>do any of pen-l's ozzies* have any comments on the events
>reported over pen-l concerning Bougainville?
>
>*"ozzies" is ozzy slang for aussies.
>
OZ Bill here. the situation in Bougainville (B) is pretty complicated. The
people have been trying to take on a couple of huge multinational companies,
the PNG government propped up by the defence aid budget from the australian
government (even though the govt always swore black and blue that equipment
they gave to the PNG govt was only used for peaceful purposes - they lied and
brought shame on us...only slightly lesser in my view, than the way successive
OZ governments have sold out the fretilin in East Timor), and an apathetic
world (also the problem for east timor).
interestingly, the people have taken the companies on (well one of them BHP) in
the Australian courts over pollution damage from the OK-Tedi copper mine
on their island. they have had mixed success but it is a real david and goliath
effort (sort of like the mcdonalds prosecution in the UK). BHP turn up with
very expensive QCs in their fine silks and the B people hire a suburban lawyer
who ties the company up in litigation for ages. at present it is unresolved
although i think the Bs have lost....the undecided question is whether the
Australian courts have jurisdiction. the PNG, when it was initially decided
that they did, combined with BHp to appeal. the PNG govt and CRA and BHP are in
league in all of it. the pollution was a total disgrace and even BHP has
admitted it didn't take the proper safeguards. read: they dump raw and very
damaging poisonous waste into the main water channel of the people in the area
who lost their livelihoods and became ill.
as for the major struggle: well it is a classic National Liberation Struggle.
the Companies are raping the raw materials and destroying the local land
system. the companies say they are giving the people jobs. well yeh, in
dangerous tasks at low pay with high turnover through injury. and hey, they
already had jobs.....they ran their own shows....farms etc. they companies
don't even pay the PNG govt much.
so the OZ govt are guilty. the OZ companies are guilty. the PNG govt is
hopelessly corrupt and guilty. and simplistically, the Bs are the fighting this
rather unlikely battle (in terms of resources and technology) against a
monolith with heaps of clout.
CRA has pulled out b/c the costs of vandalism/sabotage became too great and no
white executives were safe anywhere.
that is my view. there is also not enough anger among australians for this and
east timor, b/c in part we are being divided and conquered by our own govt
acting in the interests of capital.
hope this gives some info jim
it is a crying shame.
kind regards
bill
--
#### ## William F. Mitchell
####### #### Head of Economics Department
################# University of Newcastle
#################### New South Wales, Australia
###################* E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
################### Phone: +61 49 215065
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## http://econ-www.newcastle.edu.au/~bill/billyhp.html
