THE YEAR IN THE PACIFIC
by Rt Rev Paul Richardson, Focal Person
East Timor
The East Timor crisis came to a head as the CCOM Commission met last year in September in Belfast. A referendum held on August 30, 1999, at which 98.6 per cent of the population voted, led to a result in which 78.5 per cent declared themselves in favour of independence. This provoked the Indonesian army and militia to launch operations to kill and terrorise the people of East Timor and to burn and loot their property. Five hundred thousand East Timorese people fled into the jungle and Jesuit Refugee services reported that 250,000 sought asylum in neighbouring West Timor.
Finally, when the US and other nations eventually applied pressure, a 7,000-strong UN peacekeeping force was allowed into East Timor, made up chiefly of Australians but with a contingent of 200 British troops from the Gurkha regiment. It took many months before the East Timorese refugees felt confident enough to start returning to their homes (although many still remain in West Timor). East Timor is currently under UN administration but elections are due to take place in April 2001 and an East Timorese government will then assume control of the country. The UN has set up an inquiry into human rights violations in East Timor but it has no power to bring anyone to trial and the Indonesian government has refused to grant it access to the country. The Indonesian Parliament has set up a human rights inquiry that has accused 35 military leaders of crimes against humanity and demanded their prosecution.
West Papua
Advocates of independence for West Papua have been encouraged by developments in East Timor although so far there are few concrete grounds for hope. Indonesia annexed the territory in 1963 after the Dutch withdrawal and a vote, widely regarded as a sham, was held to legitimise the move in 1969. Indonesia now allows the province to be known as �West Papua� but has warned of the dangers of violence. The vice-president has paid a short visit to consult with the people. In June a special conference of 3,000 delegates organised by separatists called for independence. This is likely to be supported by indigenous Melanesians but a considerable proportion of the population is now made up of transmigrants from Indonesia.
Bougainville
The Loloata Understanding between the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville People�s Congress was signed in Port Moresby on March 23, 2000. It was hailed by the BPC leader, Joseph Kabui, as a �victory for peace�. Under the terms of the agreement, Bougainville will have its own democratically elected autonomous government that will assume responsibility for a greater range of powers than is currently enjoyed by the recently restored Bougainville provincial government. The Bougainville Revolutionary Army leader, Francis Ona has not accepted the agreement, but he controls only a tiny portion of the island. The restoration of health, education and other services is continuing under the supervision of the UN. The churches are heavily involved in counselling the promotion of reconciliation. A division between pro and anti-BRA groups within the United Church appears to have been healed. Henk Kronenberg was ordained as bishop for the Catholic Church in August, 1999, but when I spoke to the Archbishop of Rabaul in November, 2000, he told me that many of the church workers who had continued to operate throughout the troubles were in urgent need of rest. A significant body of opinion continues to call for independence from PNG but this is opposed by groups on Buka and elsewhere.
Fiji
A coup took place on May 19 when George Speight, a businessman who had been due to appear on court on fraud charges, led a group of gunmen into the Parliament building and took Mahendra Chaudhry, the first Indian Prime Minister of Fiji, and 30 other people, including cabinet ministers, hostage. The coup led to the resignation of the President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, and to the formation of an interim military government. On July 13 George Speight released the hostages he was still holding in return for an amnesty and the installation of a President of whom he approved.
The Solomon Islands
For the past eighteen months the Solomon Islands has suffered from conflict between the people of Malaita and the inhabitants of Guadacanal. The trouble started when the people of Guadacanal evicted long-term Malaitan residents from land where they had established businesses and agricultural operations. Approximate 20,000 people had to leave Guadacanal. In retaliation, people from Malaita, who make up a sizeable proportion of the population of Honiara, began barring access to the capital to people from Guadacanal, the island on which the town is situated. The ethnic violence led to a number of deaths and on June 5 the Malaita Eagle force kidnapped Bartholomew Ulufa�alu, the Prime Minister. He was released and resigned before a vote in Parliament. The opposition leader, Manasseh Sogavare was elected Prime Minister but the Isatabu Freedom Movement has refused to accept the validity of the vote because a number of MPs stayed away. The small police force has been unable to stop fighting between the Eagle Force and the Isatabu Freedom Movement. Australia and New Zealand have evacuated their nationals and facilitated talks but so far declined to send a peacekeeping force. The Governor General (an Anglican priest) is doing his best to mediate. Women�s groups and members of religious communities are attempting to keep the two sides apart but the gunmen have refused to lay down their weapons.
Activities of the Forum
The Forum meets twice a year but members keep in conduct by e-mail and telephone to exchange information. At the end of 1999 a letter of solidarity was sent to the Anglican Archbishop of Melanesia, the Solomon Islands Christian Association and that Catholic Bishops� Conference. A CCOM press release was issued in February warning of the deteriorating situation in the Solomon Islands and this was printed by The Methodist Recorder and The Church of England Newspaper and circulated by the Catholic Missionary Union.
Another CCOM press release about the situation in the Solomon Islands, quoting a statement by Archbishop Ellison Pogo, was issued in June. I wrote in June on behalf of the Forum to the Fiji Council of Churches expressing concern at the situation there and a reply was circulated to members. As Focal Person I attend meetings held twice a year by ECSIEP, an NGO based in Holland, committed to improving European understanding of Pacific issues and to assisting Small Island Developing States in their aid negotiations with the EU. A number of members of the Pacific Forum attended a seminar held in London by ECSIEP last September. Workshops looked at the plight of the victims of nuclear testing in the Pacific, EU development co-operation, and the conflicts in the Solomon Islands, West Papua and Bougainville.
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