NEW DAWN ON BOUGAINVILLE

Pictured are Damian Kora and Ishmael Toroama at the Ex Combatants Meeting
By Aloysius Laukai

Pictures from The Excombatants Workshop.
Pictured is Lawrence Disin Administrator(right)Sam Kauona lloking this way

300611BBA proposes Happy city awareness
By ALOYSIUS LAUKAI
Bougainville Business Association or BBA will by next week submit a proposal to the newly established Bougainville China Cooperation Committee or BCCC for BBA to carry out awareness throughout Bougaiville on the proposed Happy city at Kokopau.
BBA executive committee director Thomas Rabanz says BBA would require about K500,000 to carry out awareness on the concept of Happy city proposed by Chinese investors early this month.
He said the Happy city concept would be a key factor in reviving the region’s economy however before any agreement is reached, there must be an awareness carried out to educate the public on what will be involved and how the people of Bougainville would benefit from it.
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300611 Bougainville Football Team Off

BY MARIA LAUKAI

A football team left Buka on Monday 27 June 2011 to contest for the NGIFAMA championship in Kimbe town, West New Britain Province. They travelled by ship.

Team Manager for Team Bougainville Mr.Joe Maineke told new dawn fm yesterday that the Games will start tomorrow 1st and end on the 3rd of July 2011.

The team is sponsored by few business houses in Buka and Arawa, with the Bougainville Microfinance association (BMA) as the major sponsor.

A MOU was signed between Bougainville Soccer Federation and BMA to support the Bougainville football federation for the next five (5) years.

He thanked the sponsors on behalf of the Bougainville football federation executives.

Mr. Maineke also elaborated on pikinini sports. Saying football is peace, football is family and football is community.

When children go the field to play, their parents and relatives follow them. And support the football by supporting them.

Mr. Maineke said, soccer associations in the three regions must continue and affiliate with the Bougainville football federation.

He said that So far 37 associations have affiliated with the Bougainville football federation

MR. MAINEKE says Bougainville produced the best soccer players in PNG in the past, and we should maintain it.

He also mentioned another soccer championship which will be held in Port Moresby later in the year.

He is thinking of sending a team to Port Moresby.

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300611REDCROSS helping youths
By JOYCE TOHUI
Bougainville’s Red Cross chairperson, AIDA KENNETH says the Red Cross branch in Bougainville has a lot of programs that have been carrying out within the communities.
She told New Dawn FM that one of the programs which they are actually trying to promote and implement within the communities is based on youth which is called youth’s agents of behavioral change.
She added that the YABC training program is to try and help youths in all the districts in Bougainville but firstly awareness must be carried out.
MS KENNETH said that awareness have started already with the help from the National Youth Coordinator from the head office in Port Moresby who visited two weeks ago.
She said that the National Youth Coordinator started the awareness with the urban youths in town who were very interested in the program.
She said there are seven steps to the program but firstly is to help them set up their groups, governance, aims and objectives of what they want to do in those groups.
She also said youths will be assisted in developing their youth constitution in order to look after their groups.
MS KENNETH added that these are basically some of the steps involved in this training.

280611KONNOU UPDATE
By Aloysius Laukai
The Minister for Community Development Churches, Youth, Sports and women, ROSE PIHEI says that the fighting in Konnou is not crisis related.
She made these remarks when updating Ex combatants at yesterday’s meeting at Tsiroge.
MRS. PIHEI who comes from the Konnou area herself said that the youths involved are to be rehabilitated, Retrained and Educated as most of them never went to School.
She said the government must be proactive and know what is happening in the Konnou Constituency.
She said that when the government is in the dark this is not good.
She said that Bougainville Police must be allowed to move in and contain the situation.
There were many groups sent to Konnou but none of them have reported to the government and the government has no knowledge of the real cause and this is bad for the government.
If a Konnou man gave a report now, can ABG believe that when it has no previous knowledge of what is happening on the ground.
AND this has been going on since 1989 said MRS PIHEI.

280611EXCOMBATANTS MEET
By Aloysius Laukai

More than ONE HUNDRED former fighters met in Tsiroge, Northern Tip of mainland Bougainville to discuss ways to address the deteriorating Law and Order situation in South Bougainville.
The meeting started just before lunch time with the Minister for Veterans Affairs, DAVID SISITO welcoming all ex combatants to the two-day meeting.
In his welcome address, MR. SISITO stated that we fought for one thing and that is independence for Bougainville. He thanked former veteran’s affairs Mr. Tovirika for what he had done for the last 5 years in ABG.
He stated that autonomy came about as a result of all our effort during the crisis. The vision for foreign investors to come into our region came about as a result of all those efforts.
He appealed to everyone that the people of Konnou especially Damien Koike must tell the people of Bougainville whom is he fighting for and whom is he supporting. It is time to tell everyone what this fighting is for.
He asked all ex-combatants to support ABG government and move Bougainville forward.

280611 ACTING PRESIDENT CALLS FOR UNITY
By Aloysius Laukai
Acting ABG President Patrick Nisira today called on the Bougainville former fighters to unite and support their government in its endeavours to develop Bougainville.
He acknowledged all factions in the conflict and thanked them for making time available to attend this important meeting. He conveyed the Presidents comment who was in Port Moresby.
He said you were called as you are major stakeholder in solving conflicts and in implementing the peace agreement.
The peace agreement stated that weapons disposal is a pre condition to referendum. That is why we are calling on you again to implement weapons disposal.
If we still have weapons we can not realise economic fiscal self reliance. That is why we are here again.
The meeting ended this afternoon with a resolution on how they would tackle the problems in South Bougainville.
Tonight the members would discuss issues within their districts and further discuss in the morning before a final resolution on the meeting is announced.
The meeting is being attended by Ex combatant heavies like Ishmael Toroama and Sam Kauona in Central Bougainville, Peter Naguo and Michael Komoiki in South Bougainville and in North we have Damian Kora,Marchelling Getsi, Benn Korus and other Combatants totalling One hundred and two.

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270611RELIEF SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTED
By Aloysius Laukai
A team from the Bougainville Disaster and Emergency, Medical officers and government officials depart Buka tomorrow for the atolls to distribute relief food supplies and provide medical supplies.
Disaster and Emergency coordinator Franklyn Lacey says the team will be away for a week visiting Nissan, Fead, Mortlock, Tasman and Carterats atolls to provide much needed supplies to the more than 10,000 people living on these atolls.
He said atolls have been heavily impacted by lack of food after more than five months of dry weather which dried up most of their garden produce, living the islanders no choice but to survive on fish and coconut rations.
The provision of much needed food and medical supplies was made possible by the recent granting of K300,000 by the National government and Border Development Authority.
Mr Lacey, although grateful, said the money is not enough to sustain the islanders for more than three months and urged that the PNG and Bougainville governments source more funds to assist the islanders.

270611AROMA COAST WINS BLACK ORCHID 7s
By Aloysius Laukai
Central’s Aroma Coast is this year’s Buka Black Orchid 7s cup winner after a grueling game against home team Black Orchids yesterday at the Hutjena High School oval.
The village team from Rigo district won the final match with 24 points over Black Orchid’s 19 points and pocketed K80,000 for their efforts.
Runner-ups Black Orchids went home with K15,000.
Other results of the match saw Patuki Warriors win the shield beating Haku Hawks 17-7,
University Piggies took the bowl with a 12-0 win over Malasang Traders and
Madang Madgauns thrashed New Ireland’s Kalu Marlins 31-7 for the plate.
According to organizer Peter Tsiamalili Jnr, the tournament which drew a crowd of over 6000 people on on Saturday and yesterday is deemed to be the second biggest sporting event in Buka after the Bougainville Games.
He said with a lucrative prize money of K80,000, the tournament has earned the accolade of being the country’s richest 7s event.
Meanwhile, Bougainville regional member Fidelis Semoso who is patron and major sponsor of Buka Rugby yesterday made a commitment to fund the tournament with K100,000 yearly for five years starting next year.