*** An attempted invasion of Bougainville has jeopardised the Honiara peace agreement. Papua New Guinea's deputy prime minister, Ted Diro, has been linked with the invasion. In addition he is facing 76 violations of the country's leadership code and has been suspended following allegations of corruption and misconduct. ***
THE tough former chief of Papua New Guinea's defence forces. Ted Diro. has been suspended from official duties as deputy prime minister after being charged with 76 counts of alleged misconduct and corruption in office.
Diro — known to his critics as "Rambo" — rejects the charges, which were made following an investigation by the Ombudsman Commission, and Prime Minister Rabble Namallu has defended Diro’s decision not to resign.
The leadership tribunal chairman hearing the case. Judge Arnold Amet, has asked for legal argument over whether charges relating to the previous Parliament which ended in mid-1987 can be heard. If not, 49 of the 76 charges will be dropped.
Diro Is also linked to allegations over the secessionist rebellion in Bougainville. He is being accused for a second time of instigating military moves designed to undermine peace accords while the prime minister was out of the coun-try.
Copper-rich Bougainville Island has seceded from the rest of PNG after a two-year guerrilla struggle, in the course of which Panguna mine, one of the world's largest, was shut down.
During Namaliu's recent visit to China, PNG troops were landed on the north of Bougainville and a- special operations force blasted Manatai bridge, cutting the island in half and preventing Bougainville Revolutionary Army militants from moving northwards.
Namaliu ordered an inquiry on his return and die government reprimanded Colonel Leo Nuia, but his troops have remained on Bougainville.
"The bagman of the PNG government. Ted Diro. has once again displayed his aggression by ordering the
troops to launch an attack," said Moses Havinl, envoy of the Bougainville "republic" interim government. "Bougalnvilleans can. now only prepare for further attacks from the Diro Rambos. Once again Papua New Guinea has driven peace further away." ’
The Endeavour Accord signed last August was tom up when PNG troops seized Buka Island off the northern tip of Bougainville, under the pretext
. Of being a "relief’ operation.
Now. as a result of the latest action, die Honiara Accord, which was signed in January, is also under threat
Under the Honiara Accord, named after the Solomon Islands capital where is was signed, PNG Foreign'Minister, Sir Michael Somare, pledged that PNG troops would not return to Bougainville. Bougainville's representatives are seeking establishment of a multinational peacekeeping force and Moses Havinl and another envoy, Mike Forster, were in Vila in April lobbying for support from the Vanuatu government.
But PNG Defence Minister Benals Sabumei claimed that plans for an outside neutral force were unlikely to be necessary. and his view is apparently endorsed by Namaliu. The Prime Minister believes that a "hearts and minds” campaign could succeed.
New Zealand and Australia are also reluctant to support the idea of a peacekeeping force. In any case, the Bougalnvilleans do not want Australian forces taking part. They accuse Australia of supporting PNG soldiers during alleged human rights violations on the island during military occupation.
Bougainville leaders believe Diro, who is seen by many Papuans as having a good chance of becoming PNG's first Papuan prime minister, wants to torpedo the Honiara Accord.
Suspicion of a high-level PNG link with the military landing on Bougainville provoked Provincial Affairs Minister, Father John Momis, himself a Bougalnvlllean who heads the Task Force set up under the Honiara Accord, into making a strong condemnation.
He protested against "this trend of developments where the disciplined forces are even allowed to work against the policies and directives of the collective and democratically-elected government." He was
expressing a widely-held belief that the PNG government Is being sabotaged from within.
The latest military landing on Bougainville parallels the "military solution" to the Bougainville rebellion preferred by Diro. In the past, he has argued strongly for dividing Bougalnvilleans and encouraging a civil war so the PNG forces could seize the island during the ensuing chaos.
The charges against Diro include accepting a political "gift” of US$139,000 from Indonesia's then armed forces chief. Major-General Benny Murdani, and seeking a donation of $145,000 from a company wanting a logging licence. In fact, about two-thirds of the charges are the result of a commission of inquiry into the forestry industry, conducted by Supreme Court Judge Thomas-Barnett.
Other charge involve allegations of accepting "benefits" such as air fares, abusing his ministerial expense account and failing to disclose interests in private companies.
Diro was forced to resign as minister Without portfolio after the forestry commission report found . him to be "disgraceful and dishonest."
However. Diro has a powerful political base which is crucial to the survival of the Namaliu government The People’s Action Party which he leads, draws most of its support from the 700,000 Papuans who make up a fifth of the PNG population. His party is in a coalition with Namaliu's ruling Pangu Pad.
In Vanuatu. Bougalnvlllean envoy Mike Forster attacked Diro for his attempts to sabotage the Bougalnvlllean "republic." Forster, a fourth generation white Bougainvil-lean. accused the PNG military of treating Bougainville as a .colony rather than as part of the nation: "Bougainville was seen as the PNG piggy bank and our people were the pigs.
"Because of this neo-colo-nlalist attitude we are Justified in Insisting on our right to self-determination as guaranteed under the United Nations Charter."
The PNG government's
relations with the news media have continued to deteriorate
creasingly sensitive to how the Bougainville issue Is portrayed internationally. Sir Michael Somare said Australian, and to some extent New Zealand Journalists, were reporting on PNG events with "derogatory and racist imputation." and two Australian TV networks are banned.
A six-member Australian Council for Overseas Aid team recently visited Bougainville and members said they were ^hl^hly disturbed" by what they
"People are dying at an alarming rate from preventable diseases," said Denis Tamplln. the team's spokesperson. The blockade has had a severe effect on the health of the people. Services need to be restored quicker."
— GEMINI NEWS
DAVID ROBIE Is a New Zealand journalist specialising tn Pacific and development ts-