| Accession Number | P04580.087 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Film original negative 120 safety base |
| Maker |
Bohane, Ben |
| Place made | Pacific Islands: Solomon Islands, Bougainville, Central Bougainville |
| Date made | 1994 |
| Conflict |
Period 1990-1999 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
An armed Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) guerrilla, wearing a "Guns n Roses" [heavy metal ...
Description
An armed Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) guerrilla, wearing a "Guns n Roses" [heavy metal music band] t-shirt, stands in front of a shipping container at the Panguna mine site in central Bougainville. Containers are often used as makeshift accommodation by guerrillas who maintain a no entry zone around the mine. The gold and copper mine, operated by Conzinc Riotinto Australia, closed in 1989 after conflict over the mine became violent. Landowners were dissatisfied with environmental damages and the social impacts of mining. The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) and the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) were deployed to the island. Grievances over the mine turned into a general separatist insurgency. The BRA is the main separatist force in Bougainville, declaring independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 1990 after PNG forces withdrew from the country. Following a period of anarchy the PNG forces returned to areas of Bougainville where they had local support. The Bougainville Resistance Force (BRF), aligned with Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the PNG Defence Force, was founded to oppose the BRA. Australia became involved in peacekeeping activities on Bougainville in 1994, when it provided logistic support to the South Pacific Peace Keeping Force (SPPKF) whose role it was to provide a secure environment for the Bougainville Peace Conference.