The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

(PNG). The leader of the BRA was

Francis Ona Francis Ona (c. 1953 – 24 July 2005) was a Bougainville secessionist leader who led an uprising against the Government of Papua New Guinea as part of the Bougainville Civil War. He and his followers were concerned about the environmental and ...

who led the BRA against the

Papua New Guinea Defence Force The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into be ...

during the violent 10 year conflict. Not all BRA members agreed to the Peace Treaty and boycotted it, and have held out in an official no-go zone, protected by members of the Meekamui Defence Force, currently commanded by Moses Pepino. BRA leaders argued that Bougainville is ethnically part of the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

and has not profited from the extensive mining that has occurred on the island. In 1989, BRA leaders proclaimed Bougainville independent from PNG and established the

Autonomous Bougainville Government The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG; tpi, Otonomos Bogenvil Gavman) is the government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Structure The Constitution of Bougainville specifies that the Autonomous Bougainville Gove ...

(ABG). As a result, fighting between the BRA and the PNG Defence Force, with support from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, escalated. In January 1991, the

Honiara Declaration Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

Honiara Declaration
''Pacific Regional Order'', pp 62-64, by Dave Peebles- Retrieved 2017-01-08 was signed under which both sides agreed to a ceasefire. This ceasefire was soon broken and fighting continued. In 1997,

Bill Skate Sir William Jack Skate (26 September 1953 – 3 January 2006) was a prominent Papua New Guinea politician. He was the son of an Australian father and a Papua New Guinean mother. Though his career was turbulent and often marked by setbacks, he s ...

of the

People's National Congress Party The People's National Congress is a political party in Papua New Guinea. Its former leader Bill Skate served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and as speaker of Parliament from 2002 to 2004. Skate died in 2006 and the party was led by Peter O'Ne ...

was elected

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea The prime minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Prai Minista bilong Papua Niugini) is Papua New Guinea's head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National P ...

and promised that peace in Bougainville would be his highest priority. This led to the signing of a ceasefire agreement, the

Rotokas Record The Rotokas Record was a weapons surrender agreement involving the Bougainville Resistance Force and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army and the Papua New Guinean government. It was signed on May 3, 2001.The Rotokas Record', State, Society and G ...

, and a movement towards peace and the autonomy of Bougainville. As a result, the BRA is no longer actively engaged in fighting, although some of its leaders are involved in the ABG.

References

External links

www.imdb.com Bougainville "Our Island, Our Fight"

— Solidarity South Pacific {{Authority control Autonomous Region of Bougainville National liberation movements Separatism in Papua New Guinea Military units and formations established in 1988

See also

References

External links