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Francis Ona
Francis Ona (15 February 1953 – 24 July 2005) was the Supreme Commander of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) during the 19881998 Bougainville conflict. The war began when Ona "went bush" and began organising acts of industrial sabotage against the Panguna mine, which he felt was causing environmental devastation and was not fairly compensating the traditional landowners, himself included. The BRA, which Ona founded in 1989, escalated into a guerrilla movement fighting for Bougainville's secession from Papua New Guinea. Despite peace agreements in 1998, Ona refused to disarm or recognize the interim government. He insisted that Bougainville, a nation he called Me'ekamui, was already separate, based on an unrecognized unilateral declaration of independence issued by the rebels in 1990. He declared himself the president, then the king, of Me'ekamui. Ona died in 2005 within the rebel-controlled "no-go zone", leading the remaining rebels to splinter into various faction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Bougainville Revolutionary Army
The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force 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 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 (ABG). As a result, fighting between the BRA and the PNG Defence Force, with support from Australia, escalated. In January 1991, the Honiara Declaration [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |