ABSTRACT
The conflict on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea (PNG), was easily the worst to befall the Southwest Pacific since World War II. It took between ten and fifteen thousand lives, traumatised and uprooted many others, and left the social and economic structure of the territory devastated. By any reckoning, Bougainville’s decade of upheaval from 1988 represented a gross failure of politics at all levels - international, regional, national and local. An abdication of political, administrative and ethical responsibility by state and insurgent operatives alike was painfully evident. Since 1997, a peace process has progressed, but many years of physical repair, social reconstruction, and psychological healing are needed before Bougainville can consign its tragedies to the past.
