Onslow Holdings Inc. (fka IBIE)

[mastaflash]

Alarms raised in Panguna

THERE are foreigners already engaged in alluvial mining in the vicinity of Panguna Mine.
And already it is raising eyebrows not only for villagers and other former combatants but leaders alike.
Sam Akoitai, speaking as former Mining Minister and a leader from Central Bougainville, also a former rebel hardliner has called on the National Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government to come out clearly and explain to the people of Bougainville and PNG what law these foreigners are using and if they have complied with PNG foreign laws to enter into business — especially in Panguna.
Mr Akoitai raised these serious concerns yesterday as he knows the sensitivity of the Panguna Mine issue, particularly when the situation is still very much tense.
He called on ABG leaders both provincial and national MPs to seriously address this issue of foreigners — especially Americans, Africans, Australians and others — who are engaged in alluvial mining in Panguna when the mining issues have not been addressed in full.
Mr Akoitai also raised the alarm bells for both governments to be extra cautious because the issues at hand — given that more than 20,000 lives were lost due to the Panguna issue — had not been resolved.
“I am calling on the National Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government to explain whether outsiders or foreigners who are engaged in mining activities have come through the proper channels, through Foreign Affairs, Labour and Employment or have work visas and work permits,” Mr Akoitai said.
“I am specifically cautious because the situation is still very sensitive and all the leaders both in ABG and National Government must take heed and address it head on.
“These people are not only doing business in mining but also scrap metal industry.”

[mastaflash]

Megas, Stanley Ona, Philip Miriori

[mastaflash]

Momis is living in a fantasy world, IMO. Without meeting and negotiating with the Meekamui in good faith, together with BCL, he is laying the ground work for another civil war.

[mastaflash]

Late Ona’s son opposes Panguna mine re-opening
By WINTERFORD TOREAS

The eldest son of late Francis Ona is against the re-opening of the famous Panguna mine.
Stanley the eldest son of the late Francis Ona, who was behind the closure of the Panguna mine in the late 1980s, which later led to the Bougainville Crisis has decided publicly to voice his stance against the possible reopening of the Panguna mine.
Late Francis Ona’s son, Stanley Ona boldly said that he will not be entertaining the re-opening of the mine.
Mr Ona had decided to air his disappoint following recent media reports made by the ABG President Dr John Momis and other ABG leaders that the ABG is looking at re-opening the Panguna mine.
“I’m the Minister of Planning and the eldest son of our great human right leader the late Francis Ona.
“My people the Tribal Nation of Me’ekamui will not and cannot entertain any scheme to re-open the Panguna Mine or allow the PNG or ABG to infringe upon our rights as an indigenous tribal nation.
“These media releases are damaging to all parties and unless serious conditions are met, there will be no mining in Panguna,” Mr Ona said
Mr Ona warned that they will not bow down easily to the ABG’s stand regarding the re-opening of the once largest open cut mine in the world.
“The arms and weapons we have are designed for our defence. Twenty thousand lives have perished in our struggle and if our occupiers think that they will walk over us, they are greatly mistaken.
Mr Ona said if the PNG Government wants to “right the wrongs they have inflicted upon the Me’ekamui” they should enter serious negotiations and discussions.
“Hiding behind the bogus ABG that PNG and Australia created, will not further their cause, simply and candidly. There will be no re-opening of Panguna,” he said.
Mr Ona added that the violence, bloodshed, the denial of human rights, killings of women and children of Bougainville was the method that was used in the past by PNG and Australia.
“Are these announcements now telling the world that the Me’ekamui needs to prepare for this to start again?
“I am truly surprised, that you all haven’t learned anything from your bloody past.
“Panguna is not open for discussion.
“Me’ekamui Human Rights and our memorial are issues that we can discuss to put closure to that bloody past,” Mr Ona said.

[mastaflash]

ABG continues Panguna push

RE-OPENING the giant Panguna copper-gold mine is the highest priority issue for Autonomous Bougainville Government president Dr John Momis.
He updated PNG government members on this issue during recent talks in east New Britain capital, Kokopo.
According to the Post-Courier, Momis requested that the Panguna re-opening process be treated as a special agenda item for all future meetings of the joint supervisory board shared by the two governments “until the matter is concluded”.
Momis reportedly said his government was working on mining and petroleum laws and draft instructions were approved for a bill on a “transitional ABG Mining Act”.
He reportedly expects this legislation to curtail any foreign-owned companies in the ABG region that have operated without consultation of either his or the PNG governments.
Rio Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper is clearly not in this camp, and getting community approval to re-open its Panguna mine is one of the biggest challenges – especially as high copper prices continue to improve the business case.
There were about 600 landowners or landowner representatives of the 1980 compensation agreement for the mine – providing plenty of scope for differences of opinion.
Panguna was the world’s fourth-largest copper mine in the months before it closed in 1989, with Bougainville Island subsequently embroiled in years of civil war.
The mine produced nine million ounces of gold and three million tonnes of copper from 1972.
The Panguna permits under the existing BCA allow for mining up to 2032.
The ore body at Panguna is only partially mined, with large available reserves.
In the mine’s last year of operation, estimated mill feed was at 691Mt at 0.4% copper and 0.47 grams per tonne gold.
Rio Tinto owns about 54% of Bougainville Copper.

[mastaflash]

ABG sees Panguna re-opening as priority
By GRACE TIDEN

THE AUTONOMOUS Boug­ain­ville Government has considered the Panguna Re-Opening Process and Negotiations as its highest priority.
Speaking in Kokopo on Wednesday this week during the one-day Joint Supervisory Body meeting between the ABG and the National Government, ABG President Chief Dr John Momis said they hope the issue will be treated as a special agenda on all future JSB meetings until the matter was concluded.
He said the brief that was presented to the JSB detailed the administrative actions taken jointly by the ABG and by the appropriate National Government Departments to deal with the Panguna Re-Opening Process.
A meeting between ABG and the National Government Technical Officers (Joint Technical Officials Meeting) which was held two days before the JSB meeting recommended that a Joint Panguna Review Coordination Group to be established and that the ABG was preparing itself and the landowners to negotiate on this matter.
A full brief by the ABG and the National Government on the progress of the Panguna re-opening process and negotiations was presented during the JSB meeting.
Amongst the conclusions and records of the JSB was the Panguna Negotiations which stated that the JSB noted the establishment of the Panguna Co-ordination Committee within the ABG for the Panguna reopening process and fully endorsed the work streams and the cooperative relations between the ABG and the National Government.
The JSB also agreed for the state to commit its support to the process for the reopening of the Panguna Mine.
Dr Momis also said under the JSB Agenda item Mining, Oil and Gas, the ABG was working on its own mining legislation and drafting instructions has been approved for a Bill for a transitional ABG Mining Act.
He said the main reason for this step being taken was to emphasis that it was the ABG that sets mining policy for Bougainville and that all stakeholders must obey the law.
“This includes foreign companies, some of which so far have failed to even consult either the ABG or lawful PNG authorities about their mining related activities in Bougainville. This ABG legislation will hopefully put a stop to this practice in an emphatic way,” he said.

[mastaflash]

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA34/001/1997/en/3e3e7c79-eab7-11dd-9f63-e5716d3a1485/asa340011997en.pdf

[mastaflash]

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/10/25/02-56256.pdf

[mastaflash]

http://garytube.com/video_74fx64CPBss____02-56256,-02-56390-Sarei-v.-Rio-Tinto.html

[mastaflash]

Current court case status:

Sarei v. Rio Tinto, PLC, 02-56256 / 02-56390
Three-Judge Panel Opinion: 487 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 2007)
Order Taking Case En Banc: 499 F.3d 923 (9th Cir. 2007)
Date of Order Taking Case En Banc: August 20, 2007
En Banc Opinion: 550 F.3d 822 (9th Cir. 2008); 2011 WL 5041927 (9th Cir. October
25, 2011).
Date of En Banc Opinion: December 16, 2008; October 25, 2011
Status: Affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s judgment in an Alien
Tort Statute case arising out of the operations of Rio Tinto mining group on the island of
Bougainville in Papua New Guinea and the uprising against Rio Tinto in the late 1980’s.
The en banc court affirmed the district court's order on prudential exhaustion and itsdismissal of claims of racial discrimination and crimes against humanity, and reversed
the dismissal of claims for genocide and war crimes and remanded for further
proceedings on these claims.
Members of En Banc Court: Schroeder, Pregerson, Reinhardt, Kleinfeld, Silverman,
McKeown, Berzon, Rawlinson, Callahan, Bea, Ikuta
Subject Matter: Appeal of the district court’s dismissal of a class action complaint
brought by current and former residents of the island of Bougainville in Papua New
Guinea against a mining company under the Alien Tort Claims Act.
Holding: Plaintiffs’ claims of genocide and war crimes fell within the limited federal
jurisdiction created by the ATS, and their claims of crimes against humanity arising from
a blockade and racial discrimination did not. The complaint adequately alleged
genocide and war crimes claims.

[mastaflash]

It appears to me that BCL/Rio Tinto are not willing to give up their claim to the land in question...still holding that the BCA gives them legal title. Under the circumstances, that is a foolish position. Whether or not the BCA holds any legal weight, enforcing it at the point of a gun has already been tried, with disastrous results. They would do better to tear up the BCA, and proceed fresh...with compensation $ held out before them...

[mastaflash]

Wikileaks re: Boug vs. Rio Rinto

Viewing cable 06PORTMORESBY401, FOREIGN POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF SAREI VS. RIO TINTO Reference ID - 06PORTMORESBY401

Created - 2006-09-25 00:22
Released - 2011-08-30 01:44
Classification - CONFIDENTIAL
Origin - Embassy Port Moresby TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4634
SUBJECT: FOREIGN POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF SAREI VS. RIO TINTO

REF: SEPT 21
CLASSIFIED BY: Robert Fitts, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Port Moresby, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b)

1. (SBU) Summary: The PNG government of the day has taken and communicated a decision to the Embassy that it does not want to be seen as standing in the way of the hearing of the subject case in California courts. Accordingly, we must assess that there are no compelling foreign policy objections vis-a-vis PNG (and Bougainville.) In particular, we do not concur with the representations that an adverse decision on the case would creat a backlash against the GPNG. This of course, does not speak to the broader foreign policy implications of the Alien Tort Statute. We do note, however, that as long as the case goes on, the Autonomous Bougainville government will be tempted to avoid the difficult decisions and hard work of development in favor of waiting for pie in the sky via ATS. End Summary

2. (U) Australia, whose mining companies are active around the world, understandably would like the Alien Torts Statute to be as limited in scope as possible. In particular, the non-paper (ref) refers to the requirement that local remedies be exhausted prior to application of the ATS. That certainly has not been the case with Sarei.

3.(U) In fact, PNG's statutes require as well that all litigation on natural resource projects be brought in PNG courts. In an earlier iteration of the case (2001 or so) PNG agreed that it would not charge the plaintiffs for violating that provision in order to pave the way for having the case transferred back here.

4.(SBU) But the worm has turned. I was officially informed by both the Minister for Bougainville Affairs and by the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary (the country's top civil servant although it is a political appointment) that the government did not want to be seen as standing in the way of Bougainville's claim. They wanted the case to proceed. [This had the air of, we hope the US courts will quickly dispose of this troublesome issue. Alas, I had to remind them that the US courts were neither quick nor subject to this Embassy's influence.] In fact, they said that they were opposed to having the case in PNG courts as any setbacks to Bougainville's side would be seen there as a sign the PNG government was trying to keep them under PNG's thumb.

5.(SBU) The Bougainville peace negotiations are largely over, though sensitivities are still very near the surface. We are now in the lengthy run up to the proffered 2015-2020 plebisite on possible independence. The Bougainville Affairs Minister noted that his main job is making sure the Bougainville leadership sees the PNG government as helpful and supportive of its efforts to set the stage for that plebisite.

6.(SBU) There is lots that is troubling about this case. Bougainvillians actually believe that, if the case proceeds, they will pocket $10 billion and become a rich province again. [Actually, if Bougainville and PNG history is any guide, most of that chimeral $10 billion would instead wind up in the Brisbane housing market in the name of individual Bougainville leaders.] While the case is ongoing, there is every incentive for the leadership to wait for its ship to come in and not make the responsible and hard decisions that are required. Also, there is no guarantee that a future PNG government - which could take office after the May 2007 elections, might not reverse course. This would be particularly true if lurid testimony was made public of the conduct of PNG forces during that troubled conflict.

7.(U) But, the government of the day has taken the firm position that it does not want to stand in the way of the litigation. Therefore, this Embassy cannot argue that there are compelling foreign policy reasons for the case not to go forward. [This is vis-a-vis PNG. The Department and DOJ will have to weigh the world wide implications of ATS cases.]

8.(C) In particular, the assertion made by the Australian Embassy rep that a loss by the plaintiffs would result in a backlash against the PNG government is unfounded. Such a backlash would come only if the PNG government had been opposing the case. I checked with the Australian High Commission here and they share my assessment on this specific point. [The GOA may be trying to limit ATS application and so marshalling every argument it can think of. This one, though, does not hold water.]

9.(C) Comment: The GPNG position is a bit strange if viewed from its own financial perspective. As a 25% of BCL, it would presumably have to front up its share of any award that was made. However, given the way things are done here, the general suspicion is that PM Somare has been given a financial incentive to reverse the previous government's position on the case. Certainly, it would be very typical of Melanesia if what the government saw as in its nation's interest also redownded to the individual benefit of its leadership. It is worthy of note that Paul Nero, a plaintiff and the current PNG CG in Brisbane, is very much a Somare man.

Viewing cable 06PORTMORESBY319, SAREI VS. RIO TINTO

Reference ID 06PORTMORESBY319
Created 2006-08-09 03:04
Released 2011-08-30 01:44
Classification CONFIDENTIAL
Origin Embassy Port Moresby
SUBJECT: SAREI VS. RIO TINTO

REF: 05 PORT MORESBY 120
CLASSIFIED BY: Robert Fitts, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Port Moresby, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b)

1.(C) SUMMARY/COMMENT: The current PNG government would not object to continuation of the case vs. Rio Tinto in California courts, however it would likely be discomfited if the case were prolonged. A lengthy case could also serve to delay responsible decision making by the Bougainville government. A new PNG government (expected in June 2007) could well raise anew objections to the case. Thus, there would be little immediate adverse foreign policy impact to resumption of the case.

However, there could well be different considerations down the road. END SUMMARY

2.(C) The current PNG government is on record as preferring that the Bougainville class action suit now in California courts be decided in the U.S. That statement was made in March of 2005 (reftel) in the context of upcoming elections in Bougainville. Those elections were held in May last year. The autonomous provincial government has been formed and has gotten down to the serious business of hitting the government and donors up for money to fund its operations. The new provincial government has uninterested in raising its own revenue within the province. If we enquired today for the position of the PNG government, we confidently expect that it would not oppose continuation of the case in US courts. This is after all a national election year for PNG. The prospect for funds from the case also helps contain, to some extent, demands for additional funding from Bougainville. If the Department wishes, we will request the views of the government, but a response might take some time.

3.(C) The Bougainville peace process, in the eyes of Bougainville leaders, has a long way to go. It will only end some ten or 15 years in the future with a referendum on independence which is provided for in the newly adopted constitution. Whether that referendum will in fact be held, will depend on the progress of national politics. Continuation of the case does encourage those who hold the millennialist hope/belief that the suit will produce billions, rendering the province rich. A long trial could thus serve to delay provincial leaders from making hard decisions, like raising revenue locally to fund development. In fact, the same PNG Minister who said (reftel) his government would not raise an objection to the case proceeding, pressed the Ambassador to ensure that the case was decided expeditiously, "so that the Bougainvillians can get down to business."

4.(C) The previous Government in PNG had objected strongly to the case being tried in U.S. courts, which was the basis for the original USG submission on the case. A national election in PNG will be held in May 2007 and it is completely conceivable that a new government would raise those objections anew, particularly if evidence in the case was drawing criticism of PNG's conduct in the succession crisis.

[mastaflash]

Debate continues raging over the role played by Rio Tinto's subsidiary Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) in the decade-long war waged by Papua New Guinea "security" forces on the people of Bougainville from 1988 onwards.

One of the key proponents of the company's innocence is major BCL stockholder, the highly-irascible Axel Sturm.

See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11012&l=1

In his latest broadside, Sturm accuses Ulster University criminologist, Kristian Lasslett, of using his "academic position as a platform for indoctrination and agitation."

In fact Mr Lasslett's critique of the company's complicity in human rights abuses, during the first 15 months of the bloody conflict, is quite measured.

And it's based on compelling evidence which BCL shareholders - not to mention Rio Tinto itself - would do well to urgently address.

The London-based parent company continues denying any wrongdoing, even though a US federal court has agreed to hear some of the charges being levelled against it. See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11270&l=1

[mastaflash]

The Evidence of BCL's role in the Bougainville Conflict: A Reluctant Response to Axel G. Sturm's Open Letter

By Dr Kristian Lasslett*

via Act Now!

26 April 2012

On the 23rd of April 2012, Act Now posted a blog I had written on BCL and the Bougainville conflict [see above]. It was a critical but hopefully constructive piece, on how BCL might mend certain bridges with communities on Bougainville, using fairly orthodox transitional justice techniques.

It was not a new argument, indeed the distinguished ANU scholar John Braithwaite wrote in 2011: "Reconciliation between the mining company, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and Bougainvilleans is yet to be achieved. An obstacle here is that the company fears ritual apology would expose it to liability in the courts. Yet this reconciliation to some extent holds a key to international reconciliation among Bougainville, Australia and Papua New Guinea".

In response to my article the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper composed an open letter addressed to me. This letter included comments that bordered on the slanderous. In particular Axel G Sturm argued:

"Your disgraceful lampoon is remarkable. It's really shameful if an expert in criminology completely ignores facts and reality. Your naive adoption of statements and claims from rebel groups on the ground disqualify you as an honest scientist...I suppose your work in Ulster [Northern Ireland], a region well known for rebellion and organised crime, troubled your vision...Unfortunately you are also allowed to spread your ideas among you students. You shall not use your academic position as a platform for indoctrination and agitation."

I took it from Mr Sturm's statement, he had not bothered to familiarise himself with my research on the Bougainville conflict.

Had he, Mr Sturm would have discovered that my findings are based upon interviews with General Managers and three Managing Directors who steered BCL during the 1987-1991 period.

These interviews were triangulated through extensive documentary research, using internal BCL records including meeting minutes and company memorandums (these documents became available following two court cases involving BCL and its parent company).

I also interviewed senior state officials in Papua New Guinea, including the former Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu (1988-1992), and senior military officers involved in the operations on Bougainville.

I remained somewhat aloof during the controversy elicited by an SBS report in June 2011, as I feel my research speaks for itself - on reflection, I perhaps erred in not correcting factual inaccuracies that were subsequently reported in the media (see Callick 2011).

However, in light of recent personal attacks on my credibility as a researcher and scholar, I feel compelled to summarise the empirical evidence on which my recent suggestions were based.

1. BCL placed substantive pressure on the Papua New Guinea government to send the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Mobile Squads - a paramilitary style force, who according to their own commanders excel in the use of terror (RPNGC Assistant Commissioner, Personal Communication, 2006) - to Bougainville in 1988, following attacks on mine property by a landowner group.

They made this request in full knowledge of the Mobile Squads' chequered human rights record.

As one General Manager informed me: "We knew the riot squads were heavy handed, that was well known in PNG. That's how they worked. If you threw a rock at them you would get ten rocks thrown back. They were very heavy handed in the way they handled disputes in the Highlands...It was a case, somebody has to come. They were the only ones that could come, and put a lid on this thing before it got out of hand" (Personal Communication, 2006). The Mobile Squads were responsible for numerous atrocities on Bougainville during 1989-1990.

2. When Prime Minister Namaliu opted to send a peace delegation to Bougainville to resolve the impasse with landowners in December 1988, BCL's Chairman - who was also an executive at Conzinc Rio Tinto Australia (CRA) - threatened to withdraw all CRA investments from Papua New Guinea.

In a memorandum dated 6 December 1988 he recounts his reaction to the Prime Minister's proposal: "The PM's priority was to 'appease' the landowners. I expressed the view that CRA would want to review its assessment of PNG as a place to invest. In all, it was an unsatisfactory meeting".

At the time CRA was investing heavily in mineral projects at Hidden Valley in Morobe, and Mount Klare in Enga (Post-Courier, 29/11/1988; Business Review Weekly, 9/6/1989).

3. When Mobile Squad units and Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) soldiers arrived on Bougainville during December 1988 and early 1989, BCL gave the security forces access to company assets.

A BCL General Manager from the period recalls: "We did everything they asked of us to make their life more comfortable, and better able to manage through, with transport, communications, provisions, whatever, fuel. You know we gave them everything, because as a far as we saw it we were hoping that they were going to solve the situation, so we could start operating again. So we supported them every way we could" (Personal Communication, 2006).

This claim was confirmed by a senior civil servant who was working in Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister's department: "We relied heavily on some of the civilian facilities provided by the company. They did everything, I mean we spent lots and lots of money, to provide backup support services for the operation. But the defense force was not properly equipped at all" (Personal Communication, 2006). I have found no evidence to suggest BCL were forced by the PNG government to make this contribution.

4. BCL regularly met with military commanders from the PNGDF and senior Cabinet figures. During these meetings security force operations were discussed in detail. For example, BCL was informed by the Minister of State that the security forces were planning to use "brutal firepower" to resolve the situation on Bougainville. This is evidenced in meeting minutes dated 8 June 1989. BCL did not alert the domestic or international community of the impeding humanitarian crisis.

5. BCL meeting minutes evidence the fact that during 1989 the company's Managing Director provided strategic input to PNGDF commanders and government officials on security force offensive operations.

6. BCL was aware of the illicit tactics being employed by the government's security forces, yet still availed company assets to the PNGDF and RPNGC.

For example, the company's charitable arm - the Bougainville Copper Foundation (BCF) - had surveyed homes lost to village burnings, which were conducted en masse by the Mobile Squads and the PNGDF during 1989. A BCF official informed me that during a security operation in March/April 1989, "forty, fifty villages, and the crops [were destroyed]. The villages were varying from five or six houses to twenty or thirty houses" (Personal Communication, 2006).

7. There is evidence to suggest BCL's Managing Director did raise concerns with PNGDF officers over the loss of civilian life. Nevertheless, the company continued to provide material assistance to the security forces.

8. Allegations have been made that BCL's Chairman supported the military blockade which was placed around Bougainville during 1990 - this blockade included the denial of humanitarian aid. In particular, the former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (1988-1992) of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, alleges that the Chairman stated lets "starve the bastards out".

Sadly the Chairman has passed away, and I have not been able to confirm the veracity of this particular allegation. However, I was told by a senior BCL executive that the company was supportive of the blockade for two reasons: "One was the ability of the militants to get more weapons to increase the level of their militancy. And the second was that there was always these threats that they were going to sell off the mine equipment" (Personal Communication, 2006).

Of course, I can only hint here at the evidence collected over several years of doctoral research. Moreover, in a blog post, it is clearly impossible to add more context, which would help readers understand some of the complex factors influencing BCL's decisions.

Though in light of the above, I would suggest - to borrow the words of Mr Sturm - it was in fact those scholars and journalists that rejected the allegations made against BCL by landowners and activists who might be accused of being "naive", after all accessible documentary evidence on BCL's involvement has been available since 1990 (following a Supreme Court of Victoria court case involving BCL and their insurers - BCL records are also stored in an archive at the University of Melbourne and may be viewed upon request).

Nevertheless, it is not my intention to vilify BCL. They operated the Panguna mine for 17 years, and many scholars and journalists have written quite favourable pieces on their corporate record during this period. My specific claims relate to a small window in the company's life, 1988-1990, where decisions were taken that implicated BCL in the hostilities, and the human rights abuses they generated.

Clearly it is up to the people of Bougainville to decide how they wish to manage their natural resources. However, democratic decision making about the future depends upon accurate knowledge of the past. In this respect, BCL can make an important contribution to democracy and reconciliation in Bougainville by, a) fully disclosing their role in the conflict; and b) making amends with those affected by their actions.

I am more than happy to engage in further probing dialogue with anyone who cares to comment; but I will not react to any further personal attacks, or ill informed judgements on the rigour of my research. I consider that issue now resolved.

[mastaflash]

By Dr. Kris Lasslett

via ACT NOW!

23 April 2012

Last month the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) Axel Sturm publicly raised concerns over the volatility of BCL's share prices. In an interview with PNG Industry News, he blamed political uncertainty in Papua New Guinea for BCL's current woes.


Young freedom fighter from the Bougainville Revolutionary
Army stands guard over the Panguna copper mine.
Photo: Francis O'Neill, April 1994
However, perhaps the ESBC's President needs reminding, the greatest threat to BCL's future remains its unacknowledged past.

Despite revelations aired on SBS last year, which evidenced BCL's complicity in the brutal security force operations on Bougainville, BCL and the ESBC continue to play down the company's instrumental role in the conflict.

If the ESBC wish to restore the integrity of BCL, then they should forward the following demands to BCL's Chairman and Managing Director Peter Taylor:

1. BCL must publicly apologise for its evidenced role in the Bougainville conflict.

2. In an act of goodwill BCL should publicly disclose the depth of its involvement in the security force operations on Bougainville. This public disclosure should document the logistical support BCL supplied to the government's security forces between December 1988 and March 1990. It should also reveal the relevant conversations that took place between the BCL management and senior state officials during this period.

3. BCL should demand that Rio Tinto - its parent company - cease contesting litigation taken by Bougainvillean landowners in the US, and fully compensate those victimised by the security forces using BCL property/facilities.

4. BCL should immediately remove from its Board of Directors, Sir Rabbie Namaliu who was appointed in March 2011. Sir Rabbie Namaliu was the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea during 1988-1992.

Under his Prime Ministership the Papua New Guinea security forces - in an effort to reopen the mine - executed and tortured civilians, systematically destroyed villages, and imposed a blockade on Bougainville, which included the denial of humanitarian aid. It is astonishing, in light of these facts, BCL would appoint Sir Rabbie Namaliu to the Board of Directors, and that the ESBC would support this decision.

As the last ten years has proven, Bougainvilleans are a forgiving people. But they will not suffer corporate intransigence lightly. If BCL comes to the table and publicly acknowledges its role on the Bougainville war, perhaps the healing process can begin. Only then will BCL shareholders find the certainty they demand.

[mastaflash]

The involvement of CRA/Bougainville Copper Ltd., majority owned by Rio Tinto, in actively taking part in
advancing unlawful acts towards Bougainville is extensive.
To date it still considers itself the current owner of the Panguna mine. But as laid down in this paper there
is no validity to that claim because the Bougainville Copper Agreement was an invalid and unlawful contract
with parties thereto who had no ownership over the land whatsoever, which was with the Landowners who
never agreed to the agreement, and who neither were party to it. What needs to be made very clear is that
Rio Tinto needs to agree to this legal standpoint and rescind any claim it made or wants to make
whatsoever on anything on Bougainville. Bougainville people do not even want to go into discussion about
what compensation would amount to, they want to be rid of anything having to do with Rio Tinto.

[mastaflash]

It seems the landowners got violent when they came into possession of a document outlining the plans to move ALL the islanders off...and mine the whole thing.

[mastaflash]

Australia and BCL had tagged up to mine the entire island of Bougainville (3,475 square miles!) and deport
the entire population and people of Bougainville to Australia.

[mastaflash]

Very good stuff here: http://www.ourbougainville.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/The-Real-Story-of-Bougainville-Islands.pdf

[mastaflash]

So, re-opening the Panguna mine must follow the dictates of the Bougainville people with a leadership that is trusted by the people and not the kind of leaders that are dirt to the people’s eyes and yet are currently playing the game for Bougainville.

16.09.2012

Source: PNG Attitude


Re-opening Panguna must follow dictates of the people

by LEONARD FONG ROKA


THE PEOPLE OF PANGUNA – site of the now ghost copper and gold mine, no more than a huge hole in the ground - have seen environmental carnage and the influx of aliens.

Today they know that the extraction of the mineral ore on their land was for the good of Papua New Guinea and not Bougainville.

They know a Panguna kina was spent on the Highlands Highway construction; a Panguna kina was there in the founding of Air Niugini; a Panguna kina was built into Waigani parliament house….

To them, Papua New Guinea was made by the Panguna mine and the many Bougainville cocoa and copra plantations.

To the Panguna people, the making of Papua New Guinea, from the basic economics to politics, was all Bougainville design and financing.

This is the insight that the uneducated or illiterate majority of Panguna landowners are told day-in, day-out.

Since the days of the crisis and civil war to the dawn of the peace process, this is the information they are nurtured on.

One hears these stories in the family home, after church services and, worst of all, in the boozing where you hear all the Panguna curses.

For the majority of the static, illiterate Bougainvilleans, the Bougainville crisis opened their realization of the fact that they are Solomon Islanders.

At the peak of the Australia-backed PNG blockade of their island, they had a brother who gave them little ammunition and medicine. His islands were close to the coasts of Buin and Kieta and could be seen from the high mountains.

The political discourse of the conflict-days was anti-PNG. Churchmen preached gospels loaded with sentiments of anti-PNGism. Musicians of Bougainville sing the negativity created by the New Guineans and BCL (the illiterate so love their artists and their songs).

At every traditional feasting night there are anti-PNG or BCL folksongs and poetic lamentation songs at funerals for any post-conflict death.

For all, every bad thing happening is attributed to these past deeds.

For the majority of Bougainvilleans and the Panguna people, this is their culture.

Thus, when one looks at the re-opening of the Panguna mine, one has to look at the people of the area and their landowners’ body to get a clear picture of what our hope is for re-opening the mine.

The noted trend in approaching the subject today is that the non-landowners dictated the wishes of the Bougainville Peace Agreement and the Autonomous Bougainville Government did not consider retributive justice for all the bad things that happened on Bougainville because of the mining.

There are many injustices in Bougainville that ought to be addressed before talking about mining.

Firstly, the majority of the Panguna population consists of the illiterate or half-literate men and women (high school failures, ex-BCL labourers and other ordinaries). But in this group is a new culture alongside the wealth of guns.

One finds the culture of entrepreneurship is growing. This unit of people hosts gold panners, gold buyers, scrap metal dealers, victims to scrap metal dealing conman, retail outlet operators and investors in cocoa planting who buy land in the coastal areas such as Wakunai and Tinputz.

Before the Bougainville conflict, these people were nobodies in their own land and in 1988-89 the late Francis Ona ran to them for support and got what he wanted readily.

He did not even establish a political manifesto to execute the secessionist struggle.

Thus the crisis was born against BCL, its few local friends and Papua New Guinea.

When the Bougainville peace process came into existence, it was those surviving BCL ‘local friends’ and the opportunists who went ahead with the Panguna mine re-opening talks.

Meanwhile the majority slowly adapted to change by engaging in business and investment with their own sweat without talking about the mine re-opening.

So, on the issue of Panguna re-opening, one has to deal with the crisis-created opportunists (some armed), the few old BCL ‘local friends’ (most in the current Panguna Landowner Association) and the change-adaptive majority (to whom the crisis-created opportunists run for support).

So far, the discourse on the issue of Panguna re-opening comes from the opportunists and the few old BCL ‘local friends’ who feign as genuine representatives of the people.

The dangerous majority has no voice yet. The re-opening gossip that every now and then excites the world is not representative of the Panguna majority.

It is obvious. Every foreigner who enters Panguna with mine re-opening hopes chats with the crisis-created elite or members of the Panguna Landowners Association (many of whom are BCL old ‘local friends’) and returns to spill their biased in-house chit-chat to the media as a breakthrough towards the re-opening of the mine.

The majority of the Panguna people (illiterate and literate) are standing at the foundation of Bougainville history. To them, BCL was for Papua New Guinea’s development and not Bougainville’s.

The re-opening of the mine bodes well for the locals in an independent Bougainville that is free from Papua New Guinea with the benefits for Bougainvilleans.

(The failure of the Bougainville weapons disposal program comes into play here because many people see that Papua New Guineans will return if Bougainville is free from weapons.)

The majority of the people of Panguna and Bougainville need to be assured that their crisis-created spirit of entrepreneurship will be sustained by the ABG. But so far, the signs are not good as the ABG is trying to suppress self-reliance by inviting Chinese foreign direct investment to get Bougainville, in a trickle of seconds, away from the stone-age and into the computer-age (a process that took industrial countries centuries).

This is likely to create loopholes for the Bougainville economy in the long run. When extraction of raw materials is depleted and the investors proudly depart, where will Bougainvilleans turn to where all farming land is gravel?

Many can criticise my discourse, but one has to note that the Bougainville crisis was a ‘natural university’ to many Bougainvilleans for it opened the islanders’ mind’s eye.

So, re-opening the Panguna mine must follow the dictates of the Bougainville people with a leadership that is trusted by the people and not the kind of leaders that are dirt to the people’s eyes and yet are currently playing the game for Bougainville.

[mastaflash]

Axel...stop the character assassination if you please...you are sucking hard for a lawsuit, IMO.

[mastaflash]

BCL/Rio Tinto have no rights to Panguna, or anywhere else in Bougainville. The landowners will ultimately decide who and how. Many lives were lost to get to that point, and it won't be given up.

[mastaflash]

[mastaflash]

http://bougainville.typepad.com/newdawn/2012/08/esbc-support.html?cid=6a011168831e92970c017617672a6d970c

[mastaflash]

http://moneytometal.org/index.php/Morumbi_Resources

[mastaflash]

Canadian venture capitalists step onto Bougainville

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11828

[mastaflash]

Bougainville Landowners irate over Rio Tinto's possible return
Published Date: 13-08-2012
Source: Postcourier
Source Date: 08-08-2012
In the wake of agreements signed between indigenous companies and Canada's Morumbi Resources, Bougainville landowners have vociferously re-affirmed their opposition to the return of Rio Tinto to the Panguna mining area.

See: Canadian venture capitalists step onto Bougainville

Local companies oppose BCL return

Postcourier

31 July 2012

Talks of Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL)'s return to the civil war-torn Autonomous Region of Bougainville to reopen the Panguna mine has received stiff resistance from the Bougainville landowner companies from the mine area.

Joe Birunoim, mandated spokesperson for 5 major landowner companies from the Panguna mine area, a former politician and former rebel commander yesterday said the talk of BCL returning to Panguna is ‘a joke'.

Mr Biruniom who represents Avaipa Resources Ltd, Pakasianpa Resources Ltd, Baunapa Resources Ltd, Erupia Resources Ltd and Karato Resources Ltd said BCL is not welcomed in Bougainville.

"It has more than enough outstanding issues on its plate. If BCL is talking about returning to the Panguna mine pit is fine but not accepted at the 7 sisters (the 7 mining lease areas). We have had enough damage accumulated from BCL. Knowing the fact that BCL is out of the region, we have already established ourselves as exploration and mining companies to explore and mine our own mineral resources. We have joint partnership with major internationally reputable mining and exploration companies who have agreed to our model of shareholdings and benefiting sharing arrangement which is unique and different from any other developers could afford to offer," Mr Birunoim said.

Vice Chairman and a director of umbrella company Isina Resources Holdings Ltd Sam Kauona said if there is any negotiation for reopening of Panguna, it has to be a wide consultation and not for ABG President John Momis to decide whether BCL is to come or not as it's a private political deal.

"The very people who fought for their land and resources have to be consulted. But in this case, the landowners have decided their own destiny and said no to BCL. I am working on as model to give back mineral and oil ownership back to the landowners and any talk to BCL coming back will defeat the purpose of setting up and landowner's companies to locally explore and mine our own resources.

If we can do exploration and mine own our own with other companies through joint venture, there is no need for BCL as it does not have any place in the region, the former Bougainville Revolutionary Army General told the Post Courier yesterday.

A former senior politician from the region who requested unanimous when asked to comment after learning of BCL interest to return said, "the general feelings in Bougainville is that there is an ill feeling about the news of BCL return. General, Bougainvillians don't want to see BCL coming back. Also it must be made clear that under Section 23 of the Bougainville Constitution, all mineral and oil resources are owned and belong to the landowners or resource owners of Bougainville and not ABG, the National Government or any foreigner for that matter," the former politician said.

2 weeks ago, BCL chairman Peter Taylor was in the region to talk to the Panguna landowners including ABG President John Momis. Mr Momis later told Radio Australia that the meeting with BCL was very significant. "It was the first time that all the landowners were represented in the group that talked with us. In the past we had other big meetings but not all landowner groups were represented. But this time it was good. I was not completely surprised.

I was very happy because we had been doing a lot of work, the administration has been doing a lot of work liaising and talking with the landowner groups and insisting that landowners must come to an agreement to work together," Mr Momis reportedly said.

Landowners irate over BCL talks

By Patrick Talu

Postcourier

6 August 2012

THE talk of Rio Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL)'s re-opening of its defunct Panguna copper mine will not be an easy task.

There is already a strong anti BCL feeling across the breath and width of the Island of Bougainville as the news of BCL's intention to return to Panguna has been prominently hitting news headlines in recent times.

Chris Uma, the Defence Force Commander General of the Mekamui Government, former Bougainville Revolutionary Army General Sam Kauona, seven mining tenement licence area landowners and Bougainvilleans in general are opposing the move by BCL to reopen the once world's third largest copper mine.

Mr Uma and his disarmed army who is manning the gate of the ‘No-Go-Zone' and the Panguna special mining lease area responding to media statements said, "the talk of re-opening of Panguna mine is the final thing or not even been thought of," Mr Uma told this reporter at Panguna mine after a fact finding mission last week.

"Me no laik harim displa toktok lon kam bek blong BCL, em ino stap lo tintin too (I don't want to hear the talk of BCL returning, not even in my mind), Mr Uma said.

"Panguna bai reopen behain lo independence blo Bougainville. nogat independence, nogat Panguna mine (Panguna will only reopen after Bougainville gains independence. No independence for Bougainville, no re-opening for Panguna,)" Mr Uma said.

He said the re-opening of Panguna mine is not a Panguna landowners issue any more.

He said it's a Bougainvillean issue and should there be any talk of reopening the mine, the entire Boungainvillean population are to be widely consulted and not for few politicians and handful of landowners to decide whether BCL returns or not.

"Bullet kisim body blo me first na blut i kapsait. Me baim pinis Panguna na ol lon blut blo me na narapela 20,000 pipol blong Bouganiville die , em blut blo ol baim displa island (I shed the first blood from the bullets and my blood paid off Panguna, the 20,000 Bougainvilleans who lost their lives their blood have paid for the island of Bougainville," the soft spoken Mr Uma said.

Mr Kauona added that the re-opening of Panguna mine is a sensitive issue that cannot be lightly taken and for a few self interested people to talk about.

"There has to be a wider consultation with all stakeholders in the civil war and through that consultation, and if the people are happy to accept BCL, then so be it," Mr Kauona said.

He said the very key stakeholders are the ex-combatants who forcefully shut down the mine and they have to be consulted along with all other stakeholders.

The former BRA General and now a private citizen who is seriously going into mineral exploration said if BCL has to return then it has to come under certain conditions including; agreeing to compensate the 20,000 lives lost, environment damage compensation of K10 billion as initially demanded by late Francis Ona, only to mine the currently special mining lease and not to touch the seven mining tenement licences (not negotiable), compensate ex-combatants, compensate PNG Defense Force soldiers who lost their lives in the civil war and ‘bell kol', a customary way of initial compensation to make peace.

Recently, Paul Coleman, a senior executive of BCL has visited landowners of Panguna and Arawa and held discussion to re-open the mine.

It was reported that Mr Coleman has instructed local contractors to fast track an office building within Arawa Town in which this writer has confirmed being under initial mobilisation for construction.

Also ABG president John Momis has said that the negotiation by BCL with Panguna landowners was progressing well with the view of re-opening the mine.

A senior officee from ABG who spoke to this reporter in Buka at the weekend confirmed that ABG was in talks with BCL and landowners to find a way forward in resolving the issues. The office said there needs to be more and wider consultation made as the situation on the ground is fluid.

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11850

[mastaflash]

http://thierrytedeschi.com/collateralized-mortgage-obligations/

IBOM is a scam IMO, and CH has confirmed this. Nothing to do with Meekamui or Cefaco. There is a lot of scum working Bougainville right now. Be careful.

[mastaflash]

Swiss financier strikes Motherlode in Bougainville.

[mastaflash]

http://ramumine.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/meekamui-reaffirms-stand/

[janice shell]

Dear God. You don't seriously believe jb is Jim Bishop???

[AlanC]

I thought Jim Bishop had retired!

[janice shell]

On the contrary, it makes perfect sense. A little brutal, perhaps, but perhaps eventually people will learn to stop chasing the MOASS chimera.

[mastaflash]

Here is one of the dumbest post I've read in a while: The SEC can't undo the mistake you made buying this worthless stock. But they could at least prevent future investors from making the same mistake, which they did, by revoking it.

[AlanC]

Dividends paid quarterly would be a beautiful thing for longs!

[mastaflash]

Still waiting for Sturm to give his report on TM activities in B'ville.

[mastaflash]

Confirmed scam.

[carrot_on_stick]

morumbi sounds more legit than cefaco imo

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morumbi-raises-proceeds-of-approximately-12-million-through-the-exercise-of-3-million-warrants-2012-04-23

[janice shell]

His desire to bring us together as "ONE" is pure of heart and without political or personal gain.

I'll bet. Good old Stewie.

[mastaflash]

Newmont executives visit Bougainville, hold talks
BY PETERSON TSERAHA

THE world’s second largest gold producing company, Newmont Mining (Newmont) had three of its top executives on Bougainville this week at the request of Isina Resources Holdings (IRH), a partner to Morumbi Resources of Canada.
The executives comprising Chris Clode (Director of Global Exploration/Business development), Linda Daley (director-Exploration Australia), Dave Dehlin (Director International Land) were on a fact finding mission to see firsthand how Bougainville is progressing in terms of exploration and mining after the Peace agreement signing in 2001, and the progress of the new Government in terms of its policies in mining, lands and resource ownership.
They met with IRH Chairman and Vice Chairman David Dapong and former Bougainville Revolutionary Army general Sam Kauona respectively and three other resource owners company chairmen and chiefs, from the Eivo Torau Constituency.
The three chiefs who are also chairmen of their respective landowner companies are, Michael Aite,Avaipa Resources Limited – Mainoki, Jacob Betopa , Pakasiapan Resources – Kopani,Richard Birikos, Baunapa Resources – Atamo.
The landowner company chiefs and executives explained to Newmont executives that the Bougainville Constitution section 23 gives Mineral Rights back to the people.
By exercising this right, “we the resource owners will have to come forward and free our land for exploration.” Sam Kauona said.
“We fought for this very reason and we the resource owners will register our activity called exploration with our Government, (ABG) for its tax purposes”.
The former BRA general said Bougainville is working on its own mining policies and legislation and it will be a home grown thing to the best interest for its people and their partners abroad.
The Newmont team also met with key Panguna land owners and were taken for visit to the mine pit at Panguna once operated by Rio Tinto in the early 60s and 70s and was shut down in 1989 which sparked up the Bougainville crisis.
The team also met with the Chairman of the Central Bougainville Parliamentary Committee and member for Eivo Torau, Melchior Dare, who represented and welcomed the team on behalf of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG).
Mr Dare said he was happy to see former general Sam Kauona and the Paramount Chiefs, for coming forward and freeing their land for exploration which went hand in hand with social programmes by Morumbi Resources of Canada.

[mastaflash]

President Miriori, V.P Takaung Minister Nerau the entire Meekamui government. Clarifies the following. Mr. Sytner who was kind enough to use his credit card for $140 to register the web site is not involved in any way with the Meekamui government. He has "No input" into our web site, offers no advice, opinions or even suggestions as to the Meekamui actions or opinions. His only assistance was to help bring President Mommis together with President Miriori for the memorial and the Human Rights struggle. His desire to bring us together as "ONE" is pure of heart and without political or personal gain. He has no involvement in any Meekamui activity or opinion. To continue to malign him when his only interest is in the Memorial to those who have died in the human rights struggle, is out of ignorance. Intelligence would be offering an appology. He is the only foreigner to come to help heal us and bring us all together. No motive such as BCL or others who seek our wealth. He asks for no monetary reward, compensation or comittment. It was his sincere effort which brought ABG & the Meekamui to the table. His only request was the unity in support of the Memorial and human rights, which Mommis refused to sign. If you need a scape goat, look to those who seek to usurp our natural resources, destroy our human rights and engage in behind the back politics at the expense of the people. We appreciate his assistance and appologise to him for any pain this has caused him. We strongly suggest you do the same.
President Miriori

[mastaflash]

Open letter to Dr. Kris Lasslett


Dr. Lasslett,

Your disgraceful lampoon is remarkable.

It's really shameful if an expert in criminology completely ignores facts and reality. Your naive adoption of statements and claims from rebel groups on the ground disqualify you as an honest scientist. In all your text there is no single word on competing criminal gangs on the ground. You don't refer on intimidation or blackmail. You don't expose neither robbery nor murder committed by these groups. A comparison to mafia or triads structures would be more appropriate.

You even do not hesitate to refer to the infamous California court case that has been initiated by a small group of greedy PNG citizens to raise money from Rio Tinto. No word about the doubtful involvement of former Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare in all this as well. All information on this was made public and is accessible thanks to some leaked documents in the past.

If you ignore facts, you do not deserve to be called a scientist. I suppose that your work in Ulster, a region well known for rebellion and organised crime, troubled your vision. Your text unmasks you as a naive and fanatic anti-mining activist. Unfortunately you are also allowed to spread your ideas amongst young students. You shall not use your academic position as a platform for indoctrination and agitation.

Freedom of research and science does not mean promoting untruth!

I will not further comment on your ideas in future. It’s not worth it.

Axel G. Sturm
Escaldes-Engordany, 23.04.2012

[mastaflash]

The greatest threat to Bougainville Copper’s future is it’s hidden past
By Dr. Kris Lasslett (picture), via ACT NOW!



Last month the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) Axel Sturm publicly raised concerns over the volatility of BCL’s share prices. In an interview with PNG Industry News, he blamed political uncertainty in Papua New Guinea for BCL’s current woes.


However, perhaps the ESBC’s President needs reminding, the greatest threat to BCL’s future remains its unacknowledged past. Despite revelations aired on SBS last year, which evidenced BCL’s complicity in the brutal security force operations on Bougainville, BCL and the ESBC continue to play down the company’s instrumental role in the conflict.

If the ESBC wish to restore the integrity of BCL, then they should forward the following demands to BCL’s Chairman and Managing Director Peter Taylor:


BCL must publicly apologise for its evidenced role in the Bougainville conflict.
In an act of goodwill BCL should publicly disclose the depth of its involvement in the security force operations on Bougainville. This public disclosure should document the logistical support BCL supplied to the government’s security forces between December 1988 and March 1990. It should also reveal the relevant conversations that took place between the BCL management and senior state officials during this period.
BCL should demand that Rio Tinto – its parent company – cease contesting litigation taken by Bougainvillean landowners in the US, and fully compensate those victimised by the security forces using BCL property/facilities.
BCL should immediately remove from its Board of Directors, Sir Rabbie Namaliu who was appointed in March 2011. Sir Rabbie Namaliu was the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea during 1988-1992. Under his Prime Ministership the Papua New Guinea security forces – in an effort to reopen the mine – executed and tortured civilians, systematically destroyed villages, and imposed a blockade on Bougainville, which included the denial of humanitarian aid. It is astonishing, in light of these facts, BCL would appoint Sir Rabbie Namaliu to the Board of Directors, and that the ESBC would support this decision.

[mastaflash]

They have one target in common: To cheat the people of Bougainville and investors worldwide.

http://www.bougainville-copper.eu/backdoor-players.html

What? BCL gave up 0.5% of their Panguna profits to the people of Bougainville...and nothing to the landowners whose property they raped and pillaged.

The PNG national government received a 20% share of profit from the mine of which the Bougainvilleans received 0.5% - 1.25% share of the total profit.[1] The mine is a massive surface mine. Bougainvillean leaders alleged that the mine had devastating environmental consequences for the island. They also claimed that Bougainville Copper had set up a system of apartheid on the island, with one set of facilities for white workers, and one set for the locals. They accused Bougainville Copper Ltd., of being responsible for poisoning the entire length of the Jaba River, and causing birth defects, as well as the extinction of the flying fox on the island.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainville_Copper_Limited


Can't peak for the others, but Megas is acting as an agent for the locals. Calling him a criminal bent on stealing the wealth of the Bougainvillians?.... That is the job of BCL/Rio Tinto...they set the precedent. Should be fun to to watch Axel engage in libel.

[carrot_on_stick]

Obviously you haven't been following Sturm all that much

i know that strum has not hired someone to sit on a chat board and offer up his shares for sale.
so when that website had only morumbi on it, there was credibilty enough to post it. now that saint thomas is on it, it's a biased pos. lol

[mastaflash]

lol...actually he does stand out...and I have no doubts about what he would do do the Meekamui given a chance...he is way down on his investment no doubt, as are his loyal followers, which makes him extremely bitter. We can a agree on one thing...no dull members in this cast of characters...

[janice shell]

He is a loose cannon big time.

Wouldn't exactly make him stand out in this crowd.

[mastaflash]

lol...no surprise there. Obviously you haven't been following Sturm all that much. He is a loose cannon big time. Oh, and did you know he is a big time BCL share holder who down about 80% of his investment because his company was engaged in genocide? Biased maybe? duh.

[carrot_on_stick]

roflmao....yes indeed there are "unimaginable...dens of thieves" your hero seems to have made the list.

http://www.bougainville-copper.eu/backdoor-players.html

[mastaflash]

Not sure what it means, but Sturm is a rabidly biased BCL shareholder....he still lives in a dream world where BCL comes back to mining Panguna. Maybe they will someday...but at the moment, the Meekamui hold all the cards...and they are using Cefaco as an agent.