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Pacific Beat
Peace
Talks
Inching
Toward a deal on Bougainville
People broke
their spears to welcome peace three years ago when the factions
in Bougainville's decade-long civil war signed a ceasefire
on the Papua New Guinean island. If only making the peace
last were so easy. Since then, it's been tiptoe diplomacy,
distrust and backpedaling. "It has dragged on beyond what
one would have expected," says Ron May, a senior fellow at
the Australian National University's School of Asian & Pacific
Studies. But at week's end it looked as though tenacity might
yet pay off, after the P.N.G. Cabinet -in what Prime Minister
Sir Mekere Morauta called a "truly historic" decision-endorsed
a proposed peace package. So is it time to chill the champagne?
Not yet,
say those who have followed the negotiations. Cabinet
approved the plan but only in principle-it wants modifications.
That's where fresh trouble could lie. While Minister for Bougainville
Affairs Moi Avei said Cabinet has agreed to the main elements-disposal
of weapons, autonomy and a referendum on independence-that's
not all Bougainvilleans were hoping for.
"The government is basically saying, Trust us, we'll set
up the timetable. But trust is a fairly scarce commodity at
the moment," says May. Even if the Bougainvillean leadership
accepts it, the modified package will have to satisfy P.N.G.'s
Parliament, where some M.P.s resent the island province's
"special treatment." And rebel leader Francis Ona remains
the wild card-a powerful reminder for Bougainvilleans of the
hardline alternative to peace.
Still, Australian foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer
is hopeful. A spokesman hails "a very significant step toward
the settlement of the dispute," though he concedes that "negotiations
on these last points could be difficult." To support his argument
that the world too readily ignores Bougainville, Downer often
points out that more people were killed during Bougainville's
war than in Northern Ireland. A convincing settlement would
draw the world's attention. But the international Peace Monitoring
Group, led by Australia since 1999, has no plans to strike
camp. No one is ready to pop the corks just yet.
-Lisa Clausen
Island Hospitality
Nauru-Style Diplomacy
When nauru went to the 31st pacific Islands Forum in Tarawa,
Kiribati, last October, its official delegation included independence
activists from Indonesian-ruled Irian Jaya (West Papua). This
year Nauru is the host of the forum, which starts Aug. 14.
But it has barred the secessionists from attending. Nauru
President Rene Harris said the "bitter divisions" between
independence factions could obstruct forum proceedings. The
ban is good news for Indonesia, attending for the first time
as a post-forum "dialogue partner," and for Australia, which
backs Indonesian sovereignty over the province. But the decision
could still prove troublesome: the forum also includes the
Melanesian nations of Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, which
have previously shown strong support for their West Papuan
cousins.
-Leora Moldofsky
Penguin Protection
Nest Rooms
Penguins are creatures of habit. Wearing dinner suits on all
occasions is only the start of it: like blinkered vacationers,
they insist on returning to the same breeding grounds year
after year. For the Little Penguins of Burnie, Tasmania, reaching
their favorite spots now entails waddling across a busy highway,
a football ground, an old landfill and a car park.
Burnie residents have decided it's time to save the penguins
from their own persistence. The city council has fenced off
a kilometer of foreshore and installed the first of 50 cosy
burrows; six will have peepholes through which visitors can
spy on birds nesting under discreet red lights. The viewing
chamber will be part of a new penguin center with changing
displays, lecture
areas and bird-watching hides.Project coordinator Michelle
Foale says the penguins may be "a bit disoriented" by the
fence and new burrows. But chances are that they'll soon grow
to like their new beachside hotel-and keep on returning there,
year after year.
-Elizabeth Feizkhah
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August 20-27, 2001 |
No. 33
COVER
STORY
The
New Pacific
Setting off to explore the islands, Time found an ocean of stories. Faced
with the challenges of the global village, some peoples are prospering,
easily melding old ways with new; others struggle to cling to tradition
in a cyclone of change
TO
OUR READERS...
TRAVELERS ADVISORY...
PACIFIC
BEAT: Bougainville talks; West Papua in coventry...
SPECIAL:
Pacific Journey
CLIMATE: Not Waving, Drowning... Kiribati
and Tuvalu fear being erased by rising seas
MIGRATION: Outgoing Tide... Small
nations are losing their best and brightest people
LAND RIGHTS: At Loggerheads... Landowners
and opportunists vie for Fiji's mahogany wealth
MEDIA: Telling It Like It Is... Nervous
governments make life tough for local newsmen
GOVERNMENT: The Falling-to-Pieces
Process... The Solomon Islands is riven by corruption and lawlessness
DRUGS: Brewing Trouble... As drinking
rules lose their grip, kava is becoming a social bane
RELIGION: Shopping for Jesus... In
Samoa, new brands of Christianity are giving old ones a jolt
BUSINESS: Blooming Economy... Fijian
housewives find growth potential in their backyards
WOMEN: No Room to Move... In Vanuatu,
women's freedom often sits uneasily with tradition
SCIENCE: Gene Blues... Tongans debate
whether to give researchers access to their dna
MEDICINE: Sweet and Deadly... Long-isolated
islanders are vulnerable to diet-related diseases
THE ARTS: Bringing Samoa to Book... Sia
Figiel writes about her homeland with novel candor
ENVIROMENT: Nowhere to Throw... Places
like the Cook Islands have little room for waste
FISHING: Conserving the Catch... Fearful
for the sea's health, Samoans apply their own First Aid
THE ARTS: Tapa Recording... Bark cloth
documents island peoples' lives and legends
THE ARTS: Islamic
art; Pee-wee's back...
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