The President said self-determination is not a dirty word for the people of Bougainville, self-determination is peoples claim that they must be the major stakeholders in deciding their fate and to be engaged in socio-economic, political and spiritual liberation.

“It is through unity and believing in one another shall we achieve our ultimate political future,” President Momis remarked

By Anthony Kaybing

The conditions of the Bougainville Peace Agreement can and will be met by Bougainville within the next five years as a prelude to its referendum.

YES or NO poll

Autonomous Bougainville Government President Grand Chief Dr John Momis made this bold statement in reference to Bougainville’s Referendum that must be held within the 5 year time period of 2015-2020.

The conditions of the Bougainville Peace Agreement are Good Governance, Fiscal Self Reliance and Weapons Disposal.

“We must not fear, we must have faith in each other and ultimately of course we must have faith in God to give us the wisdom and strength to prevail,” President Momis said.

“We have now reached a critical juncture on our journey to freedom where we stand at the threshold of a new socio-economic, political and spiritual order” The President added.

He added that this new future means Bougainvilleans will want to be liberated from structural impediments, from institutional impediments and become agents of change and development and also become the subjects and objects of these changes.

“We know for a fact for example that the people of Bougainville for a long time have always seen themselves as a people set apart from the rest of PNG,” the President said.

Consistently over a period of time the people have always demanded to have a referendum to determine whether Bougainville was to remain a part of PNG, join with the Solomon Islands or become an entirely Independent nation on its own.

So when you look at the history of Bougainvilleans, Bougainvilleans definitely had a history, we have a history of rejecting outside imposition, a history of being proud of our heritage and a history of self-determination.

This is in line with the fact that Man is by nature a self-determining animal, man being a rational is endowed with the intellect and the will that enables him to asses, analyze and make informed decisions his future.

The President said self-determination is not a dirty word for the people of Bougainville, self-determination is peoples claim that they must be the major stakeholders in deciding their fate and to be engaged in socio-economic, political and spiritual liberation.

“It is through unity and believing in one another shall we achieve our ultimate political future,” President Momis remarked.

An observer noted that the publishing of such derogatory reports is only to derail the progress the ABG has made in resolving the Panguna issue and on the eve of the ABG Elections in June this was just a smear campaign against President Momis and his cabinet

Anthony Kaybing

A recent statement in the blogs site Papua New Guinea Mine Watch has come under fire following its misquotations of a speech given by Autonomous Bougainville Government President Grand Chief Dr. John Momis.

The scathing report gives a tainted view of the President’s outlook on the sensitive Panguna Mine issue with the report implying that the President is hell bent on reopening the mine by force and also expressing his dissatisfaction of the Panguna Landowners Association.

The actual speech given by President Momis during the first mass by newly ordained priest Fr. Ambrose Kakatai at the Tabago Parish, Buin District on Sunday 15^th February 2015 contradicts the report at so many levels.

President Momis’ speech was simply about the responsibility that Bougainvilleans must now undertake to prepare themselves for the coming referendum and their responsibility to honor the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

Parts of the President’s speech were made in the Telei (Buin) dialect as the majority of the people at the event were from the Buin District.

The part of the President’s speech that was misconstrued may have been when he explained the ABG’s continued consultative approach to resolving the Panguna issue.

“The ABG continues to consult our people on the Panguna Mine’s reopening, because of the respect for our people the mine will not be reopened by force,” direct quote of the President’s speech made in the Telei Dialect.

This quote is the only one in which President Momis mentions anything about the use of force to reopen the mine.

The other allegation raised in the report on President Momis’ speech was his “criticism” of the Panguana Landowners Association which again contradicts the actual speech.

President Momis said on the same speech that the ABG was working closely with important stakeholders such as the Panguna Landowners to resolve the issue and that the government had already created a channel of communication with the Mekamui Traibal Government of Unity who at first were suspicious of the ABG’s interest in the Panguna Mine.

An observer noted that the publishing of such derogatory reports is only to derail the progress the ABG has made in resolving the Panguna issue and on the eve of the ABG Elections in June this was just a smear campaign against President Momis and his cabinet.

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