UPNG survey shows low student support for Bougainville independence

A survey about Bougainville’s wish for independence has generated minimal support among students at the University of Papua New Guinea.

The survey conducted last year was among students at the School of Business Administration and Public Policy Management.

Just 27-percent of some 400 surveyed students were in favour of full independence for Bougainville.

Economics Lecturer at the UPNG, Ana Kapil told the ABC Radio Australia Wantok Program, that she believes this underwhelming support could be attributed to a lack of awareness of the Bougainville Crisis amongst the younger PNG generations.

Ana Kapil says the survey results might reflect the wider PNG population and can also be counted among the reasons why the National Government has been slow to deal with Bougainville's Independence.

Massat on survey

Meantime, Bougainville Vice President, Justice and Independence Mission Minister and Attorney General, Ezekiel Masatt, has questioned the credibility of the recent University of Papua New Guinea survey showing minimal support for Bougainville independence.

Minister Masatt says he was not surprised by the timing of the poll, which was released just days before his joint preliminary meetings with the National Government and the United Nations on the Melanesian Relationship Agreement.

He claims the survey bears what he describes as the ‘fingerprints of foreign influence’, and has called on Bougainvilleans to remain politically aware and informed.

He also referred to comments previously made to him by a foreign diplomat suggesting that an independent Bougainville could face challenges in securing international backing.

In response, Masatt referenced former South African President Nelson Mandela, who had argued that newly independent nations should not be expected to adopt the alliances or rivalries of others.

Masatt says Bougainville’s pursuit of independence should be understood on its own merits, separate from broader geopolitical relationships involving Papua New Guinea.

Massay says Independence is legal

Ezekiel Masatt has rejected claims that the law does not provide for Bougainville’s independence, describing such arguments as ignorant and misleading.

He said independence was the most difficult and final issue negotiated under the Bougainville Peace Agreement [BPA] and is clearly entrenched in both the BPA and Part 14 of the PNG Constitution.

The Vice President added that the law requires independence to be a compulsory option on the referendum ballot, while still allowing the two governments to agree on additional options.

In the end, only two options were adopted – greater autonomy and independence, with independence defined by the National Government as Bougainville becoming a separate and sovereign nation from PNG.

Masatt says the 97.7-percent YES vote now places a constitutional obligation on the National Government to ratify the result and amend the Constitution accordingly.

He says any claim that the law does not provide for independence is simply nonsense.