Let Bougainville people decide

IT is pleasing to hear that someone who ran a successful Bougainville referendum has again raised his hands to be a moderator of the consultation between Bougainville and PNG delegations.
However, one thing we all need to understand is that Bertie Ahern cannot dictate or influence decisions from either the National Government or the Autonomous Bougainville Government team.
Ahern was the former chairman of Bougainville Referendum Commission and was appointed this week as the moderator on post-referendum consultations.
We all note that after the referendum results were announced, Bertie Ahern said Bougainville was not ready to assume full sovereignty from PNG.
We just hope that he will stay neutral throughout the talks and that the question of whether Bougainville is ready or not is something that is up to the Bougainville people to decide and not something a foreigner or Papua New Guinean to decide on.

Weko Tantanu
Buka