Bougainville Support Action

Bougainville is an island in the Pacific that is occupied by Papua New Guinea. The mining company RTZ/CRA had a large copper mine on the island, causing widespread ecological damage, that was opposed by the locals. This opposition moved from protest to revolution, with initially the destruction of the mine by explosives, and then the forming of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army whose aim is to get the RTZ/CRA mine to close permanently and to get the occupation forces of Papua New Guinea to leave the island. In solidarity with the BRA, who were fighting off a newly launched PNG military offensive, on Monday 15th July seventy people aimed to occupy the Australian Embassy in London. Due to a large police presence, and the embassy already having shut down, the people moved to the RTZ offices.

The building was invaded and red paint was thrown over the reception area. Riot police arrived within a minute(!) and forcefully threw people out. There were three arrests, one released without charge, and the other two are to report back to the police in August to see if they will be charged as well. The action was the second item on Australian national TV and as well as an Australian radio station telephoned an activist here in the UK for an interview.

For more details on Bougainville and the ecological revolution going on there, as well as details of future actions planned in this country contact: Bougainville Freedom Movement (UK), c/o SDEF! Prior House, Tilbury Place, Brighton, BN2 2GY. The offensive launched by the PNG Defence Force was initially claimed as a success by the PNG authorities, but it has now been revealed that the BRA fought the offensive off and have not lost any of the land they are holding.