Namah congratulates war rival’s victory in election

OPPOSITION Leader Belden Namah has congratulated Ishmael Toroama, the man he was up against during the Bougainville crisis, on being elected the Autonomous Bougainville Government President.
Namah said he was a senior officer in the PNG Defence Force when Toroama was a Bougainville Revolutionary Army commander.
“From me who had fought against you during the Bougainville crisis, I congratulate you from my heart for a very convincing victory,” he said. “You were one of the BRA commanders and I was on the opposite sides with my comrades in the PNG Defence Force and PNG Constabulary who served in Bougainville during (those) trying times for our country. You also carry scars on yourself just like the rest of us who fought on Bougainville.”
He congratulated the people of Bougainville “for choosing their very own son who had fought during the crisis”.
“It’s good to see an ex-combatant take the head of ABG at a critical time when Bougainville is poised between continuing allegiance to PNG on one hand, and breaking free to determine its own future development and progress as an independent state,” Namah said.
“Bougainvilleans have spoken once on this matter quite conclusively by a 98 per cent overwhelming majority for independence.
“And by the choice of their leader now, they have spoken with the same resounding voice again.”
“It is now time for PNG to likewise attend to the matter of its continuing relationship with the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) with the same urgency.”
Namah said Toroama had ushered in a new era for AROB “however we decide”.