History of Bougainville - Operation Bel Isi

The Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea was brought about by the civil unrest on the island in the 1990s. The PNG government requested the Australian and New Zealand governments to provide a monitoring group to oversee the cease fire on the island. This group was made up of both civilian and defence personnel from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu. Support remained strong throughout the PMG's deployment. The PMG was established on the island on 1 May 1998 and took over from the New Zealand Truce Monitoring Group which then departed.

The PMG comprised approx. 100 personnel, was unarmed and wore bright yellow shirts and hats. It had no specific legal power although it did have a mandate under the Lincoln Agreement. It remained definitively neutral at all times. In the early stages of its deployment, it acted primarily as a cease fire monitoring group and spread information about developments in the peace process. Following the Bougainville Peace Agreement, the PMG focused primarily on facilitating the weapons disposal program, in co-operation with the small UN Observer Mission on Bougainville (UNOMB). There was also some logistical support given to the constitutional consultation and drafting process from 2003.

Support was provided to the group via use of the Loloho wharf on the eastern side of the island by naval vessels from Australia and New Zealand as well as the Kieta airfield by weekly C130 Hercules flights from Townsville. Four UH-1 'Huey' helicopters were supplied by Australian 171st Aviation Squadron, which were painted bright red for visibility and utilised to ferry personnel to inland villages inaccessible by foot or vehicle. With more than 8,000 safe flying hours in the skies of Bougainville to their credit, the choppers made their way back to Australia aboard HMAS Kanimbla. Later, air mobility was outsourced to the commercial Hevilift company, which provided two Bell 212 helicopters.

HQ PMG was based in Arawa and comprised approx. 50 personnel providing coordination for all the operations in Bougainville. The majority of personnel lived in local houses in the Arawa township.

The Logistical Support Team at the Loloho wharf, it comprised approx. 70 personnel and provided such services as catering, dental, medical, IT support, vehicle transport and communications to the out lying team sites. LST members lived in the "Opera House" which was an old storage silo for copper when the mine was open.

The remaining staff of PMG were located all over Bougainville in team sites monitoring the peace and liasing with local communities. The following locations had team sites in 2000 - Arawa, Sirakatau, Buin, Tonu, Wakunai and Buka.

The Bougainville Peace Agreement decreed that all personnel should be withdrawn from the island by December 2002. However, the group was extended by the applicable governments and withdrew completely by 23 August 2003.

The total cost of Australia's development and military assistance to Bougainville from the financial year 1997-98 until FY 2002-03 was $243.2 million. Over 3500 Australian defence personnel and 300 Australian civilians served in the Peace Monitoring Group during Operation Bel Isi.

For more info about Operation Bel Isi - follow this link Op Bel Isi Website