The Bougainville Minister for Independence Implementation, Ezekiel Massatt, has launched an attack this week on Australia, calling it a “coward when it comes to the Bougainville independence issue”.
from the article:
Bougainville is seeking independence from Papua New Guinea, based on the overwhelming result of the referendum on independence held four years ago. Almost all - 97.7 percent - of Bougainville voters chose independence.
Last month, PNG’s Minister for Bougainville Affairs Manasseh Makiba told parliament the referendum results were non-binding, and it is only the national parliament that has the authority to determine the fate of the referendum results.
He told parliament it meant the referendum result would not take immediate legal effect until the national parliament approves or ratifies it.This was a red rag to Massatt.
He said there is nothing in the Peace Agreement or the Constitution that said the referendum is non-binding.That’s correct but it is also the case that the word binding is not used in either document.
As well, discussion on the matter during the writing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) nearly 25 years ago led to a compromise that the referendum would go ahead on the condition it was non-binding, even if this is not spelled out.