Mercenaries 'threat to Bougainville peace'

PORT MORESBY - Nine Fijians conducting covert military training on Bougainville are threatening peace, warns a former commander who pushed mercenaries off the island eight years ago.

Their presence could be part of a secessionist power-grab plan, retired Major-General Jerry Singarok said.

Singarok came close to staging an Army rebellion in 1997 when he forced the Government to expel mercenaries from Bougainville. The then-Prime Minister Julius Chan quit after it emerged he had hired the foreigners to crush separatist forces.

Singarok warned the Fijians, who are all former soldiers, posed a new regional security threat as some took part in Fiji's 2000 coup.

Their presence on Bougainville has embarrassed Fiji, which has promised full co-operation with PNG authorities to get them off the island.

The Fijians, some of whom have worked in Iraq and Afghanistan, were reportedly recruited by Noah Musingku, a former ally of late separatist leader Francis Ona.

Government officials say the nine are training men at Tonu inside a pro-rebel no-go zone in the south.

Singarok said a trained militia force "could wage insurrections against the Bougainville Government and put into jeopardy the sovereignty of Papua New Guinea".

He said PNG should act quickly against such mercenary action and Pacific Islands Forum leaders should also address the threat.

Ona's death in July inside the island's anti-government no-go zone, an area of "cargo cultish mentality", created an opportunity for Musingku to take over as leader, he said.

Police and officials of Bougainville's new autonomous Government are barred from entering the no-go zone by Ona's Meekamui Movement, which wants full independence from PNG and maintains armed roadblocks at the zone's borders to ward off Government supporters.

The Fiji Sun newspaper has reported the nine Fijians on Bougainville, who arrived there nearly three weeks ago, were employed by security firm Tri Unity, a subcontractor to Ronin High Risk Security.

That company is headed by former British SAS soldier and leader of the gunmen in Fiji's May 2000 coup, Ilisoni Ligairi, the newspaper said.

Tri Unity had a contract to protect a gold mine on Bougainville, it said.

No commercial mining operation has been in service on the island since the closure of the giant Panguna gold and copper mine during the troubles.

But alluvial mining by villagers financed Ona's operations and is likely to be benefiting Musingku.

- AAP