Do not sidetrack from the peace agreement: Momis

Caption:  President Momis welcoming Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, December 14, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

IN his speech for the official opening of the new reopened Aropa Airport in Kieta, Bougainville- President of the autonomous region John Momis called on the national government not to deviate from the Bougainville Peace Agreement which he said was already in place to be fulfilled.

He told those present that there was the common assumption that self-determination was not a good thing, something which he said was not the case.

“That is not true, as the true meaning of self determination is that man by nature is a self determining animal, because man is engulfed with an intellect and the will,” President Momis said.

“The bougainville peace agreement is a good agreement, we must not sidetrack from it- we must stick to the agreement that is a joint agreement that is binding the national government and the government of Bougainville to work together to develop for reconstruction, but in the ultimate analysis the two governments must solve the cause of the problem when the landowners and people felt like they were being ignored under the neo-colonial regime.”

“I just want to remind us of the very good agreement- we must not reinvent the wheel again but must implement it to the full.”

Momis said that the national government should accept its responsibility under the agreement along with the Bougainville Government and it people also on their part.

“If we do that we must not worry- if the process is honorable with integrity, the outcome will also be honorable with integrity,” he said

“On behalf of the people of Bougainville I want to say that we make a pledge to work with the national government to try a lasting solution to a mutually acceptable outcome.”

“Without that trust there will be a lot of assumptions that the national government may be lying to us, the national government too will also think likewise.”

The president added that in a globalised world- they should not go and hide and allow themselves to be victims of assumptions.

“Our ultimate mutual objective of finding good governance, rule of law, democratization and participatory democracy transcends our differences.”

“All these things are more valuable and important to each person. We must never say die we must stand up with confidence to work up autonomy means that we must stand up and find solutions.”