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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General Welcomes Bougainville Autonomy Vote

27 March 2002

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, said today: "I welcome the announcement that the Papua New Guinea Parliament has just voted unanimously to support Bougainville self-government.

"This vote marks a major milestone for the people of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville in securing peace for the region. The Commonwealth stands ready to assist, if required, in supporting preparations for the establishment of an autonomous Bougainville government".


Note to Editors:
In his former capacity as New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr McKinnon was instrumental in re-starting the peace process on Bougainville in 1996. This resulted in the Burnham Agreement and the Burnham Truce (in July and October of 1997 respectively) and the Lincoln Agreement (January 1998). These agreements led to the breakthrough Bougainville Peace Agreement signed on 30 August 2001.
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