History of Bougainville: Encyclopedia II - History of Bougainville - Sandline and ceasefire

History of Bougainville - Sandline and ceasefire

Thus began the Sandline affair, where the Papuan government attempted to hire mercenaries to attack Bougainville. However, while negotiations with Sandline were underway, Chan ordered the military to invade anyway. Around a thousand soldiers were sent, but the attack was a disaster, and was quickly repulsed by the BRA. Within a week, they had been forced to evacuate. Soon after, a local militia group turned against the military, and massacred twelve soldiers. By 1997, Chan had decided that his best chance lay with the Sandline mercenaries.

However, this too turned out to be a disaster. News of his intention to hire mercenaries was leaked to the Australian press, and international condemnation followed. Furthermore, when Jerry Singirok heard of the news, he ordered the detaining of all the mercenaries on arrival. In the resulting saga, Prime Minister Chan was forced to resign, and Papua New Guinea came very close to a military coup. Indeed, the officers in charge had the parliament surrounded, but steadfastly refused to go any further. In the end, however, they got their way, with Chan's resignation and the removal of the mercenaries from Papua New Guinean territory.

Sandline sparked a lowpoint in the Bougainvillean war. Since 1997, a ceasefire has largely held on the island. A multinational Peace Monitoring Group was deployed soon afterwards, and an organised reconciliation process began at the tribal level in the early 2000s. There is still a small minority of fighters left in the centre of the island, and enough instability to ensure that the mine remains closed. Francis Ona has never been captured, and has refused to play any part in the peace process. However, it would seem that the war in Bougainville is over. As part of the current peace settlement, a referendum on independence will be held sometime in the 2010s.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Sandline and ceasefire", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki