BY JOAN SHIELDS
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand -The Papua New Guinea government announced at the end of August that it would take part in talks on the future of the island of Bougainville. The talks are scheduled for the end of September at the Burnham Military Camp, outside Christchurch.

Earlier, two weeks of talks there between representatives of opposing factions from Bougainville culminated in the signing of the Burnham Declaration July 18.

Sixty delegates participated in the talks, including representatives of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), which has been fighting for the island's independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 1988; the pro-independence Bougainville Interim Government; and the PNG-backed Bougainville Transitional Government. No high-level representatives of PNG's government took part in those negotiations, although one PNG member of parliament was present.

The talks were hosted and funded by the New Zealand government.

The Burnham Declaration means that the Bougainville leaders now approach the PNG government for peace negotiations as one body, not separate factions.

The declaration did not call an immediate halt to hostilities. Instead, it calls for a United Nations "peacekeeping" force to be invited to Bougainville for no longer than three years. A declaration of cease-fire will take effect when the first contingent of peacekeeping forces arrives.

The declaration calls for the demilitarization of Bougainville, including a complete withdrawal of PNG armed forces within an agreed time frame. All Bougainvilleans will also lay down their arms under the supervision of the peacekeeping force.

In talks with PNG, the declaration says the Bougainville representatives will call for a lifting of the blockade so that aid can reach the island, and for an undertaking to ensure the people of Bougainville democratically exercise their right to determine their political future.

The war in Bougainville began in December 1988 when angry traditional landowners forced Australia's CRA-owned Panguna gold and copper mine to close. The mine accounted for 40 percent of Papua New Guinea's export earnings, but less than 1 percent of the profit went back to Bougainville. Mining also caused environmental devastation on the island, affecting agriculture.

The BRA demands NZ$14 billion (US$9 billion) in damages from CRA and independence from PNG. A Bougainville independence movement initially developed prior to Papua New Guinean independence from Australia in 1975.

It has been estimated that thousands of people have died since war broke out. Many of these deaths are a result of the blockade imposed by PNG that prevents medicine and food reaching Bougainville.

The PNG Defence Force has resorted to brutal methods to crush the independence struggle. These include massacres in Bougainville villages and military raids against the Solomon Islands, which the PNG government accuses of providing a haven for Bougainville rebels.

The Australian government, PNG's former colonial master, has armed, trained, financed, and advised PNG armed forces in the fighting on Bougainville, and Australian-supplied helicopters and patrol boats are a central part of the war effort. Despite this, the PNG army has been effectively defeated on Bougainville by the BRA.

In January the PNG government signed a US$36 million contract with mercenaries from Sandline International to prepare a new offensive ostensibly alongside the PNG Defence Force. It was suspended in March following a 10-day army mutiny and rising mass protests.

New Zealand's imperialist rulers have seized on the opportunity presented by the peace talks to pose as "neutral peacemakers" in the Pacific. An editorial in the July 7 Sydney Morning Herald commented: "New Zealand's special diplomatic skills, unique in the Pacific, are being applied to bring the warring parties together. It is the best chance yet for peace in Bougainville."

Australian and New Zealand armed forces cooperate closely, and "civilian" pilots from both countries have piloted Australian-supplied helicopter gunships on Bougainville throughout the war.

New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Don McKinnon presided over the signing of the Burnham Declaration. He said that the New Zealand government would be willing to commit troops to participate in the UN peacekeeping force.

Joan Shields is a member of the Meat Workers Union in Christchurch, New Zealand.  
 
 
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