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Political Reviews

The Region in Review: International Issues and Events, 2017 nic maclellan

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2017 volker boege, mathias chauchat, alumita durutalo, joseph daniel foukona, budi hernawan, michael leach, james stiefvater

The Contemporary Pacic, Volume 30, Number 2, 461–547 © 2018 by University of Hawai‘i Press

461 Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2017

Vanuatu is not reviewed in this issue. As a consequence, disgruntled young Bougainvilleans brought the mine to a Bougainville standstill through acts of sabotage in In 2017, the Autonomous Region of late 1988. The GoPNG sent its police Bougainville in Papua New Guinea riot squads and later its military to the (PNG) entered its final and decisive island and declared a state of emer- stage of peacebuilding, with prepara- gency on Bougainville in June 1989. tions for a referendum on the future Opponents of the mine established political status of the region com- the Bougainville Revolutionary Army mencing in earnest. Peacebuilding on (bra), which took up the fight against Bougainville began in the late 1990s the PNG security forces. Fighting that after a decade-long violent conflict. started in central Bougainville soon During the conflict, Bougainvilleans spread across the whole island. The suffered from the collapse of basic bra adopted a secessionist stance and services such as health and education called for political independence for and the breakdown of infrastructure Bougainville. bra fighters managed and public administration. Out of the to overrun and shut down the mine almost 20,000 Bougainvilleans who at an early stage of the war, and it has lost their lives, only a minority were remained closed ever since. combatants killed in action; the vast In its war against the bra, the majority were civilians. Fighting also PNG military was supported by local led to the displacement of more than Bougainvillean auxiliary units, the 40 percent of Bougainville’s popula- so-called Resistance Forces. Over time, tion of approximately 250,000 people. it became the Resistance that bore the The root causes of the war were brunt of the fighting for the govern- the negative social and environmen- ment side. Moreover, long-standing tal effects of a giant mining project, local conflicts were also carried out the Panguna gold and copper mine, violently under the umbrella of the which had been established in Cen- war of secession. Parties entangled in tral Bougainville in 1972. In the late local conflicts either joined the bra or 1980s, locals in the mine area started the Resistance, the war became more to demand meaningful environmental and more complex, and the frontiers protection measures, compensation for blurred. The time of war was to a environmental damage, and a larger large extent a time of statelessness. share of the revenues generated. The The institutions of the PNG state were multinational mining company that forced to withdraw from Bougainville, operated the mine (known today as and the secessionists were unable to Rio Tinto) and the government of build their own state institutions. This Papua New Guinea (GoPNG), both of opened the space for the resurgence of which profited enormously from Pan- non-state, local customary governance guna, disregarded the locals’ concerns. institutions so that traditional authori-

482 political reviews • melanesia 483 ties, such as elders and chiefs, became ­Bougainville. It can be argued that responsible for organizing commu- only with the referendum and the nity life. They drew on long-standing peaceful implementation of its provi- customary norms when dealing with sions will peacebuilding have reached conflicts in the local context, often a satisfactory conclusion. (For an over- facilitating reconciliations at the intra- view of the war and of post-­conflict and inter-community levels. peacebuilding, see Wallis 2014; Regan Thus, local peacebuilding had 2010; Braithwaite and others, 2010; already generated positive results well Carl and Garasu 2002; for the histori- before a high-level political peace pro- cal, social, and political context, see cess commenced in 1997. A formal, Regan and Griffin 2005.) Bougainville-wide ceasefire came into While Bougainville peace is mainly effect at the end of April 1998, paving homegrown, an international peace- the way for official peace negotia- building intervention—which, com- tions, which finally culminated in the pared to other endeavors, was a “light Bougainville Peace Agreement (bpa) intervention” (Regan 2010)—has on 30 August 2001. The bpa has two also played an important role. New core political provisions: first, the Zealand hosted the initial rounds of establishment of the Autonomous peace talks and negotiations. Neigh- Region of Bougainville (ARoB) as a boring states and the United Nations special political entity within the PNG conducted, with the consent of the state, with far-reaching autonomy; and conflict parties, a peacebuilding second, a referendum on the future intervention. The United Nations sent political status of Bougainville—either a small observer mission from August complete independence or remaining 1998 to the end of 2003. Furthermore, with Papua New Guinea. The bpa a regional Truce Monitoring Group, stipulates that the referendum has which later became the Peace Moni- to be held ten to fifteen years after toring Group, was on the island from the establishment of an autonomous late 1997 to June 2003. New Zealand government for Bougainville (which led the Truce Monitoring Group and took place in 2005). The ARoB has Australia led the Peace Monitor- its own constitution, adopted by the ing Group, with Australia providing Bougainville Constituent Assembly on the bulk of personnel and resources 12 November 2004. The first elections (Wehner and Denoon 2001; Adams for a Bougainville House of Repre- 2001; Bowd 2007; Braithwaite and sentatives and a president were held others 2010; Regan 2010; Breen 2016; in June 2005, followed by two more Boege, Debiel, and Rinck 2017). elections in 2010 and 2015. At pres- In general, Bougainville is seen as ent, Bougainvilleans are governed by a peacebuilding success story. This their own Autonomous Bougainville success is built on the constructive Government (abg). interactions between international In May 2016, the abg and the and national state actors and institu- GoPNG agreed on the target date tions on the one hand (in particular of 15 June 2019 for the referen- the GoPNG and the abg) and local dum on the future political status of customary actors and institutions on 484 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) the other. While the former pursue a between the abg and the mgu yielded Western, liberal agenda of peacebuild- the Panguna Communiqué, which ing and state building, the latter work laid the foundations for an ongoing to introduce their custom-based ways process of ­rapprochement between of conflict transformation and forming the two entities. Since then the abg political community into the process. and ­Meekamui have been involved in In the course of this local/custom- various forms of exchange, with both ary–international/liberal interface, sides committed to the “unification” hybrid forms of peace and governance of all ­Bougainvilleans. are emerging that differ considerably Although the Meekamuis insist that from Western, liberal concepts (Boege in principle Bougainville is already 2010, 2011). independent (the bra proclaimed a Despite the overall success of Unilateral Declaration of Indepen- peacebuilding and state forma- dence in May 1990), the Panguna tion on Bougainville, some areas Meekamuis have joined the process of Bougainville are still controlled toward referendum. This includes by armed groups that have not yet a commitment to disarm before the officially joined the peace process, end of 2018. The Meekamui move- and some sections of the population ment, however, is not a unitary force do not acknowledge the abg as the but consists of several factions. While (only) rightful government. Mention the mgu is willing to come to the has to be made in particular of the table, other factions are more reluc- Meekamui movement (Meekamui tant, namely a group led by Noah means “holy land” in one of the local ­Musingku, who proclaimed himself ­Bougainville languages). Meekamui is “king” (King David Peii II) and has the faction that split from the former established a “kingdom” around Tonu bra when the peace process com- in southern Bougainville, and a group menced in the late 1990s. Meekamui led by Damien Koike, a former bra is in control of the area around the commander who controls a no-go Panguna mine in central Bougain- zone in Konnou, also in south Bou- ville as well as pockets in the south gainville, where he operates his own of the island. The Panguna Meeka- gold mine. Bringing these “wild cards” mui have their own government, the into the referendum process will be a Meekamui Government of Unity challenge. (mgu), and their own ­military, the An important step in this regard Meekamui Defence Force. Although was made in early May 2017 when the Meekamuis have not yet officially leaders and (ex-) commanders of joined the peace process, they have the bra, the Resistance, and various never undermined it either. Meekamui Meekamui factions came together for has declared the territory under its a four-day meeting in Arawa under the control around the Panguna mine a title “Re-Unifying Bougainville for a “no-go zone” for outsiders, although Free and Fair Referendum” (even the the “border” between the no-go zone “king” sent the “general” of his “royal and the rest of ­Bougainville is rather guard”), followed by a reconciliation porous. In August 2007, meetings ceremony on 17 May. Since the split in political reviews • melanesia 485

1997, these leaders had been divided setting up various committees such between the majority of the bra, as the Joint Bougainville Referendum which joined the peace process, and Committee and the Joint Bougain- the minority faction, which became ville Referendum Communications the Meekamuis. Each group has pur- ­Committee. sued their own political agendas (and Most important, agreement on the economic projects), often competing features of the independent adminis- with and rarely talking to one another. trative agency that, according to the This meeting was thus hailed as a bpa, has to conduct the referendum, great success as it committed all sides were reached in January 2017: It was to working together in the referendum decided that a Bougainville Referen- process and the associated process of dum Commission (brc) should be weapons disposal (Memorandum of formed. After lengthy preparations, Joint Commitment 2017). Later in the the charter for the brc was finally year, in September, veterans from all signed on 30 August 2017 by Papua sides and from all over Bougainville New Guinea’s governor-general. The reaffirmed their determination to work brc has as its governing body a seven- hard for weapons disposal, with the person Board of Commissioners, com- aim of declaring Bougainville weapons prising the National and Bougainville free no later than 31 December 2018 Electoral Commissioners, two persons (The Bougainville Bulletin 2017). It appointed by the GoPNG and two by remains to be seen whether all sides the abg, and a chairperson appointed will stand by their commitments. by the jsb (with the understanding Referendum preparations gained that this chairperson should be an considerable momentum in 2017. eminent international elder statesman/ They started immediately after the woman). The board will be supported Joint Supervisory Body (jsb)—the by a brc Secretariat under a chief ref- joint GoPNG–abg institution that is erendum officer. Until the brc is fully in charge of the implementation of established, a transitional committee, the bpa—agreed at its 20 May 2016 comprising the electoral commission- meeting to set 15 June 2019 as the ers and chief secretaries of both sides, target date for the referendum. On is in charge (Bougainville Referendum the abg side, it is the Department of Commission Charter 2017). Bougainville Peace Agreement Imple- After several postponements, a mentation (dpai) (which until March crucial meeting of the jsb finally 2017 was the Department of Refer- took place on 14 and 15 December endum, Veterans’ Affairs and Peace) 2017 in Port Moresby. Its focus was under its Secretary James Tanis that is on referendum preparations. At that in charge of the referendum process. time, the sides agreed on the abg’s Its counterpart on the GoPNG side is suggestion for a brc chairperson: the National Coordination Office of former New Zealand Prime Minister Bougainville Affairs. Both institutions Helen Clark. They also endorsed the have worked together to establish the abg-appointed brc members: former organizational structure for the prepa- abg Vice President Patrick Nisira and ration and conduct of the referendum, Hillary Masiria (the PNG government 486 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) still has to appoint its two brc mem- his fellow Bougainvilleans that the bers). They also decided to establish a referendum would go ahead, clarify- trust account for the brc and agreed ing (again) that, according to the bpa, to invite international observers “to weapons disposal and good gover- observe the conduct of every phase of nance are not preconditions for the the Referendum process” (jsb 2017, conduct of the referendum (Bougain- 4). With regard to the eligibility of ville News 2017). In fact, the bpa— Bougainvilleans living outside of the and also the PNG Constitution— ARoB to participate in the referen- clearly stipulate that a referendum has dum, the “need for development of a to take place before June 2020, no process to enable non-resident Bou- matter what. It is to be expected that gainvilleans to enroll and vote in the the abg–GoPNG dialogue on referen- referendum” was acknowledged (jsb dum will remain difficult in the future. 2017, 3), and technical officials were At least as important as the collabo- given the task of working on the issue. ration between the two governments Regarding the referendum question, is the work at the grassroots level in the sides merely “noted” the “Bou- Bougainville to raise awareness of gainville aspiration to have a simple the referendum process. In September yes or no question to the question of 2016, the abg agreed on a “Bougain- separate independence for Bougain- ville Referendum Ready Concept,” ville” (jsb 2017, 3), but no decision which tasked each of the thirty-three was made. Finally, the jsb endorsed constituencies in Bougainville to the “need to conduct National Recon- prepare for the referendum. Constitu- ciliation between ­Bougainvilleans and ency referendum committees were PNG security forces and other parties established in every constituency; they that were involved in the Bougainville carry out referendum awareness at the conflict” (jsb 2017, 7)—which could local level, with the aim of making include Solomon Islands and Austra- each and every hamlet, village, ward, lia. and constituency “referendum ready.” The December jsb meeting demon- The first constituency that declared strated once more that the abg side itself referendum ready was Bolave in is well ahead in referendum prepara- Southern Bougainville on 7 September tions, while the GoPNG is lagging 2017; it was followed by Hagogohe behind and is more hesitant. More- constituency in North Bougainville on over, in September 2017, Prime Min- 29 October 2017 (The Bougainville ister Peter O’Neill even cast doubts Bulletin 2017, 6). Others are to follow on the overall process, telling the in 2018, with 31 December 2018 as PNG Parliament that it may be that the target date set by the Bougainville the referendum will not be possible House of Representatives for refer- because certain criteria, such as rule endum readiness. Furthermore, local of law, good governance, or weapons facilitators and nongovernmental disposal, have not been met (Bougain- organizations conduct local referen- ville News 2017). In response, the abg dum dialogues in cooperation with President John Momis called O’Neill’s the dpai. Despite these efforts, there statement “dangerous” and reassured are still many Bougainvilleans who political reviews • melanesia 487 say that they need more information nonresident Bougainvilleans (living in and clarity on referendum issues, other parts of Papua New Guinea or indicating that work at the local overseas) needs further clarification. level will have to intensify further in Finally, weapons disposal remains an 2018. Accordingly, all members of the issue so as to provide for a free and Bougainville House of Representatives safe referendum. A four-stage ­weapons have been allocated funds for aware- disposal plan endorsed by the jsb in ness-raising activities in their constitu- December 2017 has to be implemented­ encies in 2018. in 2018. The referendum process enjoyed The second major political topic on some international assistance in Bougainville in 2017 was the Pan- 2017. The United Nations provides guna mine. In June 2016, Rio Tinto, support through its Peacebuilding the multinational mining company Fund and the Bougainville office of that was the majority shareholder of the UN Development Programme. Bougainville Copper Limited (bcl), The international nongovernmental which for almost two decades had organizations Conciliation Resources operated the Panguna mine until its (London) and Peace and Conflict closure at the beginning of the war, Studies Institute Australia (Brisbane) completely withdrew from Panguna. cooperate with the dpai and local It transferred its shares to the GoPNG nongovernmental organizations in and the abg—at no cost. The two referendum preparation, organizing governments became equal major- referendum dialogues all over Bou- ity shareholders, each holding 36.45 gainville (through the Bougainville percent of bcl. At the same time, Rio Referendum Dialogues project) and Tinto made it clear that it does not see exchanges with international actors any obligation to address the mine’s who provide information about their environmental and social legacies, experiences, for example, from South arguing that it adhered to Papua New Sudan or Northern Ireland (through Guinea’s laws of the day. It rejects any the Comparative Learning program). responsibility for the environmental, There are still challenges ahead for social, health, and other long-term the referendum, not least the establish- impacts of Panguna mine operations. ment of a reliable, up-to-date common The abg strongly criticized Rio roll. The elections for the PNG Parlia- Tinto’s stance regarding Panguna’s ment in 2017 demonstrated that the legacy issue and also demanded that current electoral roll is totally unreli- the GoPNG transfer its bcl shares to able (even the names of abg President the abg as the representative of the Momis and his wife were missing; they people of Bougainville and the right- had to use the supplementary roll). ful owners of Bougainville’s mineral As this shows, much work has to be resources. However, the abg also done on voter registration. Only if it made it clear that it supported reopen- is guaranteed that every eligible voter ing the Panguna mine with the “new” can participate in the referendum will (non–Rio Tinto) bcl as operator, the outcome be accepted as valid and as it sees mining as the best way to legitimate. In this context, eligibility of substantially increase government 488 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) revenue and foster economic growth the nine landowner associations in the and development for an autono- mine-affected areas. Again and again, mous—and, further down the road, bcl claimed that it had “strong levels an independent—Bougainville. An of support among landowners for independent Bougainville, so the argu- mine redevelopment with bcl as the ment goes, can only survive in a glo- preferred developer” (bcl 2017). The balized economy if it generates value fact, however, is that there also exists from its mineral wealth. At the same a strong anti-bcl camp. time, however, the abg ­emphasized This became obvious in June 2017 that it will not allow reopening of the when a delegation of bcl and abg Panguna mine or any other large-scale tried to travel to Panguna to sign a mining on Bougainville without the memorandum of understanding with consent of landowners. In fact, the landowner associations on reopening Bougainville Mining Act of March the mine. The delegation was forced 2015 puts the landowners front and to turn around at Morgan Junction, center: It declares that the custom- at the entrance of the access road to ary landowners are the owners of the the mine, controlled by a ­Meekamui minerals on and beneath their land, roadblock, because it was met by big giving them strong veto rights over ­demonstrations led by local women exploration and mining development under banners reading “No to min- tenements. ing” and “No to bcl” (Papua New bcl has always said that it wants Guinea Mine Watch 2017). As has to reopen the mine and run it again, been said before, the Panguna mine continuously talking about the “new site and its surroundings are con- Panguna” it will create as a way to trolled by the Meekamuis, and they distance itself from the “old Panguna” are opposed to the return of bcl. and the “mistakes” it made in the Opposed also is the association past. bcl management presented a representing the landowners from the staged redevelopment plan to share- Special Mining Lease area (smlola), holders, landowner associations, and which distinguishes it from the other the abg at the beginning of 2017, landowner associations from other and it has advertised this plan at mine-affected areas that are in the several other occasions throughout pro-bcl camp. In fact, the smlola 2017. bcl posited that redevelopment chairman is also the mgu premier could be done within six to seven (Philip Miriori). mgu and smlola, years, and to this end it intensified however, are not anti-mining per se, its presence on the ground: In August but only anti-bcl. They agree with 2017 it held its first board meeting the abg’s view that the Panguna mine in Bougainville in more than twenty- is necessary for economic develop- seven years, and in the same month ment of Bougainville but want to do a permanent office was established mining without bcl. Actually, they in Buka, the ARoB’s administrative have aligned themselves with a junior center, with local ­Bougainville staff. Australian mining company, rtg bcl had major players on its side: the Mining Inc, and want to redevelop the abg, the GoPNG, and all but one of Panguna mine in a joint venture with political reviews • melanesia 489 rtg. Thus, 2017 also saw a continu- the opposition to its return to ­Panguna ous struggle between the pro-bcl and is. smlola clearly conveyed the the pro-rtg forces. ­message that it is not willing to grant Last but not least, there are also bcl access to the mine site (Radio those locals who are opposed to any New Zealand 2018a). reopening of the Panguna mine at Following the hearing, abg Presi- this point in time. This anti-mining dent John Momis announced on 20 camp comprises several community- December 2017 that the Bougainville based organizations and networks, Executive Council “made a thought- most notably women’s organizations ful and considered decision to impose and groupings of ex-bra combatants. an indefinite reservation moratorium Some in this camp are totally anti- from any exploration or mining over mining, while others hold the view Panguna project in the best interest that the referendum and independence of the landowners and the people of must occur before discussions about Bougainville” (Laukai 2017). The mining can resume under new political lack of landowner consent was given conditions. as the reason for this decision. At the The conflict between the differ- same time, Momis declared the devel- ent camps reached a climax on 11 opment of the mine “by any other December 2017 when a mine warden’s ­developer” to be “untenable under hearing took place in Panguna, dealing current circumstances”—which was a with bcl’s application for renewal clear rebuke of rtg—while also prom- of its Panguna exploration license. ising to “continue to consult with the Such hearings are legally required in Panguna Landowners and the people order to assess whether the applica- of Bougainville on an appro­priate tion has the necessary support of the arrangement . . . if the people still have land­owners in the license area. Based an appetite to develop the mine in the on the assessment, the warden makes future” (Laukai 2017). Shortly after- ­recommendations, which then form ward, Momis even said that “we can’t the basis for a final decision to be allow bcl’s ­involvement in ­Panguna made by the abg’s Executive Council. that may lead to bloodshed.­ . . . We In preparation for the mine can’t open the mine in the face of ­warden’s hearing of 11 December such huge ­opposition from the people. 2017, all sides mobilized their forces. According to our law, the landowners More than one hundred written own the resource, not the government. objections were lodged with the war- Until companies win the social license den, ­including those from smlola, from the landowners they are barking women’s groups, and anti-mining up the wrong tree” (Radio New Zea- networks. An anti-bcl petition (“No land 2018b). These statements indicate to bcl Forever”) launched by smlola that the abg has given up on Panguna/ was signed by more than two thou- bcl for the time being. It remains to sand members. The hearing was be seen whether the rift between the dominated by anti-bcl sentiments. abg and bcl can be mended in 2018, For bcl, its outcome was a major set- as well as whether smlola/rtg, who back as it became obvious how strong of course ­welcomed the abg’s rejec- 490 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) tion of bcl, can profit from the new lion) as Restoration and Development situation. Grant for 2018. Over the last few While putting Panguna on hold, the years, the abg constantly complained abg still maintains its preference for that it did not receive the funds from mining as the most promising path for the GoPNG that it is entitled to economic development. Accordingly, according to the bpa. In the past, only it approved three new mining explora- portions of the designated funds were tion licenses on 17 November 2017: transferred, often with long delays, two for areas in north ­Bougainville, and this had considerable negative and one for an area in the border impacts on the functioning of the region of Central and South Bou- autonomy arrangements. gainville. The first two are for the Bougainvilleans went to the polls joint venture companies Toremana twice in 2017. In April 2017, the first Resources Limited and (Australian) community government elections were Kalia Investment Limited, covering the held, according to the Bougainville Tore area in Tinputz district. The third Community Government Act of 2016. mining license went to Isina Resources In 425 wards, members for forty-three Holdings Limited in the Kongara/ rural community governments were Koromira region. Isina is a company elected (elections for the four urban led by the former bra supreme mili- governments are to follow). These tary commander Sam Kauona. community governments replace the The pros and cons of mining will councils of elders as the local level of remain an issue on Bougainville. government in Bougainville. Critics of the narrow focus on min- Bougainville also participated in the ing point to other areas with potential national PNG elections in June–July for economic development: fisher- 2017. ARoB has four representatives ies, (eco-)tourism, and agriculture, in the PNG national Parliament— in ­particular copra and cocoa. one each for the regions of North, The Second Bougainville Chocolate Central, and South, and one for the Festival, which was held in September entirety of ARoB. Two incumbents 2017 in Arawa and which brought were reelected: Joe Lera for ARoB and together local cocoa farmers with Timothy Masiu for South. For North, chocolate makers and buyers from ­William Nakin was newly elected, overseas, demonstrated the potential and for Central, Simon Dumarinu, of the cocoa sector. who was then appointed Bougainville Bougainville is indeed in dire need affairs minister in the O’Neill govern- of its own sources of revenue to ment. After being elected, all four overcome its financial dependency on members made a joint pledge to work Papua New Guinea. The long-standing closely together with the Bougain- conflict between the GoPNG and ville House of Representatives for the the abg regarding abg’s financing implementation of the bpa and the was partly resolved at the jsb meet- referendum. ing in December 2017 when the sides The elections and the issues of reached a compromise that grants the ­referendum and the Panguna mine abg k437 million (us$135.9 mil- overshadowed other important political reviews • melanesia 491

­problems throughout 2017. For exam- Peace and Security in a Post-Conflict ple, the negative impacts of climate Hybrid Political Order: The Case of change, which due to sea-level rise ­Bougainville. Journal of International can be felt directly by the people on Peacekeeping 14 (3–4): 330–352. the low-lying atolls in the ARoB, only ———. 2011. Hybrid Forms of Peace and received little attention. The plight of Order on a South Sea Island: Experiences the Carteret Islanders, who are being from Bougainville (Papua New Guinea). forced to relocate from their atoll to In Hybrid Forms of Peace: From Every- mainland Bougainville, seems to be day Agency to Post-Liberalism, edited by better known and of more concern at Oliver Richmond and Audra Mitchell, the world stage than in Bougainville 88–106. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. itself. Over the last few years, the Boege, Volker, Patricia Rinck, and Tobias local nongovernmental organization Debiel. 2017. Local-International Rela- Tulele Peisa has been very successful in tions and the Recalibration of Peace- drawing international attention to the building Interventions. Insights from the fate of the “climate refugees” from the “Laboratory” of Bougainville and Beyond. Carterets. But this has not yet trans- inef Report 112/2017. Duisburg: Institute lated into sufficient effective measures for Development and Peace. on the ground. Climate change and The Bougainville Bulletin. 2017. Bougain- ensuing need for adaptation and reset- ville to Be Declared Weapons-Free Before tlement remain a pressing problem for End of 2018. Edition 11, December. the outer islands in the ARoB. http://www.abg.gov.pg/index.php/news/ Other issues that did not get the read/bougainville-bulletin-e-copy attention they deserve in 2017 include [accessed 14 March 2018] the high levels of youth unemployment Bougainville News. 2017. President Momis and of domestic and gender-based Concerned about PNG pm O’Neill’s violence as well as the massive rise Ill-Informed and Misleading ­Referendum in sorcery accusations and sorcery- Comments. Blog, 27 Sept. https:// related violence. bougainvillenews.com/2017/09/27/ bougainville-news-president-momis volker boege -concerned-about-png-pm-oneills-ill -informed-and-misleading-referendum -comments/ [accessed 11 Jan 2018] References Bougainville Referendum Commission Adams, Rebecca, editor. 2001. Peace on Charter. 2017. 30 August. Printed copy in Bougainville: Truce Monitoring Group; author’s files. Gudpela Nius Bilong Peace. Wellington: Bowd, Reuben R E. 2007. Doves over the Victoria University Press. Pacific: In Pursuit of Peace and Stability in bcl, Bougainville Copper Limited. Bougainville. Loftus: Australian Military 2017. The New Panguna Project Update. History Publications. Shareholder release, 20 Oct. http://www Braithwaite, John, Hilary Charles- .bcl.com.pg/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ worth, Peter Reddy, and Leah Dunn. Shareholder-Letter-20.10.17-Final 2010. Reconciliation­ and Architectures -1215pm.pdf [accessed 10 Jan 2018] of ­Commitment: Sequencing Peace in Boege, Volker. 2010. How to Maintain ­Bougainville. Canberra: anu Press. 492 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Breen, Bob. 2016. The Good Neighbour: .com/2018/01/05/momis-abg-concerned Australian Peace Support Operations in -reopening-panguna-might-ignite-another the Pacific Islands, 1980–2006. Cam- -war/ [accessed 9 Jan 2018] bridge, uk: Cambridge University Press. Regan, Anthony J. 2010. Light Interven- Carl, Andy, and Lorraine Garasu, editors. tion: Lessons from Bougainville. Washing- 2002. Weaving Consensus: The Papua ton dc: United States Institute of Peace. New Guinea–Bougainville Peace Process. Regan, Anthony J, and Helga M Griffin, Conciliation Resources Accord Issue editors. 2005. Bougainville Before the / . London: Conciliation Resources. 12 2002 Conflict. Canberra: Pandanus Books. jsb, Joint Supervisory Body. 2017. Wallis, Joanne. 2014. Constitution ­Official Joint Statement on the Conclu- ­Making during State Building. New York: sions and Records of the Joint Supervisory ­Cambridge University Press. Body. . . 15 Dec. http://www.abg.gov.pg/ uploads/documents/SIGNED_JSB Wehner, Monica, and Donald Denoon. _RESOLUTION_2017.pdf [accessed 2001. Without a Gun: Australians’ Experi- 10 Jan 2018] ences Monitoring Peace in Bougainville, 1997–2001. Canberra: Pandanus Books. Laukai, Aloysius. 2017. State on Panguna Mine. Press release, New Dawn on Bougainville blog, 21 Dec. http:// bougainville.typepad.com/newdawn/2017/ 12/211217state-on-panguna-mine-by Fiji -aloysius-laukaipress-realease-the Contemporary political events and -president-of-the-autonomous issues in Fiji, especially in the period -bougainville-government-chief.html between 1987 and 2017, can be [accessed 9 Jan 2018] understood most fully by analyzing the A Memorandum of Joint Commitment dynamics of ongoing power rivalry in between the Francis Ona Factions and Fiji. Within this thirty-year period, Fiji the Joseph Kabui Factions. 2017. Arawa has had three military and one civil- Independence Oval, 17 May. Printed copy ian/military coups d’état, highlighting in author’s files. modern and customary struggles for Papua New Guinea Mine Watch. 2017. national leadership. While military Bougainville: Landowner Women Protest- and national leadership has remained ers Block Mine Pact, Win Court Order. in the hands of Indigenous Fijian 19 June. https://ramumine.wordpress males since 1987, and coup leaders– .com/2017/06/19/bougainville-landowner -women-protesters-block-mine-pact-win turned–national leaders have also been -court-order/ [accessed 10 Jan 2018] Indigenous Fijian males, the reasons for staging coups and for supporting Radio New Zealand. a. ­Bougainville 2018 coups have shifted over time. In 1987, Landowners Say No Return for Miner Sitiveni Rabuka staged two military bcl. 4 Jan. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ international/pacific-news/347431/ coups to return political leadership bougainville-landowners-say-no-return to Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara’s Alliance -for-miner-bcl [accessed 11 Jan 2018] Party. In 2000, George Speight staged a failed coup. However, the ruling ———. 2018b. abg Concerned Reopening Fiji Labour Party Coalition was not Panguna “Might Ignite Another War.” 5 Jan. https://ramumine.wordpress returned to power. Frank Bainima- political reviews • melanesia 493 rama’s military coup d’état in 2006 the urban population was 55.9 percent was dubbed as a “cleanup campaign” of the total. Fiji’s Bureau of Statistics to rid Fiji of a variety of ills such as explained the slow increase in the corruption and nepotism. Bainima- overall population as due to factors rama’s leadership is ongoing, albeit including high outward migration with a number of issues voiced by his and a decrease in fertility levels. The opponents. increase in the urban population may Fiji’s political evolution through be due also to a number of factors, all the coup periods has reflected for instance, the extension of town the nature of power rivalry among boundaries and the rural-to-urban ­different elite groups, wherein class drift due to the availability of schools, and ethnicity merged and also con- health-care facilities, and employment flicted, raising other problems. in the urban areas (Fiji One News, National leadership through the mili- 13 Jan 2018). An unstated but real tarization of the state saw the enforce- factor that causes rural-to-urban drift ment of democracy through the barrel in less-industrialized countries like of a gun. Military dictatorships after Fiji is the lack of development in the coups created their own sociopolitical rural and remote areas or in isolated and economic relations, conducive to islands. strengthening their grapples for power. As a consequence of urban Fiji’s political economy between 1987 migration, the populations of some and 2017 has been driven by these ­provinces in Fiji were on the decline national power contests. These three in 2017. This included the two decades have seen the emergence of eastern maritime provinces of Lau politically ambitious military coup and Lomaiviti as well as Macuata leaders, at times supporting the inter- on Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second-largest ests of some Indigenous leaders and island. A decline in rural population the business class and at times clashing may also be attributed to a lack of with these interests. Against this his- infrastructure development in the rural torical background, this review high- areas, especially in the maritime prov- lights unfolding and ongoing political inces, where shipping has always been issues and events in Fiji in 2017. irregular. As a result, the main island Fiji’s population in the 2017 census of Viti Levu, where most towns are was 884,887, reflecting a gradual located and where most development increase of 47,660 after the 2007 occurs, has approximately 600,000 census. The Fijian male population inhabitants or 70 percent of the over- overall was 50.7 percent, surpassing all population. Another key factor that that of the female population at 49.3 contributed to the decrease in popula- percent. Approximately 70 percent of tion in provinces like Macuata was the Fiji’s population is below the age of 40 nonrenewal of sugarcane leases from (Fiji One News, 13 Jan 2018). 1990 onward (Lal, Lim-Applegate, The urban population increased to and Reddy 2001). 494,252 or 65.9 percent of the overall The nonrenewal of leases caused population. This was an increase of Indo-Fijian farmers either to migrate 10 percent over the last census, when to Viti Levu or to leave Fiji and 494 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) migrate overseas. The land issue has to resign from his job. He followed been a long-standing one in Fiji ever in the footsteps of other colleagues in since the British colonial government the same company: his predecessor prevented the alienation of native Tevita Gonelevu and, earlier, Fiji tv’s lands. Indigenous Fijians still own investment specialist, Mesake Nawari. approximately 83 percent of land in Basically, Fiji tv, under the leadership the country and, since the coups in of these people and others who were 1987, fear of losing land and resources also sidelined or sacked, refused to has been a main tenet that unites adhere to the requirements of the Fiji Indigenous Fijians under some of their First government’s media decree (ib, mainstream political parties. Jan 2017, 8–10). (The Fiji First politi- It is clear that one of the major cal party was formed by Bainimarama ­factors enabling the survival of mili- in 2014.) tary dictatorships in Fiji is the creation Censorship of news is one of the of laws and decrees that protect the major tactics still used by the Bainima- interests of such regimes. For example, rama government to keep Fiji’s people one of the provisions in Rabuka’s ignorant about crucial happenings in 1990 constitution protected his coup Fiji. In early 2016, Professor Biman perpetrators; this was finally repealed Prasad, leader of the National Federa- in 1997 after the stabilization of his tion Party (nfp), spoke to this ongoing rule. After the fourth military coup in issue: “Media organisations operate 2006, Bainimarama’s military govern- under the threat of their editors being ment repealed the 1997 constitution hauled before the Media Tribunal after the Appeals Court in Fiji ruled and subjected to huge fines and other on 10 April 2009 that the Bainima- punishments. The lack of access to a rama coup was illegal (Jowitt 2009). free and independent media has been In 2013, the Bainimarama government the single most frustrating obstacle promulgated yet another new constitu- for the opposition parties when they tion. In addition to the constitutional try to make the Government pub- provision that protected the 2006 licly accountable on various national coup perpetrators, critics have pointed issues” (Prasad 2016). to other decrees that are contradictory Critiquing the newly introduced to democracy in Fiji. laws or amendments to laws by the Fiji’s Media Industry and Devel- current government in Fiji has also opment Decree of 2010 is one such resulted in drastic measures, including instance; it was still in existence in deportation. In December 2016, Karen January 2017 and since its promulga- Seaton, a foreigner (US/Canadian) and tion, it has been consistent in silenc- freehold landowner on an island in ing critics of the current government. Fiji, was deported after she appeared This decree has seen the removal of before a parliamentary committee senior officers from their positions to lobby for support against Fiji’s in both the public and private sec- amendment to a land sales regulation tors. For example, in January 2017, (ib, Jan 2017, 16). Section 7 of the Geoffrey Smith, the chief executive amendment stated: “Current non- officer of Fiji Television, was forced resident owners of vacant lots within political reviews • melanesia 495 or outside of town/city boundaries problematic when it is used to per- are required to complete construction petuate the rule of governments that of a new residential dwelling, with a violate and suppress human rights. minimum expenditure of f$250,000, Fiji’s civil servants feel very insecure by 31 December 2016” (Munro Ley’s under the current government since Law 2014). The complaint by Seaton the February 2016 introduction of the and members of the Fiji Landowners Open Merit Recruitment and Selection Association was based on the fact that (omrs) guidelines, whereby a civil they were already landowners before servant can be immediately termi- the amendment was first introduced nated if “they are not doing well.” in 2014. They argued that the amend- Minister for Economy and Attorney- ment was wrong in principle as it General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum argued treated everyone alike, making no pro- in September 2017 that when civil visions for old owners (ib, Jan 2017, servants are removed from their jobs, 16). There was no avenue to recon- they should know they are not doing sider the Fiji Landowner’s Association their jobs well (Nasiko 2017). Civil complaint. servants can no longer appeal to have The Media Industry and Develop- their cases heard, as was previously ment Decree has also been successful practiced in Fiji’s Public Service Com- in keeping Fijians ignorant about the mission (psc). In 2016, nfp’s Biman extent of China’s influence in Fiji. For Prasad predicted that the reform of example, Chinese police arrived in Fiji’s civil service by removing the Fiji in 2017 to remove seventy-seven psc and creating a Ministry of Civil ­Chinese citizens who were alleged to Service would be disastrous in the long have committed cyber-crime and credit term (Prasad 2016). card fraud in Fiji. Except for a brief Additionally, senior government commentary in Islands Business, this positions such as those of ministe- news was not covered by other media rial permanent secretaries have been companies in Fiji (ib, Sept 2017, 6). opened up to foreign nationals. This The main issue here is that the Chinese issue was raised by Fiji’s former Per- criminals were never charged in any manent Secretary for Foreign Affairs court in Fiji, defying Fiji’s sovereignty and also former Ambassador to the as an independent state with its own United Arab Emirates Robyn Nair in judiciary system. 2017. Nair argued that the opening China has been a willing aid donor up of the permanent secretary posts to Fiji’s military governments ever to foreign nationals did not look good since Rabuka’s coup in 1987, and for Fiji in a number of ways. First, it Chinese aid to Fiji intensified after may imply that, after so many decades Bainimarama’s 2006 military coup. of independence (since 1970), Fiji still Fiji’s need for Chinese aid intensified could not produce a caliber of local as China, unlike Fiji’s Western allies, senior civil servants to be permanent did not demand adherence to demo- secretaries in government ministries. cratic principles as a prerequisite to Second, the government of the day aid delivery. Aid to small islands and through its ministers interfered a lot military dictatorships like Fiji becomes in the hiring and firing of permanent 496 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) secretaries. Third, hiring foreign Social media carry a lot of Indigenous nationals made Fiji civil servants feel Fijian grievances against the Fiji First insecure regarding their career path government (Fiji Exposed Forum in their own government and coun- 2018; Fiji Native and Tribal Congress try (Nair 2017). Perhaps another 2018). Dissatisfaction in Indigenous ­crucial question that should be posed Fijian leadership in Parliament has is whether other democracies around resulted in yet another search for an the world allow noncitizens to work Indigenous leader to head the leading in senior civil service positions where opposition party, the Social Demo- they are privy to classified government cratic Liberal Party (sodelpa). information. Among a portion of Indigenous In my 2017 research on “Untold Fijian voters, there seems to be a Stories of Fiji’s 2006 Coup Victims,” genuine belief that a former military I interviewed a former senior Fijian man and former coup leader can civil servant and information technol- end the leadership of another former ogy (it) professional who now lives coup leader. In 2017, former military abroad (interview, 25 Oct 2017). He coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka took was removed from his position as head over sodelpa leadership from the of the Fiji Government it systems and current party leader, high chiefess it networks, in which he was tasked Ro Teimumu Kepa, who is also the with looking after the following: sys- current opposition leader in the Fiji tems for government payroll; financial Parliament. Kepa announced she was management information; the Fiji land not contesting the 2018 Fiji general information; births, deaths, and mar- elections (ib, Feb 2017, 8–10). From riages; immigration; e-government; the the time of Rabuka’s appointment in bureau of statistics, and the govern- 2017, there are currently two leaders ment it network including satellite for this party, Kepa as the sodelpa stations and election systems. These parliamentary leader and Rabuka, responsibilities were transferred to who is hoping to be elected to Parlia- an it company based in India, which ment in the 2018 elections. operates in conjunction with a Fiji- Rabuka, Fiji’s first coup leader, based company called Pacific Tech- defeated two other candidates for the nologies. Again, the crucial question leadership of sodelpa in 2017. A that is asked here is not only whether unique characteristic of mainstream government’s classified information is Indigenous Fijian political parties has still safe but also how and why inter- been ongoing name changes. sodelpa national companies are able to move evolved from the Soqosoqo Duavata ni in to take over jobs from qualified Lewenivanua (sdl) Party, which had locals, even in the civil service. been ousted by the Bainimarama coup Promises by politicians for a better­ in 2006. Prior to the formation of government to improve things for the sdl party in 2001, Rabuka’s first Fiji’s people intensified in 2017. party, the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Over time, the Bainimarama govern- Taukei (svt) party, had been formed in ment has become unpopular among 1991 to replace the Fijian Association a section of Indigenous Fijian voters. arm of Ratu Mara’s Alliance Party political reviews • melanesia 497

(Durutalo 2006, 296–297). While the economy afloat is for government to name of the party changes in different attract investors to engage in economi- election periods, the ideology of these cally and environmentally sustainable mainstream Indigenous Fijian politi- investments in Fiji. Mining continued cal parties remains the same. One of to attract foreign investment in Fiji the main philosophies of these parties in 2017, even though earlier ­mining has been the protection of Indigenous activities such as Chinese bauxite Fijian resources and rights. ­mining in Nawailevu, Bua Province,­ Although Fiji now has only one has not been environmentally friendly. constituency throughout the whole In 2015, a high chief from the prov- island group, Rabuka, in an effort ince stated that the type of mining to consolidate his power base for activity in Bua “should never be the 2018 elections, has been visit- repeated in any other part of Fiji.” ing his old svt branches in his old The chief, who was interviewed by constituency and home province of Radio New Zealand, stated: “The Cakaudrove (ib, Feb 2017, 8–9). villagers told me that they had agreed Modern elections in Fiji and in other that the people mine bauxite but later Pacific Island countries see politicians they realised that they were cutting utilize their kinship and traditional soil onto the boats that sailed to cultural system to build power bases. China. There was no machinery in Other Indigenous politicians have also Nawailevu to refine, to take away the used the same strategy by appealing to bauxite from the soil so they took the their kin in their provinces and vanua whole soil, tonnes and tonnes” (Radio (traditional geopolitical boundary New Zealand 2015). The villagers where a high chief rules). However, near the ­mining site also reported that the campaign challenge in a one-con- fish turned a different color when min- stituency electoral system is to defeat ing was ­ongoing. the dominant political party, which In March 2017, similar concerns in Fiji’s case is Prime Minister Baini- were raised as Dome Gold Mines, an marama’s Fiji First Party, which did Australian mining company, started its a lot of vote buying before the 2014 first of three mining ventures in Fiji. elections (Durutalo 2016, 108–110). The first venture, at the mouth of the Although Bainimarama secured the Sigatoka river in southwest Viti Levu, highest number of votes (202,459) in involves the mining of the seabed to the 2014 elections, only 84 percent of extract magnetized concentrate and the registered 703,691 voters cast their iron ore. This Sigatoka riverbed min- votes. About 16 percent or 112,590 ing venture will then fund two other voters did not vote. Rabuka is target- ventures. The second on Ono island ing those nonvoters in the 2018 Fiji in Kadavu is a gold-mining venture, general elections (ib, Feb 2017, 9). A and the third in the Nadrau plateau in test of popularity for Rabuka will be central Viti Levu is a copper-mining whether or not he secures a seat in venture (ib, March 2017, 8–10). Fiji’s Parliament in the 2018 elections. All three ventures are located in One of the biggest challenges “ecologically sensitive and valuable required in an effort to keep the Fiji eco-systems” (ib, March 2017, 9). For 498 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) example, in addition to the fact that industrialized countries normally many fishermen catch fish around the take care of the sovereignty of their Sigatoka riverbed area and women countries and their economic interests collect freshwater mussels from first and foremost. This was clearly the river, the mining venture is also demonstrated by the president of the located in the middle of Fiji’s largest United States when he withdrew from tourism area, the Coral Coast. Dome’s the Paris Agreement. At another level, Sigatoka riverbed venture is also sids in different regions also require located partially on the Sigatoka sand the cooperation of their larger neigh- hills, a heritage site. The gold venture bors. In the case of sids in the Pacific, on Ono island in Kadavu is located the cooperation of their First World on world-renowned Great Astrolabe neighbors, Australia and New Zea- Reef. This is a popular diving site land, are very much needed. for tourists from all over the world. As explained by a Pacific negotia- The Nadrau plateau copper-mining tor at the cop23 Bonn meeting, there venture is located near the Sovi Basin. were two parallel meetings that were This area is already tentatively listed disconnected. In the “Bula Zone,” the under unesco (the United Nations details of the Paris Agreement were Educational, Scientific and Cultural negotiated. The “Bonn Zone” featured Organization) as a World Heritage site various side events or extracurricular (ib, March 2017, 9). In the long term, events such as talks, cultural arti- Fiji’s attempt to be the Small Island fact displays, Fijian singing, meke or Developing States (sids) champion ­dancing, and kava drinking (ib, Dec in mitigating the impact of climate 2017, 4). Much of what appeared on change is directly contradicted by the the news and social media were the types of business ventures, like mining, activities in the Bonn Zone, which that are ongoing in Fiji. were not directly connected to high- Climate change is a very complex powered climate change negotiations issue as negotiations to mitigate its in the Bula Zone. In fact, the media impacts transcend the sociopolitical spotlight on the Bonn Zone distracted and economic boundaries of all sover- attention from the purposes of the eign states, large and small. Addition- cop23 Bonn meeting. ally, climate change mitigation “begins cop23 failed to fulfill the wishes at home,” and sids like Fiji need to be of the Small Islands Developing States conscious of man-made environmental in terms of what they had identified degradation in their own backyards and agreed on at a Pacific Climate first and foremost before they ask the Champions meeting in Suva in July larger, more industrialized countries 2017. For example, issues like loss to cut down on carbon emissions. and damage of islands and homes as Fiji’s presidency of cop23 (the UN well as the rise in ocean levels and Climate Change conference) in Bonn, the link between oceans and climate Germany, in November 2017 was met change had been discussed at length with multidimensional challenges for a during that July meeting, but they small island state in the South Pacific. were marginalized at the Bonn meet- At the international level, all ing (cop23 2017). Furthermore, political reviews • melanesia 499 consultants employed to advise the Approximately 250 ats workers were Fijian Presidency negotiating team locked out of their offices when they lacked experience in climate change attended a three-hour shareholders’ negotiation. Another observation was meeting. When workers returned to the fact that climate change confer- work after their meeting, they found ences and negotiations should be held they were locked out of their offices in a small island developing state in by the ats management team. Fiji’s the Pacific where participants would minister for labor and employment have a chance to observe firsthand the relations, without listening to the negative impacts of climate change facts of the case or taking the indus- through, for example, sea-level rise (ib, trial dispute to arbitration, ruled the Dec 2017, 4). workers meeting as illegal from day Apart from the overwhelming one of the lockout. Workers were then impacts of climate change, Fiji, like immediately told by ats management other sids, confronts its own socio- to sign a form stating that the workers political and economic realities on a were in the wrong and, additionally, daily basis. Industrial disputes were that the workers were willing to return also part of Fiji’s journey in 2017. to work, pending management’s deci- On Monday, 6 November 2017, sion on the alleged “illegal meeting.” the Fiji Times reported a statement by The ats workers refused to sign the the general secretary of the Federated form and continued to sit outside the Airport Services Association at Nadi ats building at Nadi airport, await- airport, in western Viti Levu. The ing further negotiations by their union statement explained that despite the leaders and ats management. ongoing discussions with Air Terminal On Saturday, 13 January 2018, the Services (ats) Management regarding Fiji Trade Union Congress (ftuc), the workers’ long-term grievances, together with other unions, nongov- the ats management did not appear ernmental organizations, political to commit to addressing any of the parties, representatives of chiefs and concerns. Among the issues workers vanua, communities, church groups, wanted resolved was the reinstatement and individuals, participated in the of workers’ representatives on the ats largest peaceful protest march in Nadi Board. More than 360 out of the 588 town. More than eight thousand workers then opted for strike action people participated in this peaceful because of this impasse (Chaudhary march in support of the locked-out 2017). ats workers. Prior to this march, Fiji’s On 16 December 2017, an indus- prime minister had labeled groups that trial dispute erupted between the ats visited the locked-out ats workers as Fiji Limited workers, who are 49 “cheap politicians” (Bolatiki 2018). percent shareholders of the company, However, the message was loud and and the management of the company. clear to the Fiji First Government that The Fiji government owns the other the workers/shareholders of the com- 51 percent of the shares. Workers met pany were adamant to continue sitting to discuss long-standing grievances, out until their grievances were heard. ongoing for more than ten years. After thirty-four days of waiting to be 500 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) allowed back into their workplaces, 1987, the seventeen-year reign of Ratu on 20 January 2018, the Employment Mara’s Alliance Party ended when the Relations Tribunal ruled in favor of newly formed Fiji Labour Party Coali- the ats workers/shareholders and tion defeated it. A march through ordered that locked-out workers be Nadi town on 13 January 2018 by allowed back into their workplaces more than eight thousand workers within forty-eight hours of the ruling. and supporters in a show of solidarity Workers returned to work on ­Monday, for the locked-out ats workers was 22 January 2018. a warning sign to Bainimarama’s Fiji After the ats workers returned First government that history could to work, Felix Anthony, the general repeat itself in the 2018 election. secretary of the Fiji Trade Union Labour solidarity has always crossed Congress, was interrogated by the Fiji the ethnic divide and made political Police about “sabotaging the econ- history in Fiji. omy,” which is an offense under sec- alumita durutalo tion 8 of the Public Order Act in Fiji. As Anthony explained, the Fiji Police suggested that his remarks ­during References the march implied a possibility of a Bolatiki, Maika. 2018. pm: We Will Stand nationwide strike if government did by the Rule of Law. Fiji Sun Online, 6 Jan. not act to resolve the ats saga. This, http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/01/06/pm-we the police asserted, was tantamount to -will-stand-by-the-rule-of-law/ [accessed sabotaging Fiji’s economy (Radio New 28 March 2018] Zealand 2018). Guy Ryder, the direc- Chaudhary, Felix. 2017. ats Issues tor general of the International Labor under Scrutiny. Fiji Times Online, 6 Nov. Organization (ilo), was contacted to http://fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=422793 intervene urgently on the unfolding [accessed 23 Jan 2018] industrial dispute in Fiji. The Interna- cop23, United Nations Climate Change tional Transport Workers’ Federation Conference. 2017. Climate Action Pacific (itwf) and International Trade Union Partnership Event 2017. https://cop23.com Confederation said in a statement that .fj/about-cop-23/climate-action-pacific “they had no choice but to alert the -partnership-event-3-4-july/ [accessed ilo, and that the government in Fiji 22 March 2018] must act and stop this unacceptable Durutalo, Alumita. 2006. Of Roots and behaviour,” and, according to itwf Offshoots: Fijian Political Thinking, president Paddy Crumlin, “this looks ­Dissent and the Formation of Politi- like a process of deliberate intimida- cal ­Parties. PhD thesis, The Australian tion aimed at Felix Anthony and all National University. the workers who stood up for their ———. 2016. The Politics of Security and rights over the ats lockout” (Radio Insecurity in Fiji: Delving into and Includ- New Zealand 2018). ing Indigenous Epistemologies and Knowl- Industrial disputes have created edge Systems—Implications for Education their own political dynamics in Fiji’s in Fiji. Micronesian Educator 23:97–116. political history throughout the Fiji Exposed. 2018. Blog, https:// colonial and postcolonial periods. In fijiexposed.com. [accessed 29 March 2018] political reviews • melanesia 501

Fiji Native and Tribal Congress. 2018. New Caledonia Blog, http://fijinativetribalcongress300 .bravesites.com [accessed 29 March 2018] The year 2017 was said to be the last useful year to promote a calm Fiji One News. Fiji tv, Suva. and consensual completion of the ib, Islands Business. Monthly magazine, Nouméa Agreement before the 2018 Suva. referendum on independence. It has Jowitt, Anita. 2009. The Qarase v Baini- indeed seemed to be a transitional marama Appeal Case. Journal of South year. The previous year of 2016, Pacific Law 13 (1): 24. http://www.paclii which was a preelection year in .org/journals/fJSPL/vol13no1/pdf/jowitt2 metropolitan France, revealed some .pdf [accessed 11 Jan 2018] key events related to the collapse of Lal, Padma, Hazel Lim-Applegate, and the nickel price, which put the three Mahendra Reddy. 2001. The Land Tenure nickel plants in New Caledonia—the Dilemma in Fiji: Can Fijian Landowners Le Nickel Society (sln) in Nouméa, and Indo-Fijian Tenants Have Their Cake Vale in the South, and the Northern and Eat It Too? Pacific Economic Bulletin Province plant of Glencore—and the 16 (2): 106–119. upstream mining activity at risk. The Munro Ley’s Law. 2014. Land Sales nickel industry accounts for a quarter (Amendment) Act 2014. http://www of ­private-sector employment in the .munroleyslaw.com/land-sales-amendment country and 90 percent of its exports -act-2014/ [accessed 11 Jan 2018] (Delamarche 2016c). The country Nair, Robyn. 2017. Permanent No More: is footing the bill for the increase in The Slippery Surface of Fiji’s Civil Service. building costs and low local competi- Islands Business Sept: 29–32. tiveness. During his trip to New Cale- donia, French Prime Minister Manuel Nasiko, Repeka. 2017. Civil Servants Threatened by omrs. Fiji Times Online, Valls announced a €200 million loan 27 Sept. http://www.fijitimes.com/story for the Société Territoriale Calédoni- .aspx?id=417852 [accessed 5 Feb 2018] enne de Participations Industrielles (stcpi, the holding company run by Prasad, Biman. 2016. Is Our ­Democracy Really Working? Fiji Times Online, the three provinces of New Caledo- 30 Jan. http://www.fijitimes.com/story nia, which holds a 34 percent minor- .aspx?id=339680 [accessed 26 Jan 2018] ity share of the sln) (Delamarche 2016a). (€1 million = us$1.2 million.) Radio New Zealand. . Bauxite 2015 In November, Prime Minister Valls ­Mining Practices in Fiji Criticised. 14 Dec. https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ announced strong financial support pacific-news/292092/bauxite-mining for the Vale Plant, as he had done in -practices-in-fiji-criticised [accessed 1 Feb April 2016 for the sln. To prevent 2018] its possible closure, Valls pledged a €200 million loan and an additional ———. 2018. Calls for ilo to Step in after financial guarantee for 220 million Unionist Questioned by Police. 27 Jan. € https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ (Delamarche 2016b). The situation pacific-news/349021/calls-for-ilo-to-step of the Northern plant was still to -in-after-fiji-unionist-questioned-by-police be resolved. In November 2016, the [accessed 28 Jan 2018] French government announced that 502 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Glencore would not have to reimburse The Government of New Caledonia a €200 million tax exemption, the has been trying to curb health-care same amount the other two plants had costs as it has strived to balance its received. In total, €600 million was welfare budget. Health-care expen- lent to the three plants, the repayment diture, which has doubled in the last of which is assessed as unlikely. Offer- ten years, has risen at a faster rate ing job subsidies is a classic strategy in than the growth of the gross domestic French politics. The aid was most wel- product. The economic system has come because it allowed the country to exhausted all of its funds, while at the pursue its dream of wealth and avoid same time New Caledonia has built any reform of the French Overseas new health-care infrastructure and way of life. It had the huge advantage facilities—a brand-new hospital in the of enabling the French government South, a private polyclinic in Nouméa, to be the savior of New Caledonia. and a new Northern hospital—which The primary disadvantage was that are oversized for the population of this meant that important economic the island. Without any major deci- ­decisions could be postponed. sions being made by the government, The year 2017 was strongly influ- ­Valentine Eurisouké, the member of enced by 2016. The country’s financial the government in charge of health situation has remained on standby, care, has begun to push this issue waiting for the recovery in commodity with a view to achieving a success- prices and impending political dead- ful outcome by saving on costs and lines. There was also a strong mes- seeking new revenue streams. Working sage from the French government to under pressure, the government has the local one to make a “Keynesian” increased alcohol and tobacco taxes. budget deficit in order to stimulate the Finally, in December 2017, the economy. Nonetheless, 2017 has been Congress of New Caledonia accepted a year of economic slowdown and the names of the members of the new budgetary restraint, obscured by the Competition Authority, which will increasing public debt of the country. enforce antitrust law. The members of Local tax exemptions for the building the authority were mostly people from industry have fostered the illusion of overseas and France, with, as usual, economic boom, which has been paid very high salaries. Aurélie Zoude-Le for with massive budget deficits and Berre, currently director in the French increasing inequalities (Gorohouna National Assembly and appointed to 2017). The government’s economic the Legislation Committee, will be the strategy since 2008 has been a mix chairperson. The rapporteur will be of “Keynesian” voluntary public Virginie Cramesnil de Laleu, mag- spending and trickle-down econom- istrate in Paris. The other members ics (Chauchat 2017). A “wait and are Jean-Michel Stoltz, magistrate in see” attitude seems to have prevailed. Nouméa; Matthieu Buchberger, senior ­Nevertheless, 2017 has not been a lecturer at the University of New Cale- wasted year, as the New Caledonian donia; and Robert Philip Simpson, a government has not foregone all British citizen, who has set up similar change. authorities in Africa. political reviews • melanesia 503

Replacing customs duties with a about insecurity has quickly turned “General Consumption Tax” (tgc), into talking about Kanak delinquency based on added value like a Goods against all of the “others.” In the pre- and Services Tax (gst), has been a vailing political climate, this issue is major change. The reform started also used as a reminder of the French with a dry run beginning 1 April 2017 government’s responsibility for law (Réné 2017) and should enter into and order in this multicultural country. force in July 2018. Thus, the country The incidents were politicized to such has still been trying to remove cus- an extent that on 2 February 2017 the toms duties (which have given New Political Bureau of the flnks (Socialist Caledonian industries a competitive Kanak National Liberation Front) had advantage over imports) and to create to call for calm, restraint, and mod- a more neutral tax. Nevertheless, the eration. Huge public demonstrations transition phase might be accompa- followed the death of a young nurse nied by protection of local industry. in front of the St Louis enclave while This is why the government has pro- she was commuting home. In June, the posed a new tax, the “Cyclical Import public prosecutor made a statement Tax for the Protection of Local Manu- explaining that the death was caused facturing” (payable on taxable imports by young people frightening the nurse, competing with local producers), causing her to fall while they were and has also proposed a reduced tgc trying to steal her motorbike. On rate for local manufacturing. These 16 January 2017, French Minister of two actions would strongly limit the Justice Jean-Jacques Urvoas issued an inevitable exposure to regional trade, administrative circular outlining the a debate that is ongoing in Congress­ French government’s new priorities today. Maybe the system could be for law and order. This penal policy simplified by applying only one tax was strongly influenced by the strife rate instead of five. Nobody yet knows in St Louis. The minister emphasized if the tax will come into force in July tougher law enforcement for damage 2018 (Caprais 2018). to persons and property, cannabis At the end of 2016, a center of and drug dealing, the use of alcohol, unrest and insecurity—marked by domestic violence, and violence on the gunfire against police and inhabitants road, but he did not say a word about and recurrent roadblocks—emerged in fighting white-collar crime (Urvoas St Louis, a Kanak enclave located in 2017). Greater Nouméa, in the town of Mont Meanwhile, preparations are going Dore (Wéry 2017). Nicknamed the on for the referendum on indepen- “white city,” Nouméa built its history dence. The questions on which con- as a city of discrimination and exclu- sultation should be sought are already sion against the Kanak people, who written in the Nouméa Agreement: were pushed to the margins of society “Do you agree with New Caledonia (Dussy 2015, 147, 368). Ethnic and fulfilling sovereign functions (foreign spatial segregation of the population affairs, justice, defence, public order, is still the most significant feature of and currency)? Do you agree with an New Caledonia. Therefore, talking international status for the country? 504 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Do you agree with a new nationality?” proposed for the people in the future These are three inseparable questions, independent state. A revolution which can only be responded to by clearly hasn’t been necessary. Some a “Yes” or “No.” However, the Yes parts of the Nouméa ­Agreement and No are unbalanced. If you answer have not been reconsidered by the No, things remain unchanged. If you constituent ­political parties of the answer Yes, you throw yourself into flnks. Indeed, the constitutional a void, which is much more problem- status of New ­Caledonia was crafted atic. That is why in 2017 the pro- to ­prevent a majority from holding independence parties had to publish ­political power. Its aim was to lead a “projet de société” (blueprint for to a ­consensus between the political a future political and socioeconomic forces, both Kanak and non-Kanak, system) to move forward. From the without going straight to a deadlock. perspective of the anti-independence Thus, ­political power was shared, parties, the status quo should continue and this was accepted as ­common indefinitely. consent. The Caledonian Union, the oldest­ First, the establishment of three political party in New Caledonia, provinces as regional councils has unveiled its projet de société in resulted in the sharing of power ­January. The Palika (Liberation Kanak on a regional basis. That might be Party) followed in March. Then, the maintained, if slightly limited by pro-independence umbrella organiza- the ­creation of a coordinating body tion flnks, which is responsible for between the presidents of the three claiming independence before the provinces under the supervision of United Nations General Assembly, the president of New Caledonia’s drew up a synthesis of those two plans ­government. Second, the power inside during its 35th congress, with their the government itself has been shared. common aim being that Kanaky– The Nouméa Agreement provided New Caledonia would become “a that the members of ­government may multi­cultural, democratic, secular be elected by the New ­Caledonia and united Republic.” ­Socialism ­Congress under a system of pro- “would be enshrined as one of the portional representation. So, all of most important principles,” as pro- the main political parties may join claimed in the 1986 Constitution of the government. This was called the Kanaky, which is deposited at the ­“Collegial Policy.” That might be United Nations. Socialism would maintained. Nevertheless, under the today identify with public policies new plan, a president of the ­republic such as ­rebalancing power between would be elected by Congress, whose Kanaks and non-Kanaks, control over new name would be “National strategic resources, fair distribution ­Assembly,” together with the of wealth, working with semipublic ­provincial assemblies, the Customary companies, and, more largely, creating Senate, and the mayors. The flnks a mixed economy with both private was silent on the subject of the right to and public enterprises. “Socialism­ dissolve ­Parliament, but the movement in action” would be what the flnks confirmed the principles of the 1986 political reviews • melanesia 505

Constitution of Kanaky, which gave be noted: The judicial system would the president of the republic that right. be a unified combination of the special Registered voters in the provincial administrative courts and the judi- elections, namely, those who have ciary, with a supreme court at the top. New Caledonian citizenship, as well as A customary court would be main- the people who can vote in the refer- tained for customary civil affairs. For endum, would acquire the nationality the flnks, having a Kanaky national of the new, independent country. A currency pegged to a basket of stable law would establish the conditions of international currencies would seem acquisition, loss, and recovery of New the most promising monetary option. Caledonian citizenship by birth or The option of the euro replacing the descent. Maintaining French national- French Pacific franc has been ruled ity, as a dual-nationality status, would out. Finally, the flnks has proposed be an open option to discuss with “Kanaky–New Caledonia” as the France (NC Presse 2017c). The land country’s name and the “Kanaky question, which would trigger con- flag” as the national flag. This flag frontations and division, would be a was raised for the very first time on main priority for the new nation, in 1 December 1984 by Jean-Marie order to foster a desire to live together. Tjibaou at La Conception. As is currently the case, the new inde- On 28 June 2017, Flavien Misoni, pendent country would maintain three head of the UN expert group, submit- types of land tenure: public property, ted the situation report regarding the private property, and customary land. revision of the special rolls for the New Caledonian citizenship would ­provincial elections and the referen- facilitate priority access to real estate. dum. Following a first task force in Regarding sovereign functions, the 2016, the twelve UN experts have new independent state would join been working throughout the coun- the United Nations and open dip- try, observing the working process of lomatic and consular services in the the special administrative verification Pacific region and in France. Public commissions in charge of the revision order would be maintained by only proceedings. Their aim has been to one entity of public servants, created look into the reliability and exhaustive by merging the gendarmerie with nature of the special electoral rolls, so the municipal and national police. that the result would be indisputable. Defense would involve the creation of Their main observation has been that a national army, sized according to the not all the people who could enroll needs and means of the country. The had done so, especially Kanaks. A flnks would create a military service, great demonstration in favor of auto- based on the model of France’s current matic enrollment of all Kanaks took sma (Overseas Adapted Military Ser- place in July. Once again, this was vice). New multilateral and bilateral proof that this particular issue is sensi- defense accords would be negotiated tive and mobilizing Kanak support. with France and neighboring coun- On 2 November 2017, the Signa- tries. Regarding the justice system, a tory Committee of the Nouméa Agree- break with the French tradition should ment met in Paris to find a compro- 506 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) mise regarding the exhaustive nature tional period to register just before the of the electoral roll for the referen- vote. This late enrollment will make it dum. An independence referendum very difficult for the pro-independence is typically designed for people who parties to make the people who never have been colonized—in this case, vote aware of the importance of the Kanak people. However, the first doing so. compromise of the Nouméa Agree- Finally, in October 2017, pro- ment was to give the right to vote independence and anti-independence both to Kanaks and to other people parties, as well as the president of the with twenty years’ residency before New Caledonia government, took the 31 December 2014 deadline. As part in the debate about decoloniza- a result, the Kanak people made up tion of New Caledonia before the 4th barely 50 percent of the electoral Commission of the 72nd UN General body. Because according to French Assembly. This was most likely the law being registered on the electoral last UN meeting before the 2018 vote roll is voluntary, many Kanak people (NC Presse 2017b). were not registered. Consequently, On 16 and 17 March 2017, the they would not be able to vote in the very first meeting between the French upcoming referendum. The new politi- diplomatic network for Oceania and cal compromise has been to register the New Caledonian government them automatically. Although this took place in Nouméa (NC Presse will be done by law, it does not mean 2017a). The aim of the talks was to that all of the enrolled people will go define a shared international policy to the polls and vote. As a political between the French government and counterpart, the pro-independence New Caledonia in terms of regional parties have agreed that the right to ­integration—in other words, this vote will be given to all people born in would show that regional integra- New Caledonia with only three years tion could take place without full of permanent residence—in other sovereignty. The discussion between words, including people traveling to France and New Caledonia also and from France without close ties focused on a concerted strategy for with the country. Theoretically, there New Caledonia to work with both should be three times more Kanaks France and the European Union in benefiting from the new situation than Oceania. On the topic of bilateral non-Kanaks. However, these disputes cooperation, the French government about the electoral roll have sent a has committed to go along with New clear message: all the political parties, Caledonia for the implementation of and the French government, expect a joint projects already signed with New vote split along ethnic lines, Kanaks Zealand, Vanuatu, and, in due course, against all the others. Could anything ­Australia. good emerge from such a vote? The For New Caledonia, 2017 has been new law will only come into effect a diplomatic banner year. After New after the first revision of the electoral Caledonia joined the International roll in March 2018. Consequently, the Organization of Francophonie (iof) in French government will open an addi- November 2016 (Government of New political reviews • melanesia 507

Caledonia 2016), Philippe Germain, on its privileged relations with the the president of the New Caledo- European Union. nian government, was in Vanuatu on Finally, on 30 October 2017, during 3 March 2017 to sign a joint coopera- the 39th session of unesco’s General tion framework. This framework is Conference in Paris, New Caledonia related to eleven activity segments, became a new associate member of the namely, tourism, biosecurity, cus- international organization (unesco toms, education, higher education, 2017). This was the first time for the health, water conveyance, sanitation, country to join a global international transports, digital technology, and organization and also the first time Francophonie (French language and for a French overseas territory to join culture). During this trip, the New unesco. Caledonian delegation—consisting of Despite international policy President Philippe Germain; Valentine ­appearances, New Caledonia is still a Eurisouké, member of government part of France, so French political life in charge of health; Gérard Poadja, has a strong influence on local events. deputy-president of the Foreign Rela- In New Caledonia, there is a dual tions Committee of Congress; Karine political calendar: the French national De Frémont, director of the French calendar, for elections in metropoli- Development Agency; Gaël Lagadec, tan France, which affects all French president of the University of New people living in the country, and the Caledonia; and Bernard Pelletier,­ local one, for the provincial elections, ­scientific director of the French which only involves New Caledonian Research Institute for Development— citizens. During the French elections, went to the iof headquarters to sign political parties speak to all French an agreement with Vanuatu and the citizens, while, during local elections,­ French Development Agency regarding they only address New ­Caledonian the founding of the Vanuatu National ­citizens. As a result, political­ life University project. can be complex and sometimes Approved in September 2016 by the ­contradictory. member states of the Pacific Islands On 23 April and 7 May 2017, the Forum (pif) (Moureaux 2016), the French presidential election caused first participation of New Caledonia a surprise in France with the success as a full member at a pif summit of Emmanuel Macron. In the first took place in November 2017 in Apia round, in New Caledonia, Macron (Sāmoa), along with French Polyne- (leader of a new centrist party, En sia (Government of New Caledonia Marche) came in third with only 2017). The president of the New 12.75 percent of the votes, behind Caledonian government attended with François ­Fillon (Les Républicains, the other leaders and also participated 31.13%) and Marine Le Pen (the in the leaders’ retreat, a confiden- far-right Front National, 29.09%). tial meeting limited to the leaders. In the second round, Macron won Philippe Germain strongly emphasized 52.57 percent of the votes in New that New Caledonia would be more Caledonia versus 47.43 percent for actively involved in the pif, drawing his challenger Marine Le Pen. Philippe 508 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Gomès (Calédonie Ensemble) called four anti-independence political move- on people to vote for Macron, while ments boosted this double victory: Pierre Frogier (Les Républicains) Philippe Gomès (Calédonie Ensemble), spoke in favor of their adherents Pierre Frogier (Le Rassemblement-Les not voting for either Macron or Le Républicains), Gaël Yanno (former Pen; Sonia Backès (Les Républicains member of the French Parliament calédoniens, a rebel faction of the who leads the Mouvement Populaire party) did not give any instructions in Calédonien, a rebel faction of the the second round of the presidential party Le Rassemblement), and Pascal election. On 11 and 18 June 2017, the Vittori (Tous Calédoniens) signed “a French parliamentary elections quickly joint statement for New Caledonia followed the presidential campaign. in France and in peace,” which sent New Caledonia has two members of Sonia Backès to the opposition. This the French National Assembly and, as strife between the anti-independence a result of gerrymandering in 1986, parties paved the way for a new no pro-independence representative ­government crisis. could be elected. The electorates had Following the resignation of the been changed to astutely mix the political group Calédonie Ensemble votes of people living in the urban from the government, as a result of conglomeration of Nouméa with the the election of Philippe Dunoyer as Kanak votes in the Loyalty Islands or member of the National Assembly, the Northern Province. An indicator the New Caledonian collegial govern- of the inconsistencies in political life ment itself had to resign. There was was the Caledonian Union’s refusal no other member on the reserve list to take part in the French national to join the government. Thus, a new legislative elections, despite the fact election of the government by Con- that Palika (Kanak Liberation Party) gress was mandatory. On 24 August decided to participate. Therefore, only 2017, the first meeting of the New the anti-­independence parties were Caledonia Congress determined the involved. In the first constituency number of members of government, (the city of ­Nouméa and the Loyalty keeping it at 11. Six votes out of 11 Islands), where Deputy Mayor Sonia were necessary to elect the president Lagarde did not seek reelection due to of government. On one side, there holding multiple other offices, Philippe were 5 who had signed the joint state- Dunoyer (Calédonie Ensemble) was ment, on the other side, there were 5 elected with 59.15 percent of the votes pro-independence members, and the against Sonia Backès (Les Répub- eleventh member was Sonia Backès, licains Calédoniens). In the second who did not sign the joint statement. constituency (the suburbs of Nouméa The situation remained deadlocked and the main island, Grande Terre), for three months until 1 December Philippe Gomès (Calédonie Ensemble) 2017, when the pro-independence was reelected with 54.95 percent parties finally gave their votes to the of the votes against Louis Mapou president, Philippe Germain, who was (National Union for Independence– reelected with 10 votes out of 11. This Palika). The latest agreement between happened just before the visit of the political reviews • melanesia 509

French prime minister to New Caledo- in May 2018. Édouard Philippe, nia. On 22 December 2017, the newly appointed French prime minister in elected president made his general April 2017, came to New Caledonia policy statement to Congress. from 1 to 5 December. On 5 Decem- In March 2017, the French ber 2017, Philippe gave an important National Assembly Information Com- speech before the New Caledonia mittee “on the future institutional Congress (Government of France framework for New Caledonia” made 2017). He played down the impact of its last visit to New Caledonia prior to the referendum, calling it “a sidestep the parliamentary elections. The chair- in the march toward dialogue.” He man was Dominique Bussereau (Les used the term “Caledonian people,” Républicains) and the rapporteur was going beyond the terms of the Nou- René Dosière (Parti Socialiste), two méa Agreement, which had recog- men who know the country very well. nized the “Kanak people” alongside One key event during this visit was the the “French people,” sharing for a meeting with students at the Univer- while the same nationality and joining sity of New Caledonia, which was together in “a common destiny.” He celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. seemed to have borrowed the vocabu- On 28 March 2017, the committee lary from Member of the National submitted its report (National Assem- Assembly Philippe Gomès. Philippe bly of France 2017), analyzing various confirmed that, to implement the possible futures for the country. This recommendations of the Signatory report will be very useful to the new Committee of the Nouméa Agreement elected successors, who will have to beginning in November 2017, the take charge of the next committee. On changes concerning enrollment to vote 3 October 2017, Manuel Valls, former on the Organic Institutional Law will prime minister of France, was elected be effective in 2018. as the new chairman of the committee, Philippe initiated the establishment whose rapporteurs are now Christian of a new restricted group, nicknamed Jacob (Les Républicains) and Yaël the “Group of Ten,” which will Braun-Pivet (En Marche), the newly have the responsibility of ­discussing elected chairman of the Legislation the future. This Group of Ten has Committee of the National Assembly. four pro-independence members: In December, Dominique Bussereau, Roch Wamytan, Daniel Goa, Paul former chairman of the committee, ­Néaoutyine, and Victor Tutugoro; and Jean-Jacques Urvoas, former min- and six anti-independence members: ister of justice, came for a final visit to Philippe Gomès, Philippe Michel, Gaël New Caledonia, having been invited Yanno, Sonia Backès, Thierry Santa, by the University of New Caledonia and Bernard Deladrière. Philippe also to contribute to the symposium on initiated the establishment of a second the future institutional framework for committee, named the “Group of New Caledonia (University of New the Wise,” which will “ensure [that] Caledonia 2017). the campaign rhetorics won’t hurt The visit of the new French presi- the Caledonian society in its values, dent, Emmanuel Macron, is awaited those coming from the Declaration 510 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) of the Rights of man and of Citizens, L’Usine nouvelle, 29 April. https://www those coming from the customary .usinenouvelle.com/article/a-noumea Kanak society, those coming from -manuel-valls-s-engage-aux-cotes-de-la the religious heritage and those from -sln.N389105 the preamble of the Nouméa Agree- ———. 2016b. Après la sln, l’Etat ment.” This Group of the Wise is ­français vole au secours de Vale Nouvelle- composed of the former mayors of Calédonie. L’Usine nouvelle, 8 Nov. Bourail, ­Nouméa, and Koumac, Taïeb https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/ Jean Pierre Aïfa, Jean Lèques, and apres-la-sln-l-etat-francais-vole-au-secours Robert Frouin; Father Rock Api­ -de-vale-nouvelle-caledonie.N461192 kaoua; a Wallisian­ customary chief, ———. 2016c. Crise dans le nickel Sosefo Falaeo; Deputy President of calédonien. L’Usine nouvelle, 17 March. the Economic, Social, and Environ- https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/ mental Council Jean-Pierre Flotat; the crise-dans-le-nickel-caledonien.N382901 president of the association sos sexual Dussy, Dorothée. 2015. La mémoire kanak violence, Anne-Marie Mestre; the de Nouméa. In En pays Kanak: Ethnolo- president of Human Rights League, gie, linguistique, archéologie, histoire de la Elie Poigoune; Marie-Claude Tjibaou, Nouvelle-Calédone, edited by Alban Bensa the widow of Jean-Marie Tjibaou; and Isabelle Leblic, 147–168. Open online the former director of the Agency for edition. Paris: Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme. Original published the Development of Kanak Culture, in 2000. Octave Togna; the very first Kanak magistrate, Fote Trolue; and the for- Gorohouna, Samuel. 2017. Le coût des mer director of the Protestant Church dépenses fiscales. Paper given at a sympo- School, Billy Wapotro. sium titled “La Nouvelle-Calédonie face à la crise des finances publiques,” 12–13 mathias chauchat July, at the University of New Caledonia. http://larje.univ-nc.nc/index.php/les -seminaires-et-conferences/colloques-et References -journees-d-etudes/497-la-nouvelle -caledonie-face-a-la-crise-des-finances All websites accessed 20 March 2018. -publiques Caprais, Gilles. 2018. L’idée d’un report Government of France. 2017. Discours de la tgc divise syndicats et patrons. du premier ministre devant le congrès Les Nouvelles-Calédoniennes, 24 Jan. de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. http://www http://www.lnc.nc/article/pays/politique/ .gouvernement.fr/partage/9799-discours l-idee-d-un-report-de-la-tgc-divise -du-premier-ministre-devant-le-congres -syndicats-et-patrons -de-nouvelle-caledonie Chauchat, Mathias. 2017. La Calédonie et Government of New Caledonia. 2016. sa réponse à la crise. In Kanaky Nouvelle- La Calédonie membre associé de Calédonie, situations décoloniales, a l’Organisation internationale de la franco­ special issue of Revue Mouvements 91 phonie. 28 Nov. https://gouv.nc/actualites/ (2017/3): 46–54. https://www.cairn.info/ 28-11-2016/la-caledonie-membre-associe revue-mouvements-2017-3.htm -de-lorganisation-internationale-de-la -francophonie Delamarche, Myrtille. 2016a. A Nouméa, Manuel Valls s’engage aux côtés de la sln. ———. 2017. La Calédonie au Forum des political reviews • melanesia 511

Îles du Pacifique. 8 Sept. https://gouv.nc/ .php/15-analyses-arrets-decisions/droit actualites/08-09-2017/la-caledonie-au -de-la-nouvelle-caledonie/501-colloque -forum-des-iles-du-pacifique -sur-l-avenir-institutionnel-de-la-nouvelle -caledonie Moureaux, Caroline, with Isabelle Peltier. 2016. Intégration au Forum des Iles du Urvoas, Jean-Jacques. 2017. ­Nouvelle Pacifique: Satisfaction pour Philippe ­circulaire de politique pénale ­territoriale Germain. La Première, 11 Sept. https:// pour la Nouvelle-Calédonie. ­Direction la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/ Générale des Outre-Mer, 16 Jan. integration-au-forum-des-iles-du https://documentation.outre-mer.gouv -pacifique-satisfaction-pour-philippe .fr/i-Record.htm?idlist=1&record= -germain-396145.html 19134865124919520479 National Assembly of France. 2017. Wéry, Claudine 2017. En Nouvelle- Rapport d’information 4596 sur l’avenir Calédonie, l’escalade de violence menace institutionnel de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. la paix. Le Monde, 13 Feb. http://www 28 March. http://www.assemblee .lemonde.fr/societe/article/2017/02/13/en -nationale.fr/14/rap-info/i4596.asp -nouvelle-caledonie-l-escalade-de-violence -menace-la-paix_5078845_3224.html NC Presse. 2017a. L’État conforte la Calé- donie sur la scène régionale. 20 March. https://www.ncpresse.nc/L-Etat-conforte -la-Caledonie-sur-la-scene-regionale _a6311.html Papua ———. 2017b. La Calédonie aux Nations Toward the end of 2017, during their unies. 6 Oct. https://www.ncpresse.nc/La annual meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu, -Caledonie-aux-Nations-unies_a6684.html Papuan leaders elected new leaders ———. 2017c. Le projet du flnks pour for the United Liberation Movement une Kanaky-Nouvelle-Calédonie souver- for West Papua (ulmwp), who will aine. 2 Nov. https://www.ncpresse.nc/ serve the term of 2018–2021. There Le-projet-du-FLNKS-pour-une-Kanaky was also a significant change in the -Nouvelle-Caledonie-souveraine_a6742 way they organize themselves. If the .html ­previous leadership was organized Réné, Charlie. 2017. Marche à blanc de la around the ulmwp secretary-general, tgc: C’est parti! Les Nouvelles Calédoni- suggesting the principle of first among ennes, 3 April. http://www.lnc.nc/article/ equals, the new structure took on pays/marche-a-blanc-de-la-tgc-c-est-parti a more hierarchical shape. Benny unesco, United Nations Educational, Wenda is at the top of the pyramid Scientific and Cultural Organization. as chair, with Octo Mote, the for- 2017. Request for the Admission of New mer ­secretary-general, as deputy; Caledonia as an Associate Member of the ­position of secretary-general is unesco. 19 Oct. http://unesdoc.unesco now held by Rex Rumakiek. Jacob .org/images/0025/002596/259629e.pdf Rumbiak is tasked with the spokes­ University of New Caledonia. 2017. person role. The composition of Colloque sur l’avenir institutionnel de ­personnel, however, remains largely la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Laboratoire de the same. New faces are Paula Recherches Juridique et Economique, ­Makabory as treasurer and Oridek 10 Nov. http://larje.univ-nc.nc/index Ap as an executive member; both are 512 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Papuan exiles who reside in Australia Papua statement as a “hoax” (rnz and the Netherlands, respectively. 2017a, 2017b). This restructuring is reminiscent of Another diplomatic effort occurred similar dynamics that occurred back in October 2017 when Benny Wenda, in 2000 when Papuans were about to who was then the ulmwp spokesper- establish the Presidium Dewan Papua son, submitted a petition to the UN (Papua Presidium Council, or pdp) Special Committee on Decolonization during the historic Second Papuan (also known as the UN Committee of Congress in Jayapura, which the 24) stating that 1.8 million Papuans author attended. During their delibera- had signed the document (Doherty tions, the late Theys Eluay proclaimed and Lamb 2017). The UN Committee himself chair and appointed Tom rejected the petition, arguing that its Beanal as his pdp deputy. This action mandate is confined to dealing only was different from the original design with the seventeen states identified of pdp, which the Musyawarah Besar by the United Nations as “non-self- (Great Deliberation; mubes) Papua governing territories” (rnz 2017b). had adopted. The original structure Although it did not attract significant put emphasis on collegiality and equal attention in the Indonesian national participation of all leaders in order to media, the petition drew controversy accommodate representatives of all within the Papuan community. One sides of Papuan politics. Over the next of the core questions concerns the three years, the new ulmwp leader- purported 1.8 million signatures. The ship has to prove to their constituents total population of both provinces in how effective it can be in implement- the Island of Papua is around 3.2 mil- ing the mandate, which is first and lion, including both Indigenous and foremost to advocate for the right to non-Indigenous Papuans. If the 1.8 self-determination of Papuans. million figure is accurate, it would If we look back over the last twelve mean that 56 percent of inhabitants of months, ulmwp was effective in the whole of Papua signed the petition, ­penetrating international politics by which might not necessarily reflect securing more international recogni- the reality of Papuan demography. tion beyond the Pacific. During the More importantly, one might question 72nd Session of the UN General whether the UN Committee of 24 is Assembly in September 2017, the the most feasible venue to promote case of Papua was raised again by the right to self-determination for the coalition of the willing: Vanuatu, ­Papuans, given the fact that Indonesia Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the is a member of the committee. More- Caribbean nation of St Vincent and over, the chair of the UN Committee the Grenadines (rnz 2017a). Despite explicitly states that its narrow man- having a smaller number of advocates date limits its ability to deal with any than in the 71st Session, they managed other issues beyond the official UN list to attract another fiery response from of non-self-governing territories. the Indonesian delegation. Instead of Apart from engaging the UN ven- presenting new facts, the Indonesians ues, we should not forget that Papua’s were dismissive and described the pending membership application for political reviews • melanesia 513 the Melanesian Spearhead Group Papua Province is 62.21 and for Papua (msg) remains unresolved. The msg is 58.05, which means they are both member states seem unable to come below the Indonesia national stan- to a decision that might satisfy both dard (70.18) (Badan Pusat Statistik ulmwp and Indonesia. This will be 2017). The Indonesian delegation to discussed in the next msg Summit in the UN General Assembly overlooked Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in this reality when it claimed that both 2018. ­provinces have the top economic While high-level politics and inter- growth in the country. A blanket national diplomacy have attracted macro indicator has grossly distorted major resources of the Government our understanding of the detailed of Indonesia, the ulmwp, and the ­reality of daily life in Papua. region, Papuan daily life seems to be Nevertheless, hdi statistics are presented merely as a backdrop for the only abstractions of concrete reality political statements by both state and and thus tend to conceal real human non-state political actors. There is a faces. We should investigate the daily disconnect between high-level politics life of Papuans in order to assess the and the low quality of public services, reality, given that Papua was granted incompetent local governments, and the Special Autonomy package in unstoppable land grabbing caused by 2001. Moreover, since that time, the extractive industry. It should be noted, last three consecutive governments however, that the first two issues are (Megawati, Yudhoyono, and Widodo) not unique to Papua. Rather, these are adopted the same policy of “acceler- common phenomena across Indonesia. ating” development in Papua. This Services for health, the micro economy, means these governments share the and basic education in both rural and same logic of increasing economic urban centers remain inadequate due to growth in order to uplift the welfare governmental mismanagement. Toward standard of Papuans. The following the end of 2017, thirty-three regents examples confront the validity of this (district heads) had been arrested by assumption. the Indonesian Corruption Eradica- The first iconic example stems tion Commission (Komisi Pemberan- from the daily struggle for survival tasan Korupsi, or kpk) on corruption by Papuan women as a result of the charges (Kabar24.com 2017). The cor- dire condition of the microeconomy. ruption scandal that involves members Pasar Mama Papua, the market for of the national Parliament on the case Indigenous Papuan women traders in of Indonesian national identity cards is downtown Jayapura was built only even worse, as it constitutes the largest after a seemingly ever-pending con- graft case in Indonesian history (Agus struction period. The market was the and others 2017b). fruit of a long struggle by the Papuan If we look at the Human Develop- women traders after being collectively ment Index (hdi) of all Indonesian organized by the Office for Justice provinces over the last decade, both and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of provinces of Papua are at the bottom Jayapura in 2005, when the author of the ladder. The 2016 hdi for West was director there. 514 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

It took more than a decade before when Papuan women are no longer the new market, constructed by the able to sell pork in their own land, this national and local governments, was would signal the extinction of Papuan finished, thanks to the advocacy work identity, as Papuans would no longer of Solidaritas Pedagang Asli Papua be able to perform proper marriage­ (Solidarity Forum for the Indigenous feasts or any other pork-related Papuan Traders, or solpap). The ­rituals. organization is a coalition between This decade-long struggle for a the women traders and young Papuan­ marketplace illustrates the lack of activists. Pokja Papua, a government­ response on the part of local govern- task force under the Ministry of State ments toward their own people. Far Owned Enterprises, took the lead from the romanticized image of a in the market construction follow- heroic narrative, the struggle has been ing its inauguration by President marked with frustration, internal Joko Widodo on 30 April 2016 (icp disagreements, and ongoing rivalry 2017, 104). However, Pokja went between different ethnic groupings. one step further when it tried to Nevertheless, they survive and remain impose its halal stamp on the mar- resilient under solpap (Tabloid Jubi ket by ­introducing the idea that the 2017b). If the Indigenous Papuan women should sell beef instead of women in the provincial capital pork. The decision immediately met of ­Jayapura have had to struggle strong criticism from solpap (Tabloid for more than a decade to have a Jubi 2017c). “Of course, we rejected ­marketplace, many Papuan women it,” said Frengky Warer, the solpap likely receive no better treatment by coordinator (pers comm, Jan 2018). their respective mayors and regents The solidarity group argues that it across Papua. would cause a new and unnecessary In a similar vein, the health problem, as beef is never a product of ­services were no better off. The year the Papuan women. This development of 2017 was marked by a number would have gone unnoticed had the of disease outbreaks that hit several local media not picked up the issue. isolated spots of Papua. The one However, none of the solidarity that attracted major public attention groups inside or outside Papua take was a measles outbreak in Korowai, this issue seriously or recognize it as South Papua. While the disease is a subtle but effective way of destroy- considered rare and preventable ing Papuan identity in the long run. by vaccine, it became a common In Melanesian cultures, pig and pork ­phenomenon in this remote, swampy have a vital role, not only for nutrition area of Papua. As a result, it cost at but for maintaining cultural tradi- least nine lives. The World Health tions that involve pigs. For instance, Organization labels measles as “one the dowries of the Papuan highlander of the leading causes of death among women are settled with pigs. Major young ­children” (who 2018), but social feasts must have pork as the the ­government ­vaccination program main course through the bakar batu in 2017 was limited to Java. Areas (pig feast) gathering. If a time comes ­outside Java, including Papua, will political reviews • melanesia 515 receive this service­ in 2018 (who serious impacts on Freeport’s produc- Indonesia 2017). tion since it forced the company to Korowai grabbed our attention as halt operations. As a result, according it attested to the public health policy to a Timika businessman, the local of the province. Unlike most parts of business plunged by 60 percent (pers Papua where Indigenous communi- comm, June 2017). Freeport laid off ties have been exposed to the outside some four thousand workers, which world, the Korowai people maintain prompted a warning from the Indo- their unique way of life by building nesian government (The Jakarta Post their houses up in trees so that they 2017). are called the “tree people” (Stasch Apart from industrial relations 2011). Their area of living is isolated issues, Freeport had to wrestle with socially and geographically from their the new regime of the mining sector neighbors. This isolation has largely in Indonesia under Law 4/2009 on contributed to difficulties in accessing Mineral and Coal. The law stipu- health services and nutritional sup- lates three main issues: (1) to change plies. So over the years, the Korowai Freeport International’s contract of have accumulated health issues that work to an Izin Usaha Pertambangan led to the outbreak. The problem Khusus (iupk, a special mining busi- of Korowai is iconic though not ness permit); (2) to build a smelter exclusive. Other areas in Papua have in Indonesia; and (3) to divest 51 ­suffered similarly, such as the Regency percent of shares to the public. The of Deiyai (Tabloid Jubi 2017a). effect of the law was not immediate. Indigenous Papuans in many places Rather, it gave a five-year transition in Papua remain overwhelmed by the period for the mining sector to prepare penetration of extractive industry in their legal, financial, and operational various sizes and capacities—from adjustments. The law terminated the small-scale mining companies such as contract of work’s regime, as the Indo- Nabire Baru Inc, which is seizing the nesian state no longer signs deals with land of the Yeresiam Gua people in corporations as equal parties; instead, Nabire (see Hernawan 2017, 349) to it issues business permits. the giant transnational corporation Critics, however, argued that both Freeport Indonesia in Tembagapura,­ the Yudhoyono and Widodo govern- which has been operating­ on ments were not consistent in imple- Amungme and Kamoro land since menting the Law on Mineral and Coal 1967 (McKenna 2015; Poulgrain as evidenced by the Presidential Decree 2015). 1/2007 regarding Mining Activities of In 2017 major internal and exter- 10 January 2017, the Decree of Min- nal issues hit the world’s largest gold ister of Energy and Minerals 5/2017, mine, Freeport Indonesia. Internally, and the Decree of Minister of Energy Freeport had to deal with the biggest and Minerals 6/2017. Ahmad Redi strike in its history, involving some described these regulations as a way five thousand workers who demanded “to save the interests of Freeport Indo- better working conditions (Taylor and nesia” (Redi 2017, 88). He argued Asmarini 2017). The strike caused that these regulations have three major 516 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) flaws. First, the contract of work communities, has been constantly ­cannot immediately be replaced with undermined by extractive industry. By an iupk since it requires approval the end of 2017, six key civil society from the national Parliament. Second, organizations in Papua and Jakarta once the law is enforced, corpora- jointly issued an important report tions must immediately stop export- entitled Catatan Akhir Tahun 2017: ing ore and start building smelters in Perampasan Tanah, Kekerasan dan Indonesia. It means the law gives no Deforestasi (End of Year 2017: Land tolerance for any mining industry to Grabbing, Violence and Deforesta- export ore. In contrast, the ministerial tion in Papua [walhi Papua and regulation offers five years’ tolerance. others 2017]). The report identified Third, the Indonesian government’s the encroaching hands of mining push for Freeport to accept an iupk corporations that secure new busi- risks infringing on the contract of ness permits from the Ministry of work with evident legal consequences. the Environment. Four corporations However, among all legal require- operate in the Province of Papua: Wira ments, Freeport McMoran Chief Emas Persada Inc in Nabire (mineral Executive Officer Richard C Adkerson exploration, 1,242 hectares); Aurum categorically rejected the divestment Wira Persada Inc in Nabire (mineral scheme and accused the government exploration, 13,880 hectares); Trident of expropriating assets. Therefore, Global Garmindo Inc (mineral explo- he warned the government to negoti- ration, 17,830 hectares); and ­Madinah ate the agreement within 120 days; Qurrata’ain Inc in Dogiyai (gold otherwise, he would bring Indonesia exploration, 23,340 hectares); and to International Arbitration (Agus and two are in the West Papua Province, others 2017a). Critics, however, sus- namely, Bayu ­Khatulistiwa Sejahtera pected that this was merely a strategy Inc in ­Manokwari (gold exploration, to put strong pressure on the govern- 7,741 hectares) and Dharma Nusa ment to bow to Freeport, as Newmont Persada Inc (gold exploration, 20,805 Nusa Tenggara had successfully done hectares). in 2014 (Redi 2017, 89). In total, the new permits will seize It took nine months of tough as much as 84,838 hectares (848.38 negotiations before Freeport Indonesia square kilometers) of land belonging­ agreed to the divestment of shares. to Indigenous communities. To put The agreement, however, stumbled on this in perspective, the amount of land the future management of the com- to be seized is approximately half pany, as Freeport insisted on having the size of the city of London (1,572 final veto power over management square kilometers). If we imagine composition. Therefore, by the end that half of London—had the city of 2017, the issue remains pending, been arbitrarily occupied by a foreign including a solution with the workers. entity—was suddenly lost, we can then Apart from the whirlwind of also begin to imagine how this loss Freeport Indonesia’s related issues, of gardens and herbs for daily life, the Papua landscape, which consti- rituals, playgrounds, hunting grounds, tutes the livelihood of Indigenous and other social spaces will impact political reviews • melanesia 517

Papuans. Moreover, these business ing, often-incoherent narratives that permits are only footnotes in the long offer a fragmented representation of list of the existing permits for the reality for many Papuans. These gaps eighty-seven companies that currently in representation are reflected by the occupy 2.1 million hectares (approxi- disjuncture between the high-level mately 21,000 square kilometers) of politics that engage global policies and Papua (Franky and Morgan 2015, daily realities not adequately reflected 59–62), or approximately 13 times the in the same discourses. On the one size of Greater London. hand, most observers and political As we can expect, people were actors put a strong emphasis on politi- not silent. They resisted. The report cal activism and state violence, even documented six major protests across over attention to the daily struggles of Papua against the government­ deci- Papuan women, health issues, extrac- sions that confiscated their land tive industries, and the land grabbing (walhi Papua and ­others 2017). that will disadvantage many genera- For instance, Masyarakat Adat tions to come. On the other hand, ­Independen (the Independent Forum the state’s narrative puts an equally of Indigenous Community) in Timika strong emphasis on economic growth raised this issue to involve the Indig- as measured by macro indicators. As enous Papuans at the negotiating a result, not only are these narratives table between the Indonesian govern- at odds with each other but, more ment and Freeport Indonesia, while importantly, the narrow foci of both ­Yeresiam Goa demanded that the narratives obscure the daily realities Government of Papua revoke the and struggles of many Papuans. business permit for mining companies Similarly, if we closely look at in their land in Nabire. Similarly, in reports on Papua by Indonesian Manokwari, the Indigenous commu­ human rights organizations, the nity rejected a palm oil plantation, and reports are largely event-based, mean- in Merauke, Papuan students took ing that they apply the same logic to to the street to ask the government focus on individual occurrences and to end the large-scale agribusiness singular issues, rather than on the mifee (Merauke Integrated Food and long-term patterns connecting those Energy Estate) project (Awas mifee occurrences and issues. While the 2012). These grassroots protests are approach is adequate for issues related not new. Rather, the people are almost to civil and political rights, it fails to exhausted from raising their voices as, address the interconnections between time after time, they reach a dead end. economic, social, and cultural issues. Local and national governments and The latter require different lenses to other state bodies seem irresponsive adequately capture the complex reality to their concerns, while the people’s that involves long-term, dynamically income sources and thus their sur- changing issues. vival are being devastated (icp 2017, These fragmented, narrowly 135–140). focused representations pose a formi- If we zoom out of this snapshot of dable challenge to those who follow life in Papua, we can see the conflict- the discourses about Papua, as they 518 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) have to navigate conflicting narra- Coalition for Papua (icp) Covering Events tives to develop a coherent picture of from January 2015 until December 2016. Papuan reality. English edition. Wuppertal: icp. http:// franciscansinternational.org/fileadmin/ budi hernawan media/2017/Asia_Pacific/Publications/ HumanRightsPapua2017-ICP.pdf [accessed 1 March 2018] References The Jakarta Post. 2017. Govt Warns Free- Agus, Wayan, Anton Septian, Hussein port about Laying off 4,000 Employees. Abri, Maya Ayu Puspitasari, Istman 3 July. http://www.thejakartapost.com/ Muhtarom. 2017a. Berburu Divestasi news/2017/07/03/govt-warns-freeport Tambang Grassbert. TEMPO, 12 March, -about-laying-off-4000-employees.html 76–87. [accessed 16 Feb 2018] ———. 2017b. ID Card Massive Corrup- Kabar 24.com. 2017. 33 Kepala Daerah tion Case. TEMPO English, 12 March, Terjerat Kasus Korupsi Sejak Jokowi Pres- 28–32. iden. 27 Sept. http://kabar24.bisnis.com/ read/20170927/16/693364/33-kepala Awas mifee. 2012. Report: An Agri­ -daerah-terjerat-kasus-korupsi-sejak business Attack in West Papua: Unraveling -jokowi-presiden [accessed 16 Feb 2018] the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate. https://awasmifee.potager.org/ McKenna, Kylie. 2015. Corporate Social ?page_id=25 [accessed 16 Feb 2018] Responsibility and Natural Resource ­Conflict. London: Routledge. Badan Pusat Statistik [Central Bureau of Statistics of Indonesia]. 2017. Indeks Poulgrain, Greg. 2015. The Incubus of Pembangunan Manusia menurut Provinsi, Intervention: Conflicting Intervention 2010–2016. https://www.bps.go.id/ Strategies of John F. Kennedy and Allen dynamictable/2016/06/16/1211/indeks Dulles. Petaling Jaya: Strategic Informa- -pembangunan-manusia-menurut-provinsi tion and Research Development Centre. -2010-2016-metode-baru-.html [accessed Redi, Ahmad. 2017. Regulasi Simsalabim 16 Feb 2018] Untuk Freeport. TEMPO, 12 March, Doherty, Ben, and Kate Lamb. 2017. 88–89. Banned West Papua Independence Petition rnz, Radio New Zealand. 2017a. Fiery Handed to UN. The Guardian, 27 Sept. Debate over West Papua at UN General https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ Assembly. 27 Sept. https://www.radionz sep/27/banned-west-papua-independence .co.nz/international/programmes/ -petition-un [accessed 16 Feb 2018] datelinepacific/audio/201860156/fiery Franky, Y L, and Selwyn Morgan. 2015. -debate-over-west-papua-at-un-general Atlas Sawit Papua: Dibawah Kendali -assembly [accessed 16 Feb 2018] ­Penguasa Modal. Jakarta: Pusaka. ———. 2017b. UN Committee Rejects Hernawan, Budi. 2017. Melanesia in West Papua Independence Petition. 30 Review: Issues and Events, 2016: Papua. Sept. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ The Contemporary Pacific 29 (2): 347– international/pacific-news/340570/un 354. -committee-rejects-west-papua -independence-petition [accessed 16 Feb icp, International Coalition for Papua. 2018] 2017. Human Rights in West Papua 2017: The Fifth Report of the International Stasch, Rupert. 2011. Korowai Treehouse political reviews • melanesia 519 and the Everyday Representation of Time, indonesia/topics/immunization/MR Belonging, and Death. The Asia Pacific _CAMPAIGN/en/ [accessed 16 Feb 2018] Journal of Anthropology 12 (4): 327–347. Tabloid Jubi. 2017a. Kasus Deiyai bukan wabah, tapi musibah. 18 July. http:// tabloidjubi.com/artikel-7863-kasus-deiyai Papua New Guinea -bukan-wabah-tapi-musibah.html The year 2017 had the potential to [accessed 16 Feb 2018] bring great changes to the Independent ———. 2017b. Kepengurusan baru, State of Papua New Guinea. Much Solpap gulirkan 10 rekomendasi untuk of the political news was dominated pendampingan Pedagang Asli Papua. by stories regarding the general 7 May. http://tabloidjubi.com/artikel-6026 election and the discontinuation of -kepengurusan-baru-solpap-gulirkan-10 Australia’s offshore refugee deten- -rekomendasi-untuk-pendampingan tion and processing­ center, hosted on -pedagang-asli-papua.html [accessed the island of Manus. Other notable 16 Feb 2018] events affecting the nation included ———. 2017c. Solpap tolak rencana changes in leaders outside of the jual daging sapi di Pasar Mama-Mama. election, ­economic challenges, and 19 March. http://tabloidjubi.com/artikel the ­conclusion of the long-standing -4697-solpap-tolak-rencana-jual-daging controversy over the arrest warrant -sapi-di-pasar-mamamama.html [accessed 20 March 2018] of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. At the conclusion of a year that brought Taylor, Susan, and Wilda Asmarini. 2017. numerous changes, much has stayed Union to Press for Freeport Mine Worker the same. Rights on Indonesia Visit. Reuters, 3 Aug. The beginning of the year saw https://www.reuters.com/article/us-freeport -mcmoran-indonesia-labor/union-to-press an early overturn of leadership as -for-freeport-mine-worker-rights-on two knights having the same first -indonesia-visit-idUSKBN1AI2SO name ended their time in leader- [accessed 16 Feb 2018] ship. ­Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio passed away in February after walhi Papua, Pusaka Foundation, Jerat Papua, kpkc Sinode gki di Tanah Papua, a long struggle with issues of health. skpkc Fransiskan Papua, and skp KAMe Ogio was in the final week of his Merauke. 2017. Catatan Akhir Tahun six-year term as the queen’s viceregal 2017: Perampasan Tanah, Kekerasan dan representative and, as his term was Deforestasi di Papua. Jakarta. http:// coming to a close, Parliament had pusaka.or.id/assets//2018/01/Laporan already appointed Bob Dadae to fill -Bersama-Catatan-Akhir-Tahun-2017 the ­position. Dadae had served as a -Vrs.pdf [accessed 1 March 2018] member of Parliament (mp) for the who, World Health Organization. 2018. Kabwum electorate in Morobe Prov- Measles Fact Sheet. Reviewed January. ince for the previous fifteen years and http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/ assumed the role on 28 February. He fs286/en/ [accessed 16 Feb 2018] was subsequently knighted in London. who Indonesia. 2017. Measles Rubella Dadae’s appointment could be seen as Immunization Campaign in Java Island on a reward of sorts for crossing the floor Aug–Sept 2017. http://www.searo.who.int/ from the government led by then- 520 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare to retirement, though. Prior to retirement the O’Neill-led opposition in 2011. ceremonies, supporters of the depart- Although he initially indicated that ing governor for East Sepik Province he would step away from politics turned up at the provincial assembly in 2012, Grand Chief Sir Michael “to demand their payments for vari- Somare finalized his political legacy ous projects, activities and for their in April as he stepped away from loyalty and unwavering support for a career that spanned more than Sir Michael during his distinguished fifty years in public service. Somare political career” (Fito 2017). started as a teacher and government The election cycle officially interpreter in the early 1960s before launched on 20 April, the first polling being elected to the House Assembly stations were to open on 26 July, and in 1968. He is noted for an unbroken the writs were to be returned on or span of forty-nine years in legislative before 24 July. Campaigning for the service and is best remembered for 111 parliamentary seats (89 members serving as prime minister at the time and 22 governors) was underway of independence in 1975. Somare-led immediately in April, as parliamen- governments covered a total of seven- tarians returned to their electorates teen years across three terms: 1975– to jockey for voters’ favor and party 80, 1982–85, and 2002–11 (Johnstone leaders retreated to their various 2011). His departure comes after he camps to determine policies, entice was ignominiously removed from the defections, and calculate ways to gain prime minister’s role in 2011 while numerical ascendency for the next receiving medical treatment in Singa- five years. pore for an extended period of time. This was a particularly polariz- Somare was never quite able to regain ing election as rhetoric was mostly his political stature after the constitu- directed for or against the incumbent tional crisis that ensued, during which government, led by Prime Minister both Somare and O’Neill were recog- O’Neill and the People’s National nized as legitimate prime minister by Congress (pnc). The pnc set up base various groups within government. in Alotau while their leading chal- The retirement of Sir Michael, the lengers, a coalition of the National longest-serving politician by far, marks Alliance Party and the historic Pangu a changing of the guard in PNG poli- Party, established a camp in Kokopo. tics as the country celebrated its 42nd The National Alliance and Pangu anniversary of independence. Somare’s coalition sought the support of dis- departure was met in Parliament satisfied parliamentarians and found with the stately fanfare that would it in members of Triumph Heritage be expected for a man that is often Empowerment Party, PNG Consti- hailed as the “Father of the Nation.” tutional Democratic Party, People’s After inspecting an honor guard, he Progress Party (ppp), PNG National was presented with songs, cultural Party, and other independents. This dances, and speeches by leaders in loose coalition became known as sim- the public and private sector (Zarriga ply the Alliance. While policies among 2017). Not all were pleased with his members varied, they all upheld the political reviews • melanesia 521 explicit goal to replace the government caused by the construction of new led by O’Neill and the pnc (Blades buildings by foreigners (The National 2017). 2017a). Similarly, Don Polye went Notable among these dissatisfied so far as to promise the people of the candidates was former Prime Minis- Autonomous Region of Bougainville ter Sir Mekere Morauta, a National that, if elected, his government would Alliance member and staunch O’Neill recognize their independence (The critic, as well as Patrick Pruaitch and National 2017b)—a refutation of the Don Polye, former cabinet members pnc’s stance that the 2019 referendum in O’Neill’s government. Standing to on independence would be nonbind- represent the Port Moresby North- ing (The Economist 2017). Mekere west electorate, Morauta came out Morauta’s vocal opposition to Peter of retirement as a result of several O’Neill also continued as Morauta very public spats between himself and called O’Neill out for not agreeing to O’Neill. Morauta had levied a strong public, televised debates (PNG Post- critique against the financial ­policies Courier 2017). and performance of the economy The campaign period was mostly under pnc leadership, while O’Neill peaceful although there were instances criticized Morauta’s management of of concern in some areas, including the nonprofit PNG Sustainable Devel- several deaths as violence erupted opment Program Limited. Pruaitch, between crowds. Prime Minister member for Aitape-Lumi, joined the O’Neill was not exempt from opposi- opposition after O’Neill relieved tion, as a pnc rally he was attending him of his portfolio in charge of the in Hela Province was interrupted by treasury in May, following Pruaitch’s a hostile crowd. O’Neill and the pnc announcement that the PNG economy also copped strong criticism from had “fallen off a cliff” (emtv Online student activists at the University 2017). Representing the Kandep of Papua New Guinea (upng) for electorate in Enga Province, Polye was their use of the social media hashtag also a former minister of the treasury #pnc4png. The upng objectors for O’Neill and had been similarly claimed that this digital campaign dismissed in 2014 after criticizing the slogan was an appropriation of their government’s decision and legality protest motto #upng4png (Kaiku of methods used to secure a loan of 2017), a movement that strongly 3 billion kina (us$951 million) from criticized pnc government policies and the Union Bank of Switzerland (ubs) was met with lethal force as police (Pokiton 2017). shot protestors attempting to march The Alliance campaign strategies on Parliament House in June 2016. sought to undermine unpopular pnc Despite these difficulties, pnc party policies. Kavieng mp Ben Micah, a ppp candidates, including O’Neill, touted member, promised that as prime minis- their many successes while in control ter he would cancel the 2018 meetings of government, citing a 92 percent of the Asia Pacific Economic Council success rate in achieving goals outlined (apec) in Port Moresby due to dam- by the party in the Alotau Accord age of iconic Indigenous cultural sites (Kenneth 2017a). 522 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

A unique feature of this election place looking for their names on the was the scheduling of only a single day list after being turned away from the for casting votes at many polling sites. same station at which they had cast This was a first for elections in PNG ballots for years. As a result, Winduo and appeared to many familiar with declared, “the 2017 general election elections in the country, including this in Port Moresby was indeed very author, to pose significant logistical disorganised, disruptive, and failed to challenges for both electoral officials live up to the expectation observed in and voters. Areas where the single- previous general elections” (Winduo day ballot were to be used included 2017). This was not the first time that the seven provinces in the highlands, the common voting roll has been a as well as those of East New Britain, barrier to a free and fair election, with Morobe, Madang, and Port Moresby’s previous observer groups expressing National Capital District (Kenneth the need to update and maintain the 2017c). Indeed, the locations with rolls and the Electoral Commission’s one-day polling did come up against several promises to do so. The need such barriers and, in most cases, for these changes was highlighted polls were deferred at least once. In again by the Commonwealth Observ- O’Neill’s Ialibu-Pangia electorate in ers’ Group, which declared that the the Southern Highlands province, body was “very disappointed” with polls were pushed back until Sunday, the failure to improve the integrity of leading opponents to question the the rolls after previous recommenda- legitimacy and legality of a vote taking tions (Pacific Islands Report 2017a) place on the day considered holy to and led the group to reiterate the need most Christian denominations (Kero to “review and strengthen the voter and Tien 2017). registration and electoral roll” in their Other challenges manifesting them- final report (Commonwealth Observ- selves in the 2017 General Election ers Group 2017, 21). included the distribution of insuffi- In Port Moresby, an election work- cient ballot papers to polling locations ers’ strike over nonpayment of wages at state-run tertiary learning institu- further complicated the ­balloting tions; accusations of as many as three ­process. Shortcomings of the roll, hundred thousand “ghost voters” (a ­election deferrals due to the unpre- claim denied by the Electoral Commis- paredness of officials, and strikes not sion) (rnz 2017a); reports of double only inconvenienced voters but also voting; and some instances of violence cost employers. Many businesses and intimidation, especially toward allowed time off to their employees or women, at balloting sites. Perhaps the even closed for the entire day to allow largest challenge to the polling process them to vote, resulting in loss of sales; was the high level of inaccuracy of the one Port Moresby business claimed common roll of voters. Social media a net loss of some 200,000 kina platforms were filled with accounts of (us$61,000) (Pacific Islands Report voters being turned away from polling 2017b). places. Many, like Steven Winduo, In an election that pitted leaders went from polling place to polling mostly for or against the pnc and political reviews • melanesia 523 its policies, researcher Michael Mell invited the pnc to form a government. projected that only approximately 50 While the move was premature—and percent of parliamentarians would Alliance leaders duly protested—the be returned to their seats (Ovasuru pnc did eventually round out the 2017). Predictions for a high turnover numbers to form a government. Peter of serving politicians were correct, O’Neill was elected prime minister, and many high-profile figures who sixty to forty-six. The pnc only gar- could have been considered shoe-ins nered a net total of twenty-nine seats, to win reelection were turned back by and the balance of the votes came their constituencies. These included from successful candidates belonging pnc strongman and Speaker Theo to other parties, such as Governor for ­Zurenuoc of Finschafen, who was the National Capital District Powes replaced by Pangu’s Renbo Paita, Parkop of the Social Democratic Party the youngest parliamentarian of this and Mt Hagen’s William Duma of the session at thirty years of age. So dis- United Resources Party. The pnc also traught were Zurenuoc supporters that gained support from several candi- the electoral returns officer felt the dates who had campaigned on plat- need to seek protective police custody forms staunchly opposed to O’Neill’s (rnz 2017b). Both the opposition policies. Many of them joined his and the government lost seats belong- headquarters at Alotau or crossed ing to long-standing and prominent the floor shortly after the first sitting figures in Parliament. These included of Parliament in July. This number the aforementioned members of the included Bulolo mp Sam Basil, the Alliance ppp member Ben Micah of Pangu Party head and a strong figure Kavieng and Don Polye from Kandep in the Alliance who had vowed to take in Enga, as well as O’Neill’s Deputy leadership away from O’Neill. Eleven Prime Minister Leo Dion of East New Pangu Party members joined Basil Britain. O’Neill used these results to in the defection. This included Chris deflect claims of vote rigging by oppo- Yer Nangoi of the Sumkar electorate nents, stating that they proved that the and Moriape Kavori of Lufa, Eastern elections were “a true reflection of the Highlands Province. Basil, Nangoi, people’s choices” (Nalu 2017). and Kavori were each rewarded with While much of the focus during the roles in the prime minister’s cabinet campaign period was on pnc policies as a result (Kero 2017). Although and the removal or retention of that O’Neill’s pnc-led coalition govern- party and its leaders, the 2017 election ment has a clear majority this term, was far from a two-horse race, with a these results have also created a much total of twenty-one parties represented stronger and possibly emboldened at the conclusion of the balloting. opposition for this term, which will After the polls closed, Alliance leaders clearly present challenges to the fur- felt they might have the potential to thering of current policies in a Parlia- garner the requisite numbers to form a ment in which fluctuating allegiances government, but despite twenty of the are not uncommon. writs not having been declared, Elec- While the electoral commission toral Commissioner Patilias Gamato expected some 4,068 candidates to 524 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) stand for election, only 3,332 of them Regional candidate Fred Konga on finalized their registration (Kenneth 25 August. Konga and associates 2017b). Of this number, 167 were were traveling along the Poreporena women, with all provinces except Freeway in Port Moresby when their West New Britain fielding at least one vehicle was attacked by unknown female candidate. Among the women assailants and Konga was executed. to stand for election was Pangu Party Deaths as a result of fights between candidate Dulciana Somare, the candidate supporters are unfortunate daughter of the previously mentioned but do occur with some regularity in Sir Michael Somare. While her father Papua New Guinea; ­however, assas- gave her his unconditional support sinations such as this are virtually and encouraged all voters to back unknown. female candidates, when the final The logistical challenges of PNG results were read, none of the women elections are unenviable and require a had been elected to Parliament. The great amount of effort and resources. exclusion of female candidates could While the election cycle of 2017 did see a resurgence in calls for special see several instances of irregularities, seats for women, but this had not violence, strikes, and even some out- eventuated by the year’s end. right corruption, to declare it a failure The process of manually tabulating would elide the numerous successes ballots under the current Limited Pref- of the thousands of election workers erential Voting (lpv) system currently deployed to some 10,800 polling sta- in place is a lengthy affair, one that tions across the country. The efforts was not helped by electoral worker of these workers and the millions of strikes in some areas such as Port peaceable voters should be applauded, Moresby or by violence, seen in the but the glaring shortcomings of the provinces of Enga, Western Highlands, voter rolls and registration process, and Southern Highlands. Numerous nondelivery of ballots, bribery, and disruptions to counting in the race for outright fraud similarly cannot be governor of the latter province delayed ignored. The Electoral Commission the final declaration of the victor, has once again promised to address ­William Powi of pnc, until Septem- shortcomings of the common roll ber—well after Parliament had been going forward, but the problem has seated. been noted by citizens, international Unfortunately, several people died, and domestic observer groups, and many were injured, and property was even the Electoral Commission itself damaged or destroyed as a result of for years with no significant improve- election-related violence in various ment. Security concerns, particularly locales, most in disputes that occurred in montane regions, also necessitate during the counting process. Exact fig- upgrades in electoral planning for ures of those killed or injured in elec- future ballots in order to preserve lives tion or tabulation events are difficult and ensure an atmosphere in which a to extrapolate. One anomaly to occur truly free and fair election can occur. after the election proceedings had con- The inefficient methods of manual lpv cluded was the assassination of Jiwaka counting are also in need of an update, political reviews • melanesia 525 but such a change may prove ­difficult, Acting as a voice for the detainees as many are suspicious of new tech- and communicating their plight to nologies in such a critical setting and the world, Kurdish Iranian journalist vote counters often enjoy financial Behrouz Boochani has been keep- rewards for their efforts. ing the international public abreast While the General Election cap- of the views of the asylum seekers. tured headlines for the several months Boochani’s use of social media plat- of its cycle, the refugee detention forms, especially WhatsApp, allowed center on Manus has remained a him to partner with New York Times controversial point in politics for journalist Megan Specia in a power- several years. The detention center ful rebuttal of Trump’s initial decision indirectly came into the international to renege on the Obama-era deal to spotlight as dispute over the fate resettle in the United States 1,250 of refugees housed there led newly refugees who had been seeking asylum elected businessman-turned-politician in Australia. After calling the arrange- Donald Trump, now the US president, ment “a dumb deal” in a Twitter post, to allegedly hang up the telephone on the US president subsequently agreed Australian Prime Minister ­Malcolm to honor the plan (Specia 2017). Turnbull. The highly publicized phone In April, officials from the US call became heated after their discus- Department of Homeland Security sion turned to the deal signed by documented and interviewed the asy- former President Barack Obama that lum seekers, and by November about would see asylum seekers given refuge 50 had been resettled in the United in the United States. States. By the end of the year, some Declared unconstitutional and 600 remained at the camp, despite ordered to close by the PNG Supreme its closure and inhumane conditions. Court in 2015, the refugee detention Afraid to move to temporary housing was scheduled to close on 31 July. in the provincial capital Lorengau, the The site has been controversial both detainees continued to hold out hope in Australia and Papua New Guinea for resettlement in the United States or since its inception, and the primary Australia (Goldman and Cave 2017). perception of it from both detainees Eventually approximately 300 of the and the general public was one of detainees were moved to the new site chaos and confusion. More than once at East Lorengau, while 200 others during the year, Australian authorities were slated to be sent to the United offered large sums of money to asylum States shortly. seekers who would agree to return to Confusion regarding the legal status their respective points of origin or to of the refugees and the camp itself resettle in Cambodia, Nauru, or Papua was not the only issue regarding the New Guinea. These efforts to reduce Manus detention center to rise to the the total number of asylum seekers fore. At least two riots erupted at the through agreed-to repatriation were camp, ostensibly over the quality of coupled with the forced deportation food. The riots were not solely caused of several individuals whose refugee by the asylum seekers; in one instance, status was rejected. reports laid blame on Australian 526 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) guards (rnz 2017c). On a separate slowdown has not been the only chal- occasion, drunken officers from lenge to face the oil and gas industry, the PNG Defence Force rampaged since oil production has declined as oil through the facility. Detainees also fields mature (Osborne, Harden, and complained of threats and intimida- Roy 2017). Challenges in the natural tion from locals and used social media resource sector were matched by chal- outlets to release videos showing men, lenges from the natural environment apparently drunk locals, issuing death as a severe drought has been affecting threats in Tok Pisin (Palin 2017). local agriculture. Said drought has Specific information about the status, also been a causal factor for the rise of affairs, and well-being of the would-be local inflation over 6 percent. Despite migrants is challenging to find. Exact these financial woes, the supple- numbers of those remaining at the mentary budget filed by the O’Neill new island encampment and informa- government in September seeks to tion about when they will be relocated reduce the fiscal debt but does so “on and to which destinations are parts of unchanged fiscal and monetary poli- the Manus saga that are still evolving. cies” (imf 2017). Early in the year a spat over inter- Deputy Prime Minister and Min- national trade with Fiji did not help ister for Treasury Charles Abel has the country’s economic outlook as the spoken boldly about the need for Fijian government banned imports of improvements to the financial man- certain PNG-made brands including agement of the country. Whether bully beef, rice, and biscuits. The PNG his leadership is able to bring that trade minister at the time, Richard about remains to be seen. This is Maru, dubbed Fiji “a dishonourable especially salient as the economic country” and threatened to respond boom that ­correlated with the con- in kind. Fiji’s leadership indicated struction phases of the lng project concerns over biosecurity issues, but and the excitement surrounding the Trade Minister Faiyaz Koya eventually first shipments of the export also did reopened the free trade agreement that not play out, as many had hoped, has governed the relationship since the into improvement and real develop- 1990s (rnz 2017d). ment, especially for citizens in rural For the third consecutive year, areas. Analysts at the Lowy Institute Papua New Guinea faced economic observed, “Papua New Guinea failed challenges, especially in comparison to achieve any of the Millennium with the strong growth experienced Development Goals and it is cur- since the beginning of the various rently ranked a lowly 154 out of 188 projects to extract liquefied natural countries on the UN Human Develop- gas (lng) that produced noticeable ment Index” (Osborne, Harden, and shifts in the economy during their Roy 2017). Despite these challenges, construction phases. The completion Australian High Commissioner to of these projects is one of the largest PNG Bruce Davis voiced his country’s factors affecting the trend of slower confidence in Papua New Guinea’s growth, which is projected to be less economic outlook, noting that “two- than 3 percent (imf 2017). The lng way trade is worth around k14 bil- political reviews • melanesia 527 lion with about 64 percent of trade built roads in Port Moresby became exported from Papua New Guinea to traffic hazards during times of rain as Australia” (Vari 2017). a result of floods caused by poor plan- Several government departments ning and construction. These problems failed to pay rent or utility bills on arise as rural residents regularly point time, leading to disruption of services. out the disparity between funds allo- In February, Government House, Par- cated and projects underway in Port liament House, Police Headquarters, Moresby in comparison with their and the main health center all had areas. Expenditures and construction their power disconnected. The state- in preparation for apec meetings in owned power company PNG Power 2018 have further exacerbated these reported that the national govern- concerns. Some previously criticized ment owed them a combined total infrastructure proved beneficial this of over a$11 million across several year as facilities built for the 2015 departments at the end of 2016. In Pacific Games were used to host three that same month, the United Nations matches of the Rugby League World suspended voting privileges for Papua Cup. The national team, the PNG New Guinea, as it had failed to pay Kumuls, won all three of their matches annual dues. This came as a prison in at the National Football Stadium in Mt Hagen had food service disrupted Port Moresby, beating representative because the contractor had not been sides from Wales, Ireland, and the paid, and New Zealand officials com- United States. plained of debts to contractors from Issues with payment of debts and their country (Tlozek 2017). In May, infrastructure may not be directly the government of the Autonomous related to the country’s economic Region of Bougainville threatened to struggles, but such occurrences do not take the PNG National Government build confidence in the competence, to court, as they had not received over vision, or efficiency of state bureau- us$250 million in budgetary allow- cracies and their respective leader- ances. The month of June saw staff at ship, as well as the overall leadership the PNG Embassy to the United States of the state. The high turnover of in Washington dc locked out due to parliamentary representatives at the nonpayment of rent, and several gov- 2017 election may partially stem from ernment offices in Port Moresby were both the persistence of such problems similarly barred from facilities for the and politicians’ repeated promises to same reason in August. change them. Issues with infrastructure also Since its earliest days, the Indepen- raised the ire of the general public. dent State of Papua New Guinea has Blackouts have always been com- allowed its citizens to maintain citizen- mon across Papua New Guinea, and ship in only one country. In 2016, this these complaints were magnified as policy was reversed by constitutional the Ramu power station experienced amendments and the passage of the major disruptions in service that Citizenship Act. These changes were affected areas from Madang and Lae implemented in March and April of to the highlands. Meanwhile, newly 2017 as applications were opened to 528 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) people from eligible countries to apply versy surrounding the legality of that for PNG citizenship. This was seen as 2014 arrest ­warrant appears to have good news by both the large PNG resi- been settled in mid-December 2017, dent expatriate community and Papua at least for now. Originally upheld New Guineans residing overseas. The by the Supreme Court, the warrant group that likely benefits most from was deemed to be defective based on this change in policy, however, are the a technicality by a different panel of thousands of West Papuans who have three justices of that same body. An been living in Papua New Guinea as in-depth analysis of this decision is refugees, some of whom have been justified due to concerns over previ- in the country for as long as forty ous rulings, the type of precedent set, years. In April, 1,114 West Papuans arguments for ruling it defective, and residing at the East Awin camp near the lack of opposition, but that is Kiunga were granted naturalization in beyond the scope of this review. But it two ceremonies in as many days (Sii is notable that “the Court’s ­ruling did 2017). More than a hundred other not exonerate O’Neill of the allega- West Papuans were reported to have tions of corruption. It only said that received dual citizenship in Papua the warrant issued was defective, New Guinea in 2017. While several leaving the substantive allegations West Papuans had forfeited their offi- still open to scrutiny” (Kama 2017). cial status as citizens­ of Indonesia over It will not be surprising if this issue is the years, the monetary cost required raised again in the future. However, to complete the process was beyond the government’s official disbanding the means of most of the refugees, of the anticorruption watchdog group most of whom still live in camps or Taskforce Sweep and the failure to settlements, many in rural areas. This introduce a new independent com- makes the government’s decision to mission leaves little room for effective waive fees for the West Papuan com- investigation or prosecution of corrup- munity especially significant. tion, abuses of power, or misconduct The 2014 loan secured by the at the highest levels. O’Neill government from the United Besides the previously mentioned Bank of Switzerland to buy shares passing of Governor-General Sir in the natural resource exploration Michael Ogio, the year 2017 also saw company Oil Search Ltd also received several important figures in the politi- attention this year. The government’s cal and business communities pass decision to sell the shares in 2017 away. Notable deaths included those at a considerable loss was nearly as of Janet Sape (58), women’s advocate, unpopular as the choice to secure the businesswoman, former gubernato- loan. Attached to that controversy rial candidate for Port Moresby, and was the June 2014 arrest warrant PNG netball representative; radio on suspicion of corruption that host and broadcast journalist Roger was issued for Prime Minister Peter Hau‘ofa (73); Ezekiel Anisi mp for O’Neill. After years of legal battles Ambunti-Dreikikir Open in East Sepik and numerous court decisions and Province, who was the youngest-ever appeals, the long-standing contro- member of Parliament (29); PNG political reviews • melanesia 529 flag designer Susan Karike Huhume Guinea. 29 Dec. https://www.imf.org/en/ (60); former Chief Migration Officer News/Articles/2017/12/29/pr17523-imf Mataio Rabura (63); former Electoral -executive-board-concludes-2017-article Commissioner Sir Andrew Trawen -iv-consultation-with-papua-new-guinea [accessed Jan ] (61); and newspaper editor Rosalyn 4 2018 Albaniel Evara (41), likely a victim of Johnstone, Ian. 2011. Interview with Chief gender-based violence. Sir Michael Somare. New Flags Flying. rnz, 5 Aug. http://www.radionz.co.nz/ james stiefvater collections/u/new-flags-flying/nff-png/ michael-somare [accessed 5 Jan 2018] References Kaiku, Patrick. 2017. Facebook post, 28 May. https://www.facebook.com/ Blades, Johnny. 2017. 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Results “Good.” PNG Post-Courier. 2017. pm’s [sic] The National, 19 July. https://www Refuses to Debate Publicly. 13 July. .thenational.com.pg/results-good/ https://postcourier.com.pg/pms-refuses [accessed 8 Feb 2018] -debate-publicly/ [accessed 6 Feb 2018] Osborne, David, Robert Harden, and rnz, Radio New Zealand. 2017a. PNG Christopher Hoy. 2017. Economic Electoral Chief Rejects “Ghost Voters” ­Analysis of Papua New Guinea. In Papua Claim. 24 July. http://www.radionz.co.nz/ New Guinea: 7 Snapshots of a Nation. international/pacific-news/335679/png Lowy Institute, 6 Dec. http://interactives -electoral-chief-rejects-ghost-voters-claim .lowyinstitute.org/publications/PNGin2017 [accessed 6 Feb 2018] /png-in-2017-economics.html [accessed 2 Feb 2018] ———. 2017b. PNG Returning Officer Seeks Refuge after Upset Election Result. Ovasuru, Paeope. 2017. On Eve of PNG 20 July. http://www.radionz.co.nz/ Election; Poll Shows Incumbent ­Leaders international/pacific-news/335507/png Likely to Return. PNG Post-Courier, -returning-officer-seeks-refuge-after-upset 23 June. http://www.pireport.org/articles/ -election-result [accessed 25 Jan 2018] 2017/06/22/eve-png-election-poll-shows -incumbent-leaders-likely-return ———. 2017c. Guards Transferred from [accessed 20 Jan 2018] Nauru Incited Manus Riot—Refugee. 14 April. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ Pacific Islands Report. 2017a. Common- international/pacific-news/328828/guards wealth Observer Group “Very Disap- -transferred-from-nauru-incited-manus pointed” in PNG’s Electoral Roll. PNG -riot-refugee [accessed 8 Feb 2018] Post-Courier, 11 July. http://www.pireport .org/articles/2017/07/10/commonwealth ———. 2017d. Fiji to Allow PNG Food -observer-group-very-disappointed-pngs Imports that Sparked Trade Stoush. -electoral-roll [accessed 12 Jan 2018] 24 March. http://www.radionz.co.nz/ international/pacific-news/327413/fiji ———. 2017b. Chaos in PNG Capital: -to-allow-png-food-imports-that-sparked Election Officials Arrested; Voters Turned -trade-stoush [accessed 9 Feb 2018] Away; Poll Postponed. PNG Post-­Courier, 28 June. http://www.pireport.org/articles/ Sii, Tony. 2017. 403 West Papuans Get 2017/06/27/chaos-png-capital-election Citizenships. PNG Post-Courier, 11 April. -officials-arrested-voters-turned-away-poll https://postcourier.com.pg/403-west -postponed [accessed 5 Feb 2018] -papuans-get-citizenships/ [accessed 13 Feb 2018] Palin, Megan. 2017. Manus Island Mess: “You’re dead meat . . . I will kill you.” Specia, Megan. 2017. How Texts from News.com.au, 11 Dec. http://www.news a “Hell Prison” in the Pacific Led to a .com.au/world/asia/manus-island-mess ­Powerful Video Diary. New York Times, -youre-dead-meat-i-will-kill-you/news 13 Feb. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/ -story/f77ac187b863aba13fd4ae19e440 02/13/insider/manus-island-refugee f2a9 [accessed 8 Feb 2018] -australia.html [accessed 3 Jan 2018] Pokiton, Sally. 2017. Polye’s ubs Loan The Economist. 2017. Votes Loom on the Case Pending Instructions. PNG Loop, Future of New Caledonia and Bougain- political reviews • melanesia 531 ville. 6 April. https://www.economist.com/ early in the year, revealing that the news/asia/21720327-first-pacific-island country was experiencing cash flow -may-choose-stay-part-france-second problems due to financial mismanage- -could-split-papua [accessed 6 Feb 2018] ment (Aatai 2017a). It was alleged by The National. 2017a. Micah Vows to former Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Cancel apec. 31 May. https://www Lilo that the government’s reserve .thenational.com.pg/micah-vows-cancel had been reduced within two years -apec/ [accessed 6 Feb 2018] from si$1.5 billion to si$150 million ———. 2017b Polye Pledges to Help (si$100 = us$12.63). As a result, the B’ville Gain Independence. 19 May. government had to borrow to pay its https://www.thenational.com.pg/polye bills and settle other financial com- -pledges-help-bville-gain-independence/ mitments (sibc 2017b). Minister of [accessed 6 Feb 2018] Finance Snyder Rini assured the gen- Tlozek, Erik. 2017. Papua New Guinea eral public that government finances Loses UN Vote over Unpaid Annual Con- were stable and under control. This tributions. abc News (Australia), 23 Feb. was contrary to the government’s http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-24/ actual financial performance through- papua-new-guinea-loses-un-vote-over out the year because the government -unpaid-contributions/8298486 continued to delay the payment of [accessed 13 Feb 2018] bills and meeting its financial com- Vari, Mathew. 2017. Australia Confident mitments. For example, the Solomon in PNG Economy. PNG Post-Courier, Islands Government (sig)–sponsored 28 March. https://postcourier.com.pg/ students studying inside the country at australia-confident-in-png-economy/ Solomon Islands National University [accessed 15 Jan 2018] and at regional tertiary institutions Winduo, Steven. 2017. Is the Notion of such as the University of the South Citizenry at Stake? The National, 7 July. Pacific continued to experience delays https://www.thenational.com.pg/notion in the payment of their allowances -citizenry-stake/ [accessed 6 Feb 2018] (sfb 2017c; Abana 2017). The Solo- Zarriga, Miriam. 2017. Despite Wet mon Islands Broadcasting Corporation Weather, Port Moresby Turns out to Fare- (sibc), the country’s national broad- well Sir Michael Somare. The National, caster, took drastic measures to ensure 13 April. http://www.pireport.org/articles/ that it continued to operate, despite 2017/04/12/despite-wet-weather-port the government’s cash flow problem -moresby-turns-out-farewell-sir-michael (Runa 2017). -somare [accessed Jan ] 4 2018 Apart from the country’s financial situation, the decisions of the Demo- cratic Coalition for Change Govern- ment (dccg) on a number of political Solomon Islands issues were questionable. One of the The year 2017 has been one of intense government’s decisions was to pur- political maneuvering in Solomon chase a fixed-term estate title held by Islands, which had impacts on the Levers Solomon Limited and acquire functionality of the state appara- 20 percent shares in Russell Islands tus. This started with media reports Plantation Estate Limited. The deci- 532 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) sion to purchase the land was for the consider an alternative strategy. There establishment of a bomb disposal was also an allegation that Huawei training facility, a World War II had given monetary political dona- memorial park, and a sporting facil- tions to the prime minister and his ity. The agreement to settle the land senior ministers, but this was denied purchase, signed in Brisbane between by the prime minister (sfb 2017b). government officers and a Levers Despite such denial, it was apparent Solomon Limited representative, was that Minister of Finance Snyder Rini questionable because there was no played a key role in shaping the com- justification as to why the govern- mercial arrangement. The creation of ment opted for an outright purchase siscc as a commercial arm of gov- of the land while under law it could ernment could be subject to political reassume possession of the land for a manipulation since its establishment public purpose (see section 142a, Land was through the Ministry of Finance. and Titles [Amendment] Act 2016). An important event in 2017 was There was also no evidence of any the exit of the Regional Assistance due diligence checks being undertaken Mission to Solomon Islands (ramsi) before the government signed the on 30 June. The purpose of the ramsi agreement to acquire the land and the intervention had been restoring law 20 percent shares (ss 2017a). and order as well as state rebuilding Another issue was the undersea through the strengthening of govern- fiber optic cable project to provide ment machinery. As pointed out by the faster and cheaper Internet connectiv- ramsi coordinator, Quinton Devlin, ity (Kafo 2017). Initially, the Asian ramsi’s purpose was not about creat- Development Bank approved a loan ing a perfect state but rather restoring for the project but later withdrew stability and assisting “in establishing it because of bidding irregularities institutions that the Solomon Islands (Solomon Times Online 2017b). can continue to develop themselves” However, in 2016, through the Min- (Wyeth 2017). Following ramsi’s istry of Finance, the dccg created a withdrawal, Solomon Islands Prime private company, the Solomon Islands Minister Manasseh Sogavare traveled Submarine Cable Company (siscc), to Canberra in August and signed to implement the project. In Janu- a bilateral security agreement with ary 2017, it announced that Huawei Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Marine would be contracted to carry Turnbull. The agreement provided for out the fiber optic cable project work the rapid deployment of Australian (Solomon Times Online 2017a). security forces in the event of a civil Huawei Marine signed a contract conflict. This could only happen based with siscc in July to do the project. on a request from Solomon Islands Australia raised security concerns Government and subject to Australia’s that Huawei might have links to the acceptance of it. While this was a posi- Chinese government and would not tive step, the immediate ratification of allow the company to run the cable this agreement in the Solomon Islands from Sydney to Honiara (abc News context by the National Parliament 2017). The dccg’s reaction was to was not possible because of the chal- political reviews • melanesia 533 lenge posed by the political instability David Tome, who was charged for that started to show during the month stealing money from his constituency of August. The political instability (Buchanan 2017). Members have was triggered following Prime Min- raised concerns in Parliament about ister Sogavare’s sacking of Minister Janus’s function and workings. Prime of Infrastructure and Development Minister Sogavare defended the work Jimmy Lusibaea and Minister of of Janus and reassured members Mines David Dei Pacha due to corrup- “that the role of Taskforce Janus was tion allegations and the reshuffling of simply to carry out investigations in other ministers (rnz 2017d). ­collaboration with the Director of Allegations of corruption against Public Prosecution” (rnz 2017c). government officers and members of Prime Minister Sogavare urged Parliament continued to be featured members of Parliament to consider in the news media and discussed on Solomon Islands’ poor rating on cor- social media in 2017. For example, ruption as a challenge to encourage Magistrate John Numapo highlighted them to be champions in the fight the fact that “corruption was not only against corruption (sibc 2017e). He spreading through Solomon Islands emphasized that “this is a commit- society but it was also slowly eating ment—a crusade—the dcc Govern- away once highly prized and respected ment had pledged to pursue and we societal values” (rnz 2017a). Accord- will deliver on it as we have promised ing to Transparency International’s in our manifesto” (sibc 2017a). Corruption Perception Index Report, While the dccg’s plan to fight against Solomon Islands was ranked 72 out corruption was an important policy, of 176 countries in 2016 in terms of it was a challenge getting members perceived levels of public corruption of Parliament to support proposed (Transparency Solomon Islands 2016); legal instruments such as the Anti- in 2017 it was ranked 85 out of 180 Corruption Bill (acb); the Integrity countries (Transparency International Whistle Blower Bill; the Ombudsman 2017). Such statistics indicate that (Special Provisions) Bill; the Leader- corruption is endemic and a huge ship Code (Further Provisions) Bill; problem that has negative impacts the National and Provincial Election on governance structures and service (Further Provisions) Bill; and the Free- delivery in all sectors. Operation Task dom of Information Bill (Transparency Force Janus was launched in 2016 as Solomon Islands, 11 Jan 2016). The a joint initiative between the Royal acb was withdrawn from Parliament Solomon Islands Police and the Minis- in May 2016 due to lack of support try of Finance and Treasury to address from members (rnz 2016). During the corruption within the government. It United Nations Convention against focused on investigating alleged cor- Corruption (uncac) Resumed 7th rupt practices relating to the govern- Session of the Implementation Review ment’s tendering and procurement Group (irg) in November 2016, the process. This has led to a number deputy secretary to the prime min- of arrests including, in June, that of ister, Derek Futaiasi, stated that the Minister for Provincial Government “Anti-Corruption Bill, Whistleblower 534 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018)

Protection Bill and Leadership Code liament due to continuing political dif- Bill [were] all ready to go for enact- ferences. During the months of August ment by Parliament in March 2017” and September, there were already (Futaiasi 2016). Such a time frame signs of differences between the was overambitious because the politi- political parties (Kadere Party, United cal situation on the ground was not Democratic Party [udp], and Peoples conducive to ensuring that the acb Alliance Party [pap]) that make up the would be enacted. Most parliamen- dccg. Kadere and the udp are the tarians of the dccg as well as the two major coalition partners in the opposition and independent groups dccg. were unwilling to support the bill due While enacting the Anti-Corruption to fear of being prosecuted. Bill was one of the issues about which In August 2017, Prime Minister members of Parliament could not Sogavare made a motion on the floor reach a consensus, perhaps the most of Parliament to withdraw the Anti- central issue that stirred a rift among Corruption Bill for the second time. the political parties was the decision The leader of opposition, the Honor- by the prime minister to fire three of able Jeremiah Manele, and the leader his ministers and reshuffle nine minis- of the independent group, the Honor- terial portfolios in August. According able Dr Derick Sikua, objected. Dr to the Office of the Prime Minister, the Sikua suggested that withdrawal of reshuffle was necessary to “enhance the bill was not in the interest of good the administration of Ministries that governance (National Parliament of have been underperforming and Solomon Islands 2017). The prime improve efficiency to support the minister, however, strongly rebutted implementation and delivery of key the objections, stressing that the acb policy objectives by the dccg” (sfb required further amendments based on 2017a). Although the reshuffling exer- recommendations from the Bills and cise appeared to be well intentioned, Legislation Committee. He pledged it was a challenge getting the udp to to bring back to Parliament a revised support it. The udp opposed Soga- version of the bill during its next sit- vare’s proposal to reshuffle Minister ting (rnz 2017e). Sogavare’s decision of Finance and Treasury Snyder Rini triggered widespread criticism. Civil and Minister of Fisheries and Marine society groups rallied public support Resources John Maneniaru. Rini is a to protest the prime minister’s deci- member of the udp, and Maneniaru sion. A petition signed by more than is a member of Kadere. The udp four thousand people asked the dccg expressed the view that Sogavare’s to bring the acb back to Parliament. plan to move Rini to the Ministry of This was delivered to Acting Prime Fisheries was nonnegotiable. This was Minister Manasseh Maelanga, who because, prior to the formation of the promised that the dccg would pass dccg as a coalition, one of the deals the acb during Parliament’s next sit- with the udp was that Rini would get ting. Despite such assurance from the the finance minister portfolio, while government, there was no guarantee Sogavare, who contested the 2014 that the bill would be enacted by Par- election as an independent candidate, political reviews • melanesia 535 would become the party’s wing leader dccg in a clear show of solidarity and in order to be eligible for the prime unity. They publicly announced their minister’s post. What this demon- newly formed allegiance and filed a strates is that after every election motion of no confidence against Prime cycle, governments in Solomon Islands Minister Sogavare. This political situ- are formed out of loose coalitions of ation shows that political parties have individual members with highly per- no strong and direct influence on their sonalized political motivations rather elected representatives. than being grounded in discrete and There had been a coalition agree- disciplined political parties with com- ment between the udp, Kadere, and mon political principles and policies. the pap to form the dccg in 2014, but Prime Minister Sogavare, however, it had limited impact on the behaviors reshuffled Rini and Maneniaru in of members of Parliament. The resig- mid-October (ss, 2017c). Although nation of ministers and government it seemed that the udp submitted to backbenchers showed that members Sogavare’s decision, the move pro- switched allegiance purely by reason vided the impetus for further politi- of personal interest and personal cal instability. The test of Sogavare’s choice. This reflects a weakness of the political power transpired at the end Political Party Integrity Act of 2014, of October 2017. This happened when which was enacted to regulate the nine ministers along with government operation of political parties. There is backbenchers resigned. The minis- no punitive provision under the act to ters who resigned included Deputy regulate instances in which members Prime Minister and Minister for switch party allegiance or to restrict Home Affairs Manasseh Maelanga, members’ crossing the floor. As a Minister for National Planning and result, political instability continues to Aid Coordination Danny Philip, and be a normal feature of governance in Minister for Fisheries and Marine 2017. It was apparent that the dccg Resources Snyder Rini (Pacific Media no longer had the numerical strength Watch 2017b). These ministers had to remain in office. However, about been very influential in the Sogavare two days after the mass resignation, administration. They explained that eight new ministers were sworn in, their resignation was because of Soga- in an attempt to consolidate power. vare’s leadership style. According to Two of these new ministers initially Mealanga, “The Prime Minister seems resigned and later rejoined the dccg. to be listening to certain Ministers Such political maneuvering, often and outsiders in his decision-making referred to as grasshopper politics, instead of consulting all Cabinet contributes to why it is difficult to Ministers and all three Coalition monitor the political behavior, prefer- partners in the Democratic Coalition ences, and sympathies of members of for Change Government” (Oso 2017). Parliament. Members are commonly In a press conference on 30 October found to contradict themselves either 2017, members of the opposition and by making statements on which they independent groups sat together with later go back, by supporting a political members who had resigned from the view that they previously opposed, or 536 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) by switching sides in Parliament, con- from the dccg, the opposition, and trary to their own expressed political independent groups would form the principles. next government. What followed was a week of Dr Derek Sikua made a motion intense political rhetoric between the of no confidence against the prime dccg and the opposition over who minister on 6 November. As to some had the numbers to run the govern- of the issues why members of Parlia- ment. Sogavare was unwilling to ment had no trust and confidence in consider any calls to surrender and the prime minister, he outlined the step down. Both the opposition and controversial Nazar Gold and Skyline the dccg continued to claim “major- Company deal, the prime minister’s ity support,” although it was obvious text ­message to mining investors, and that one group had more members the employment of the prime minis- than the other. Despite the obvious ter’s nephew as chief of staff in the tipping of government numbers, the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabi- prime minister remained defiant in net. In response, Sogavare expressed the face of a clearly strengthened his view that “reasons for the defected opposition group. In an attempt to Members of Parliament (mps) who get public support and to discredit the regrouped with the opposition bench intentions of the defectors, the Office to oust him were rooted from cor- of the Prime Minister and Cabinet ruption” (Aatai 2017b). He alleged released a press statement asserting that former Finance Minister Snyder that the mass resignation by ministers Rini and former Minister for Devel- had been an attempt to disrupt the opment Aid Planning Danny Philip revised Anti-Corruption Bill that was “were involved in some dirty dealings ready to be brought back to Parlia- to rip-off government coffers” (Aatai ment (ss 2017b). The office further 2017b). He also revealed corruption stated, “Some of these resignations regarding the allocation of shipping come as no surprise [because] some of grants; some members of Parliament these same Ministers were responsible had applied for such funds for per- for undermining the progress of the sonal gain (Aatai 2017b). The issues acb” (sibc 2017d). But Maelanga, raised by both Sikua and Sogavare who resigned as deputy prime minis- were important indicators of the cor- ter, responded by stating that minis- ruption and quality of governance at ters and government backbenchers the national level, which ultimately led “resigned based on individual grounds to the removal of Sogavare as prime and personal convictions” (sibc minister following a successful vote 2017d). They no longer had trust of no confidence. The vote followed and confidence in the prime minister. almost nine hours of heated debate While the reasons for resignation as during which members of Parlia- revealed by Maelanga seemed genuine ment from both the government and (despite the fact that it took a very opposition groups made allegations long time for these individuals to of corruption against one another (see arrive at this judgment), they were not rnz 2017b). enough to guarantee that the defectors Two political groupings were political reviews • melanesia 537 formed after the removal of Sogavare its objectives as Solomon Islands as prime minister. One group was moves from 2017 into 2018. the Heritage Park camp, compris- joseph daniel foukona ing Kadere and the People’s ­Alliance Party, which were part of the for- mer dccg. The other group was the References Honiara Hotel camp, comprising the Democratic Alliance Party (dap) Aatai, John. 2017a. Solomon Islands mp and the Solomon Islands People First Concerned about Government Cash Flow Party (sipfp), who were the original Problem. Solomon Star, 22 March. http:// opposition group, as well as defector www.pireport.org/articles/2017/03/21/ solomon-islands-mp-concerned-about parliamentarians of the and the dccg -government-cash-flow-problem independent group. Not long after the [accessed 5 Jan 2018] formation of these groups, the dap and the sipfp switched to join the ———. 2017b. Serious Allegations among Heritage Park Hotel camp. mp Rick mps Revealed. Solomon Star, 7 Nov. http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index Houenipwela, speaking on behalf of .php/news/national/item/19647-serious the dap, explained that they moved -allegations-among-mps-revealed from the opposition due “to a lack of [accessed 15 Nov 2017] consultation over a proposed cabinet line-up”; as a result of the switch, Abana, Simon. 2017. Solomon Islands Uni the Heritage Park camp increased Students Confront Ministry over Unpaid Allowances. Solomon Star, 21 June. http:// its numbers from 23 to 30 (Pacific www.pireport.org/articles/2017/06/20/ Media Watch 2017a). Houenipwela solomon-islands-uni-students-confront was nominated as their candidate. -ministry-over-unpaid-allowances The opposition, now comprising the [accessed 5 Jan 2018] defected members of Parliament and News, Australian Broadcasting the independent group, nominated abc Corporation News. 2017. New Strategy John Moffat Fugui as their candidate. Proposed for Solomon Islands Internet The election for a new prime minister Revolution. Pacific Beat, 6 Sept. http:// was held on 15 November. Houenip- www.abc.net.au/news/programs/pacific wela became the new prime minis- -beat/2017-09-06/new-strategy-proposed ter with a total of 33 votes, which -for-solomon-islands-internet/8877044 brought back into power the former [accessed 10 Jan 2018] dccg but under a new coalition name, Buchanan, Assumpta. 2017. Solomon Solomon Islands Democratic Coalition Islands Minister Faces Charges of Stealing­ for Change government (sidccg). The Money from Constituency. Solomon Star, key objectives of sidccg would be “to 4 June. http://www.pireport.org/articles/ maintain political stability, rectify the 2017/04/06/solomon-islands-minister-faces country’s fiscal situation and stamp -charges-stealing-money-constituency out corruption” (sibc 2017c). While [accessed 24 Jan 2018] the new government provides hope for Futaiasi, Derek Gwali. 2016. Solomon positive change, it is still too early to Islands Statement to the uncac Resumed comment on whether the leadership of 7th Session of the irg. 14–16 Nov, Houenipwela will effectively address Vienna, Austria. https://www.unodc.org/ 538 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) documents/treaties/UNCAC/ ———. 2017a. Corruption in Solomon WorkingGroups/Implementation Islands “a Huge Problem.” 2 Oct. https:// ReviewGroup/14-16November2016/ www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific Statements/Solomon_Islands.pdf -news/340696/corruption-in-solomon [accessed 20 Jan 2018] -islands-a-huge-problem [accessed 10 Jan 2018] Kafo, Teddy. 2017. For the Future.­ Solomon Star, 28 June. http://www ———. 2017b. Manasseh Sogavare .solomonstarnews.com/index.php/sports/ ­Toppled as Solomons Prime Minister. national/item/18811-for-the-future 7 Nov. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ [accessed 10 Jan 2018] international/pacific-news/343246/ manasseh-sogavare-toppled-as-solomons Land and Titles (Amendment) Act 2016. -prime-minister [accessed Jan ] Passed by National Parliament of Solomon 10 2018 Islands, 27 April. http://www.paclii.org/sb/ ———. 2017c. Solomon Islands mps legis/num_act/lata2016223/ [accessed 10 Question Anti-Corruption Task Force. Jan 2018] 21 March. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ National Parliament of Solomon Islands. international/pacific-news/327084/ 2017. Anti-Corruption Bill Withdrawn. solomon-islands-mps-question-anti 29 Aug. http://www.parliament.gov.sb/ -corruption-taskforce [accessed index.php?q=node/1155 [accessed 21 Jan 2018] 15 Jan 2018] ———. 2017d. Solomons’ pm Sacks Two Oso, Deli. 2017. Maelanga: We Lost Ministers over Corruption Allegations. Confidence in pm. Solomon Star, 31 Oct. 4 Aug. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index international/pacific-news/336481/ .php/news/national/item/19617-maelanga solomons-pm-sacks-two-ministers-over -we-lost-confidence-in-pm [accessed -corruption-allegations [accessed 20 Jan 2018] 10 Jan 2018] Pacific Media Watch. 2017a. Candidates ———. 2017e. Solomons pm Vows to Pass for Solomon Islands pm Announced amid Revised Anti-Corruption Bill. 4 Sept. “Political Turbulence.” 14 Nov. https:// http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ asiapacificreport.nz/2017/11/14/candidates programmes/datelinepacific/audio/ -for-solomon-islands-pm-announced-amid 201857225/solomons-pm-vows-to-pass -political-turbulence/ [accessed 20 Jan -revised-anti-corruption-bill [accessed 2018] 25 Jan 2018] ———. 2017b. Government in Solomon Runa, Lynnissha. 2017. sibc Battles to Islands “Collapsing” as mps Change Alle- Stay on Air. Solomon Star, 24 Dec. giance. 31 Oct. https://asiapacificreport http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index .nz/2017/10/31/government-in-solomon .php/news/national/item/19768-sibc-battles -islands-collapsing-as-mps-change -to-stay-on-air [accessed 5 Jan 2018] -allegiance/ [accessed 10 Jan 2018] sfb, Solomon Fresh Beat. 2017a. Gov’t rnz, Radio New Zealand. 2016. Solomons Reshuffles Nine Ministerial Portfolios, pm Withdraws Anti-Corruption Bill. Lusibaea and Pacha Out. 4 Aug. http:// 2 May. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ www.solomonfreshbeat.com.sb/govt international/pacific-news/302823/ -reshuffles-eight-ministerial-portfolios solomons-pm-withdraws-anti-corruption -lusibaea-pacha-out/ [accessed 20 Jan -bill [accessed 25 Jan 2018] 2018] political reviews • melanesia 539

———. 2017b. pm Denies Bribery Claims, Oct. https://www.solomonstarnews.com/ Says He Never Received Any Political index.php/news/national/item/19611 Form of Donation from Huawei. 28 Aug. -moves-to-halt-bill?tmpl=component http://www.solomonfreshbeat.com.sb/pm [accessed 20 Jan 2018] -denies-bribery-claims-says-he-never ———. 2017c. pm Finally Reshuffles -received-any-political-form-of-donation Rini, Maneniaru. 14 Oct. http://www -from-huawei/ [accessed Jan ] 15 2018 .solomonstarnews.com/index.php/news/ ———. 2017c. sig Students to Receive national/item/19523-pm-finally-reshuffles Allowance This Week. 14 March. http:// -rini-maneniaru [accessed 7 Jan 2018] www.solomonfreshbeat.com.sb/sig Solomon Times Online. 2017a. Huawei -students-to-receive-allowance-this-week/ Contracted to Install Fibre Optic Cable. [accessed 5 Jan 2018] 16 Jan. http://www.solomontimes.com/ sibc, Solomon Islands Broadcasting news/huawei-contracted-to-install-fibre ­Corporation. 2017a. Civil Society Rallies -optic-cable/8677 [accessed 8 Jan 2018] the Revive Anti-Corruption Bill. 1 Sept. ———. 2017b. Sogavare Denies Bribery http://www.sibconline.com.sb/civil-society Allegations. 30 Aug. http://www -rallies-to-revive-anti-corruption-bill/ .solomontimes.com/news/sogavare [accessed 10 Jan 2018] -denies-bribery-allegations/8731 ———. 2017b. Former pm Blasts Solo- [accessed 15 Jan 2018] mons Government over Spending. Transparency International. 2017. Corrup- 26 April. http://www.sibconline.com.sb/ tion Perception Index 2017. 21 February. former-pm-blasts-solomons-government https://www.transparency.org/news/ -over-spending/ [accessed Jan ] 5 2018 feature/corruption_perceptions_index ———. 2017c. Houenipwela Becomes _2017 [accessed 17 March 2018] 17th Prime Minister of Solomon Islands. Transparency Solomon Islands. 2016. 15 Nov. http://www.sibconline.com.sb/hou Six New Anti-Corruption Bills in 2016. -becomes-17th-prime-minister-of-solomon Solomon Star, 11 Jan. http://www -islands/ [accessed March ] 13 2018 .solomonstarnews.com/index.php/ ———. 2017d. mp Resignations Prompt viewpoint/private-view/item/9250-six Questions on Motives. 31 Oct. http://www -new-anti-corruption-bills-in-2016 .sibconline.com.sb/mp-resignations-prompt [accessed 25 Jan 2018] -questions-on-motives/ [accessed 20 Jan Wyeth, Grant. 2017. ramsi Ends: What’s ] 2018 Next for the Solomon Islands? The Diplo- ———. 2017e. The Solomon Islands “Is mat, 30 June. https://thediplomat Not That Corrupt”–Sogavare. 14 March. .com/2017/06/ramsi-ends-whats-next http://www.sibconline.com.sb/the-solomon -for-the-solomon-islands/ [accessed -islands-is-not-that-corrupt-sogavare/ 15 Jan 2018] [accessed 8 Jan 2018] ss, Solomon Star. 2017a. Dr. Sikua: Soga- vare’s Statement Questionable. 14 Dec. http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index Timor-Leste .php/news/national/item/19751-dr-sikua The year 2017 in Timor-Leste was -sogavare-s-statement-questionable dominated by a round of national [accessed 5 Jan 2018] elections and a major breakthrough ————. 2017b. Moves to Halt Bill. 30 in the country’s long-running dispute 540 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) with Australia over maritime bound- unclos with the aim of concluding aries. In the latter part of the year, a permanent maritime boundaries with newly installed fretilin-led minority Australia. Australia’s opening legal government proved unable to pass its gambit—a jurisdictional claim that the program in Parliament, which saw the cmats treaty had already settled the country head back to the polls in May border dispute—was dismissed by the 2018. (fretilin is the acronym for conciliation commission in September one of Timor-Leste’s major political 2016, which found that Australia’s parties: the Revolutionary Front for an obligation to settle the boundary Independent East Timor.) A new mari- survived the treaty and its purported time boundary and revenue-sharing moratorium (unclos Conciliation treaty with Australia negotiated over Commission 2016). Having lost this 2017 was signed in early March 2018. argument, Australia had little further The year started unexpectedly practical use for cmats. An additional with a joint announcement that the factor was the dispute between China government of Timor-Leste would and its neighbors in the South China terminate the 2006 Treaty on Certain Sea, which raised the regional pro- Maritime Arrangements in the Timor file of international law in boundary Sea (cmats) with Australia (Austra- disputes. In that case, Australia urged lian Treaty Series 2007). The deci- China to follow the rule of law, as rep- sion, which Australia did not contest, resented by the decision of the tribunal opened the way for progress in bound- formed under unclos. The contrast ary negotiations. Aside from sharing with Canberra’s own behavior—its the proceeds of undersea resources, refusal to discuss a boundary in the the key feature of cmats was a Timor Sea and its withdrawal from fifty-year moratorium on boundary the dispute-settlement provisions of negotiations in favor of a series of unclos shortly before East Timorese revenue-sharing agreements, known independence in 2002—had created as “provisional arrangements” under a public relations problem for Aus- the UN Convention on the Law of the tralia. For example, the powerful US Sea, or unclos. House Armed Services Committee’s Having vigorously defended cmats National Defense Authorization Act as recently as 2016, several factors for 2018 was specifically amended to explain the change in Australia’s encourage resolution of the maritime- position. The 2006 treaty had been boundary dispute between Australia tarnished by allegations that Australia and Timor-Leste. The committee noted had spied on the East Timorese negoti- that negotiations would send “a posi- ating team in 2004 (smh 2013). Timor- tive signal to other states in the region Leste had then challenged the treaty, regarding adherence to a rules-based invoking the Vienna Convention’s international order,” highlighting the principle that negotiations should “potential security benefits” likely to take place in “good faith.” Equally flow from a peaceful resolution of the significantly, in April 2016 the govern- dispute (US House Armed Services ment of Timor-Leste initiated compul- Committee 2017, 2). There is little sory conciliation proceedings under question that this shift in Washington political reviews • melanesia 541 signaled extra pressure on Canberra to military resistance), received a massive resolve the matter within the unclos boost in January 2017 with a previ- conciliation process. These negotia- ously unthinkable endorsement by tions reached a partial conclusion in Xanana Gusmão. While expressed as a September 2017, discussed later in personal opinion rather than a formal this review. cnrt position, Gusmão’s authority The 2017 round of elections was such that the party did not for- occurred in the wake of a government mally support another candidate. This formed in extraordinary circumstances led many observers to conclude that in early 2015, when the former inde- the era of national unity would likely pendence movement leader Xanana continue. Lú Olo was running for the Gusmão handed over the prime min- third time after twice being runner-up istership to an opposition fretilin (to José Ramos-Horta in 2007 and figure, Rui Araújo. Though best seen Ruak in 2012). as a power-sharing executive rather The March 2017 presidential elec- than a formal government of national tion duly delivered a decisive victory unity, this informal “grand coalition” for Guterres, receiving just over 57 between Timor-Leste’s two largest percent of the national vote, ahead parties—the National Congress for of the Democratic Party’s António da Timorese Reconstruction (cnrt) and Conceição (who was also endorsed by fretilin—was a remarkable develop- Ruak’s plp) with 32.5 percent. The ment, given the bitter tensions between clear majority in the first round meant the parties as recently as 2012. a run-off election was not required Described by a senior cnrt minister as for the first time since 2002. While a transition from “belligerent democ- the president has an important role racy to consensus democracy” (Pereira in the formation of a government and 2014), this powerful combination holds a partial veto over legislation, left President José Maria Vasconcelos executive power lies overwhelmingly (better known by his nom de guerre, with the prime minister and cabinet Taur Matan Ruak) as the closest thing in Timor-Leste’s semi-presidential to an effective opposition. Ruak did system, making the July parliamentary not shrink from this role, attacking the elections the more important of the government over accountability issues two votes. in early 2016 (Allard 2016) and veto- Twenty-one parties contested sixty- ing the initial version of its budget. five seats in national parliamentary His new party, the Partidu Libertasaun elections on 22 July. In a popula- Popular (Popular Liberation Party, or tion with a median age of just under plp), entered the fray in 2017. nineteen years and a voting age of The presidential campaign cul- seventeen, this election represented minated in a national vote on 20 an important transitional moment March. Despite the nomination of for Timor-Leste, with a full one-fifth eight candidates, fretilin’s candi- of Timor-Leste’s 750,000 registered date, Francisco “Lú Olo” Guterres ­voters participating for the first time. (a former guerrilla commander and Under Timor-Leste’s closed-list pro- twenty-four-year ­veteran of the Falintil portional system, voters select a party 542 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) rather than individual candidates. politics” in awarding­ government Each party registers a list of sixty-five contracts. candidates in order of election, giving In many ways this set the party party leaders substantial power over against the cnrt, which continued candidates anxious to appear high to campaign on rapid modernization on the list. The system also allows through government-led infrastructure for progressive features, such as the spending, embodied in Gusmão’s own requirement that every third candidate strategic national development plan be a woman, which has given Timor- (Government of Timor-Leste 2011). Leste one of the highest percentages For its part, fretilin’s parliamentary of female members in Parliament in campaign slogan “For a more devel- Asia, at 38 percent. oped Timor-Leste” promised improved In 2017, parties needed at least 4 outcomes in education and health, percent of the vote to receive seats, using images of East Timorese making up from 3 percent in 2012. While this “plus” signs with crossed fingers. hurdle modifies the strict proportion- Despite the absence of its most ality of the system, the large number senior Falintil military veteran, Lú of parties participating in the election Olo, this focus on development poli- attests to the relative ease of party cies paid dividends and saw fretilin registration and political participation. maintain its 2012 vote share in a This reflects Timor-Leste’s relatively more competitive field. In the 22 July open society and pluralist culture, election, fretilin emerged narrowly which saw it ranked as the most ahead of cnrt with 29.7 percent and democratic country in Southeast Asia 29.5 percent respectively, resulting in a in the Economist’s 2016 Democracy slim but important lead of 23 freti- Index (The Economist 2017) and saw lin seats to cnrt’s 22. For its part, the 2018 Freedom House “Freedom the cnrt vote dropped from 37 per- in the World” index increase Timor- cent in 2012, affected by the rise of the Leste’s ranking from “partly free” plp, which performed very creditably to “free” (Freedom House 2018). in its first outing with 10.6 percent Seeking to challenge the major of the national vote. This outcome parties, the immediate past Presi- marked the plp as the new third force dent Taur Matan Ruak and his in Timor-Leste’s politics and translated new plp campaigned strongly into 8 seats. The Democratic Party against the “megaproject”-led vote remained strong, with a share development ­policies favored by of 9.8 percent and 7 seats, despite the ­previous ­government, arguing the death of their founder Fernando instead for increased spending on “Lasama” de Araújo in 2015. Of par- basic ­development indicators like ticular interest was the rise of Kmanek ­education, health, and agriculture. Haburas ­Unidade Nacional Timor The plp vocally opposed the unpopu- Oan (khunto), with 6.4 percent of lar life pensions for ­politicians and the vote. This party pitched its cam- also raised allegations of patrimo- paign at Timor-Leste’s unemployed nialism and the growth of “money and disaffected youth and performed especially well in the rural areas, political reviews • melanesia 543 doubling its 2012 vote to receive 5 only for the latter to exit at the last seats (Aspinall and Scambary 2017). minute before a coalition-signing The rise of both the plp and khunto ceremony. This short-lived coalition suggested shifting voter alignments as nonetheless survived long enough to Timor-Leste’s demographic “youth see fretilin’s Aniceto Guterres Lopes bulge” enters political life. elected as president of the Parliament. Having lost eight seats since 2012, Ultimately, fretilin could only Xanana Gusmão was openly disap- form a thirty-seat minority coalition pointed with the result and dramati- with the Democratic Party. On 15 cally announced his resignation as September, with no alternative major- president of cnrt, declaring that the ity coalition being proposed, President party would go into opposition. This Guterres appointed the first minority announcement challenged a wide- government in Timor-Leste’s short spread assumption that the power- constitutional history, with fretilin sharing arrangement between the leader Mari Alkatiri as the new prime two major parties would continue. minister of Timor-Leste. The executive The cnrt congress soon suspended was bolstered by some well-regarded Gusmão’s resignation, meaning that independents, including José Ramos- he remained party leader. Significantly, Horta, and a scattering of ministers however, Gusmão ruled out leading an affiliated with other parties. Several alliance of smaller parties, saying the plp members joined the new govern- cnrt “will not accept proposals from ment in ministerial roles, only to have anyone, nor invite any party to form their party membership suspended. a coalition because it does not intend No opposition majority alliance to participate in government” (Mur- was proposed at this point. However, doch 2017). events moved rapidly and quickly In combination with a fretilin showed that the cnrt, the plp, and president, fretilin’s narrow seat khunto were able to work together, advantage gave the party an edge sidelining most fretilin nominees in in the formation of a government. the formation of various parliamen- As no party had a majority of 33 tary committees. Subsequently, on 12 seats, fretilin attempted to form a October, these three parties formed coalition with the plp. Negotiations the Parliamentary Majority Alliance faltered on the choice of president of (amp), controlling thirty-five seats. the national Parliament, a position A political standoff emerged on 19 approximating the speaker. The plp October when the amp parties rejected was also concerned by fretilin’s the government’s program. To some determination to include representa- extent, the standoff was a clash of tives from other parties in the govern- emerging conventions in Timor-Leste’s ment before a parliamentary majority democracy. Similar political systems alliance had been consolidated. tend to have a default presumption Surprisingly, a new majority coali- that the most-voted party will lead tion then emerged with the Demo- a coalition government. In Portugal, cratic Party—with whom fretilin for example, that convention stayed has a fractious history—and khunto, in place for thirty-nine years after the 544 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) restoration of democracy in 1976. sus for political stability (Fundasaun While this view was central to the Mahein 2017). government’s case, and minority gov- In December, the fretilin-led ernments are perfectly constitutional, minority government failed to pass a majority support in Parliament is still budget rectification measure needed required to pass the program. Indeed, to fund new ministries and programs, Portugal’s thirty-nine-year run ended and the state operated instead on in 2015 in similar circumstances. a “duodecimal” system based on Importantly, Timor-Leste is of course monthly allocation of the previous entitled to develop its own political year’s budget. This period also saw conventions, and these are still emerg- the fretilin parliamentary president ing, within the bounds of the constitu- repeatedly delay opposition motions tion, through presidential practice. In of no confidence and refer a motion one view, the convention might best be for his own removal to the courts. seen as first right to attempt to form Parliament also failed to hold cer- a government, which fretilin was tain plenary sessions in December, in given. It is also notable that a cnrt- breach of its own regulations. These led coalition had been installed in tactics by the fretilin president of 2007 led by the second-largest party, Parliament seemed designed to delay suggesting a new path for the conven- the second rejection of the government tion in Timor-Leste. program until a time closer to 22 Jan- While the amp did not question uary, the earliest day the president the constitutionality of the presi- could dissolve Parliament and call dent’s actions, it did refer to them as early elections. ­“imprudent,” pointing to the politi- Gusmão’s lengthy absence through- cal unsustainability of the minority out this period (jokingly referred to government and offering the amp by fretilin as a peregrinação, or as an alternative if the government pilgrimage) was largely necessitated fell (Leach 2018). It was then widely by the intense maritime boundary assumed that the government had negotiations with Australia and com- thirty days to ­resubmit the program mercial joint-venture partners. His and would fall if rejected a second controversial decision not to return time. However, the standoff revealed during various breaks in the talks was some grey constitutional areas, with a portrayed by supporters as ­“leaving resubmission time limit unspecified in it to a younger generation” but in the constitution, though some com­ practice tended to highlight how mentators argued that the thirty-day central he remained to any political limit for the first ­presentation was resolution. Inflammatory rhetoric also implied for the second (Feijó 2017). increased, with Prime Minister Mari With the major parties at loggerheads, Alkatiri claiming that the rejection of civil society was concerned that con- the government program represented flicting constitutional interpretations an attempted golpe, or coup. The would revive memories of the 2006 opposition boycotted sittings of the crisis and called for the parties to parliamentary committee on budget work together to establish a consen- and finances, effectively preventing political reviews • melanesia 545 its operation, and called for the prime calm. Leaving aside the return of a minister to step down. These develop- more belligerent form of democracy, ments further highlight the apparent and accusations of an institutional return of “belligerent democracy” “coup,” the political standoff demon- after the informal power-sharing strated that the checks and balances in ­government of cnrt and fretilin the constitutional system were operat- from 2015 to 2017. ing, with strong executive accountabil- With these parliamentary maneu- ity to Parliament, previously lacking vers nearing their end, President under the power-sharing government. “Lú Olo” Guterres was critical to Following twelve months of nego- a resolution. With precedent from tiations that saw “confidence-building similar semi-presidential regimes in measures” enacted—including the the Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) termination of cmats and Timor- world suggesting a wide constitu- Leste’s cessation of a separate legal tional discretion, Guterres had the action relating to espionage (Evering- primary options of dissolving Parlia- ham 2017)—Timor-Leste and Austra- ment and seeking fresh elections (the lia made a major joint announcement path favored by fretilin) or seeking on 1 September (Permanent Court a solution within the current Parlia- of Arbitration 2017), declaring they ment and installing an amp coalition had reached an agreement on “cen- government. On 25 January 2018, tral aspects” of a maritime-boundary President Guterres announced a new determination. election would take place, with a date While full details remained of 12 May confirmed a week later. In confidential until 6 March 2018, the meantime, the fretilin–Demo- the agreement created permanent cratic Party executive would act as a maritime boundaries and revised caretaker government. resource-sharing arrangements in the The amp parties subsequently yet-to-be-developed Greater Sunrise established a formal preelection oil and gas field. This was a major coalition for the forthcoming elec- step forward for the resolution of the tions, which would clearly make it a long-running dispute between the two formidable force, greatly increasing neighbors. Specifically, Timor-Leste its chances of finishing first. Another secured a median-line boundary in important development is the recent the Timor Gap, creating a permanent emergence of the Democratic Devel- maritime boundary for the first time. opment Front, or fdd—a group of The median-line boundary places 100 smaller parties unable to clear the percent of the Joint Petroleum Devel- 4 percent hurdle in 2017—with the opment Area (jdpa) in Timor-Leste’s stated aim of supporting the amp. sovereign waters, where prior trea- Balancing this, Catholic Church com- ties divided the revenue from exist- mentary on the minority government ing fields, such as Bayu-Undan, 90 was relatively positive, a major shift to 10 in its favor. However, as these from the 2005–2007 era. fields are nearing the end of their Despite the political ructions, East life, far more financially significant Timorese society remained largely is the renegotiated revenue split over 546 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) as-yet-untapped Greater Sunrise field, a major increase in future ­revenues worth in excess of us$40 billion, would be seen as a substantial including total potential revenues to ­victory in Dili and an endorsement the two governments in the order of of the legal strategy of prosecut- us$12–15 billion. While Timor-Leste ing the ­dispute through the unclos had a respectable legal opinion sug- ­compulsory ­conciliation process. gesting that the entire Greater Sunrise michael leach field could be within its maritime waters under unclos, this claim was always a more complicated proposi- References tion, as the field straddles the eastern lateral (or side) boundary of the jdpa. With the exception of The Conversation Unlike the relatively straightforward 2018, all websites accessed 27 February median-line principles governing the 2018. east-west boundary, the north-south Allard, Tom. 2016. “Discontent” about laterals involve complex techni- Xanana Gusmao, Mari Alkatiri Families: cal considerations, with competing East Timor President. Sydney Morning options for baselines and offsets. Herald, 27 Feb. http://www.smh.com.au/ As the now defunct cmats treaty world/discontent-about-xanana-gusmao had given Timor-Leste a 50 percent -mari-alkatiri-families-east-timor share, renegotiation was a high- -president-20160226-gn4ck9.html stakes gamble, with the young state’s Aspinall, Edward, and James Scambary. guaranteed share of Greater Sunrise 2017. Fighting Corruption with Spiritual revenues reverting to 20 percent under Power in East Timor. New Mandala, an ­earlier treaty, pending the outcome 3 Nov. https://www.newmandala.org/ of the unclos conciliation. fighting-corruption-spiritual-power-east By March 2018, it was clear -timor/ that the gamble had paid off. The Australian Treaty Series. 2006. Treaty ­renegotiated agreement saw a between Australia and the Democratic ­substantial increase in Timor-Leste’s Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain share of the future Greater Sunrise Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea. revenues to 70 or 80 percent, pending Sydney, 12 Jan. Australian Treaty Series resolution of the final contested issue [2007] ats 12. http://www.austlii.edu.au/ of where the pipeline for downstream au/other/dfat/treaties/2007/12.html processing will land—in Australia or The Conversation. 2018. Australia and Timor-Leste (The Conversation 2018). Timor Leste Settle Maritime Boundary The higher revenue figure would after 45 Years of Bickering. https:// operate in the event that Timor-Leste theconversation.com/australia-and-timor does not achieve its goal of sending -leste-settle-maritime-boundary-after the pipeline to the southern coast of -45-years-of-bickering-92834 [accessed Timor. While Timor-Leste may not 8 March 2018] have achieved its entire suite of goals, The Economist. 2017. Democracy Index the creation of a maritime boundary 2016: Asia and Australasia. 26 Jan. with Australia for the first time and http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid political reviews • melanesia 547

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