German TV team kicked out of Bougainville
By ROMULUS MASIU
BOUGAINVILLEadmiinistrator Raymond Masono has ordered a team of German environmental and TV crew out of Bougainville’s sinking atoll on the Carterets Islands.
Mr Masono’s decision to prohibit the crew from filming the degrading shorelines and rise in sea level has angered chiefs in the area.
The German environmental and TV crew arrived in Carterets Islands early this week and were supposed to take video footage of the degrading shoreline and impacts of rising sea levels on the islanders.
The German team was invited by a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) Telele Peisa Inc, which is involved in promoting the issue of rising sea levels on Carterets Islands.
The islanders presented their grievances in a four- page petition to the AutonomouBougainville Government (ABG) president Joseph Kabui and signed by seven of their prominent chiefs.
In the petition, the chiefs said their work in relocating their fellow islanders to mainland Bougainville would not progress positively as there was so much interference by Mr Masono.
The chiefs said they believed the lack of support from Telele Peisa, an organisation set up to address the suffering of the people of Carterets Islands, was being politicised for personal reasons.
The petition also criticised the Atolls resettlement policy document, saying it was a “desk exercise” not involving people who were facing the realities of climate change at their doorsteps.
However, Mr Masono, a Carterets islander, maintained that any “outsider” wanting to venture into Bougainville should follow the proper procedure and notify his office prior to operations in the region.
Mr Kabui assured the NGO that he would take up the matter with Mr Masono before replying to their petition.
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