The First Wave
The PNG government and press discovered the presence of the military mission a month after the announcement of their hire, on 15 November. They claimed that the men, formerly connected with the now disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, had been hired as "bodyguards" by Noah Musingku, a follower of the late Bougainville separatist leader Francis Ona. Musingku has in the past been involved with organizing U-Vistract, generally considered a failed pyramid scheme. The men were reportedly giving arms training to students from schools around Tonu, in the Siwai district.
Papua New Guinea's Inter-Governmental Relations Minister, Sir Peter Barter, expressed serious concern about the men's activities, saying they had been lured to Bougainville by false promises.
On 18 November, the eight men confirmed that they were in Bougainville to train security officers, but denied being mercenaries.
The Fijian government formally apologised on 30 November for the incident.
Read more about this topic: Fijian Mercenaries In Bougainville
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