1990s [File: Catherine Wilson/Al Jazeera]
But Bougainville’s Toroama has denounced the suit. “I strongly condemn this court proceeding and view it as targeted towards hindering Bougainville’s economic independence agenda … those Bougainvilleans involved in pushing this class action have committed treason in the highest form,” Toroama said on May 24.
The lawsuit could interfere with a government-backed mediation process already under way between Rio Tinto and PNG and Bougainville stakeholders aided by the Australia-based Human Rights Law Centre. Through this initiative, Rio Tinto agreed to fund a Panguna mine impact assessment, which is due to make its first report in September.
Rio Tinto “will consider its position once it has seen the results … [But] there is a strong expectation from community and government stakeholders alike in Bougainville that following the release of the Phase 1 impact assessment report, Rio Tinto will commit to funding remediation of the huge problems left by the mine,” Keren Adams, legal director of the Human Rights Law Centre in Melbourne told Al Jazeera.
Communities living around the mine have suffered copper contamination of rivers and waterways, agricultural land rendered unusable by the dumping of mine waste and related health issues, such as respiratory illnesses and skin diseases.
Some residents in the Panguna area are wary of the lawsuit. “I do not support Panguna Mine Action because it’s a process that the majority of us are not aware of, as opposed to the legacy impact assessment, which is supported by the Bougainville and national governments. And we don’t know who the financial guarantor is … The implications of this are huge and risky,” Arwin said.
The Panguna mine, which the Bougainville government hopes to reopen, is seen as the only major source of revenue that could create economic self-sufficiency in the underdeveloped region, although it could take a decade and billions of dollars to rebuild.
Only about 10 percent of Bougainville residents have access to electricity, while just 16 percent of households have proper sanitation. Its large youth population – an estimated 40 percent of people are aged under 15 years – face high unemployment. Less than 20 percent of the government’s budget this year came from internal sources, making the island financially reliant on the national government and international donors.
Some experts believe that if PNG does not grant independence, Bougainville might consider a unilateral declaration. Such a move would make international support – from donors and governments – even more important.
In November last year, Toroama visited Washington, DC, to seek support from United States President Joe Biden’s administration for the region’s political aspirations, and he has also publicly called for backing from Australia.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
