With a projected vote on independence from Papua New Guinea just three months away, suddenly Bougainville is the centre of a lot of activity.
A crowd of people in Bougainville watching the handover of the agreed definitions for the two questions for the Independence Referendum. The first Greater Autonomy for Bougainville and the other full Independence from Papua New Guinea. Photo: Autonomous Bougainville Government
The vote, which is scheduled to start on 12 October, has already been moved once from 15 June.
Now there is a call for it to be delayed further, with the Bougainville Referendum Commission, which is in charge of preparing the region for the vote, saying more time is needed to ensure the integrity of the electoral roll.
A six-week extension was mentioned.
But the newly appointed PNG Minister of Bougainville Affairs, Sir Puka Temu, said the BRC needed to make a formal request if it wanted to delay the referendum.
"If the BRC thinks they need a little more time because of the credibility issue on the referendum roll then the Joint Supervisory Body (JSB) will be the body that will make the final decision. It is not the national government or the ABG, it is a JSB decision.
"If they say no then that's it. If they agree then we will inform our people and the basis will be the credibility of the common roll," he said.
That JSB meeting is set to be held in south Bougainville, in Buin.
The PNG Prime Minister, James Marape, then confirmed the National Executive Council, the cabinet, will hold its meeting there at the same time.
Sir Puka, who has significantly lifted the tempo on Bougainville since coming into the role just weeks ago, said it is vital for all of PNG's leaders to show their commitment to the referendum process.
Two upcoming reconciliations are to be held on Bougainville at the same time before the referendum.
Sir Puka said a national reconciliation and another involving former combatants were postponed last month because of the PNG government's change of leadership.
Sir Puka Temu Photo: AFP
"Our commitment is to never again bring the military ever again onto the island - that's our commitment."
Sir Puka said these events will include commitments to dispose of weapons.
He said he came back from a visit to Bougainville two weeks ago with an "enormous level of comfort" that the former militant groups had given their commitment to the peace process.
Sir Puka said there are now teams on the ground preparing for the events at a date that is yet to be announced but expected to be the end of the month.
He said he embraced the reconciliations because of their importance to Melanesian culture and the commitment that the final outcome will be jointly negotiated.
"So as part of that is to guarantee the security of the process and also reconcile and rebuild the relationship amongst all of us - our soldiers on this side and ex-combatants on the other side because that will then remove this cloud of suspicion."
Meanwhile, at discussions this week a British political scientist with experience in referenda said if Bougainville chooses independence from PNG it's likely to be some years before it is implemented.
Coventry University's Matt Qvortrup was in Port Moresby to speak to lawmakers about possible scenarios after the referendum.
He said if there is a clear vote for independence it's still important that there is what he calls a 'a just and fair divorce settlement' - not just one party walking away.
Professor Qvortrup said he'd seen other referenda results implemented in a matter of months, for instance in Czechoslovakia and Ukraine, which said were examples of countries that broke up quickly.
"The more successful ones have taken a little bit longer, so I think the process of independence will probably take, my estimate compared to other cases would probably be up to five years, or even more," he said.
Also, this week a survey of more than 1,000 Bougainvilleans found people still need to know more about the Bougainville Peace Agreement and the referendum.
2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement ceremony in Arawa Photo: RNZ Walter Zweifel
One of the key findings of the second Bougainville Audience Study is the need for continuous awareness in the lead up to the referendum and beyond.
The ABG's communications director, Adriana Schmidt, said the report provided a clear picture of the information needs of Bougainvilleans going into the vote.
She said people want to know more about what the two options - greater autonomy and independence - mean in practical terms, and to understand what happens after the vote.
