Former New Zealand governor general Sir Jerry Mateparae, right, with PNG Prime Minister James Marape, and Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama in Port Moresby. 3 October 2024 Photo: Facebook / The National Daily
Former New Zealand governor general Sir Jerry Mateparae says he is optimistic about helping to resolve a dispute between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Bougainville is seeking independence from PNG, and five years ago the people in the autonomous region voted almost unanimously for independence.
This had followed a brutal, ten-year long civil war, in which an estimated 15,000 Bougainvilleans died.
The Bougainville President, Ishmael Toroama, has said his government wants independence by 2025 or 2027, at the latest.
Sir Jerry Mateparae, who also headed the international peace keeping team in Bougainville a generation ago, was appointed last month as an independent moderator to help the two parties agree on terms for the parliamentary vote needed to ratify the result.
He told a media conference in Port Moresby this week: "I am optimistic about what I can help the parties to achieve."
This past week, Sir Jerry has been holding meetings with both the leaders of PNG and Bougainville, and other officials.
"The conversation I have had this week between the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the national government is how we can make our future together," he said.
The critical sticking point for both parties has been the tabling of the referendum document in the national parliament.
PNG's Bougainville Affairs Minister, Manasseh Makiba, says an absolute majority of MPs in the House will need to support it, while Bougainville says a simple majority is needed at that point of the process.
Its Minister for the Independence Referendum Implementation, Ezekiel Masatt, accepts that when MPs come to vote on the necessary constitutional changes required that then an absolute majority would be needed.
