No more weapons: B’ville veterans

National

Veterans of the Bougainville civil conflict have made a commitment to work together to achieve a weapons-free Bougainville by the end 2018.
This commitment was made possible through the former combatants’ intensive peace-building training held last month which was facilitated by the the Department of Bougainville Peace Agreement’s veterans affairs directorate.
The consensus reached during the training focuses on peace-building, weapons disposal, reconciliation, the referendum, rehabilitation and re-integration of former combatants and collaborative peace building and partnership.
The rationale behind the commitment is to ensure that veterans, who are an important stakeholder in peace-building on Bougainville, are used to achieve total weapons disposal, consistent with the Bougainville Peace Agreement.
“We re-affirm our commitment to disarmament and help the government to secure and strengthen good governance through the promotion of democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law,” they said. The veterans said reconciliation was needed between Bougainvilleans and members of  PNG armed forces and police, among Bougainvilleans themselves and non-Bougainvilleans residing at Bougainville.