Women Contribute to Peace
The traditional roles of Bougainvillean women have always been custodians of the land and providing the safety net within the community.
Their roles have been redefined to include peace maker after their contributions to the Bougainville peace process.
ABG President Grand Chief Dr John Momis congratulated the women during the 5 days of celebrating the societal contributions by women on Bougainville last week.
“Women are an important stakeholder in peace building on Bougainville, it was through your joint efforts with our leaders, excombatants and government that peace was initially attained,” President Momis said.
“I call upon once again on your resilience and unwavering support to continue to play a vital role in preparing our people before the referendum is held next year,” he added.
“I am of the firm belief that our people will not fail but before that happens we must work hard for it to happen,” he said.
President Momis told the women that Bougainville must meet international best practice standards on human rights, due processes and democracy.
He reminded the women that the referendum is a privilege that only Bougainville has in Papua New Guinea.
“This means we are a highly favoured people presented with a rare opportunity to decide our own destiny,” Momis said.
President Momis also revealed that the ABG was embarking on the preparatory work on the lead up to the referendum and post referendum period.
“The ABG’s Department of Bougainville Peace Agreement Implementation is working tirelessly to ensure that we have a smooth transition and that our progress is within the parameters of the BPA,” he said.
President Momis says that the people of Bougainville are committed to collaborating with the National Government in implementing the referendum in a democratized manner.
President Momis reiterates that the process of self-determination is within the parameters of the PNG Constitution and is not in contravention of any laws of the country despite what some people may presume.
He said Bougainville has earned this right after the National Government declared war on its own citizens in a civil war that saw the loss of more than twenty thousand lives.
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