Peacekeeping Missions

• When/where/who was involved?

  • The war was in Bougainville. An island off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

  • There was a civil war from 1989-1997 between rebel groups in Bougainville who were attempting to gain independence from Papua New Guinea.

  • They were fighting against the Papua New Guinea government and pro-government forces in Bougainville.

  • 20,000 locals died in the civil war.

  • New Zealand took a large part in ending the war.
• Why was NZ involved in this war?

  • New Zealand is a member of the United Nations (UN).

  o The UN is a group of 193 countries.

  o The United Nations (UN) is an association of independent countries that agreed to work together to prevent and end wars.

  o The New Zealand Defence Force has served in many places as a peacekeeper on behalf of the UN.
• Why was NZ involved in this war?

  • What did we actually do?

  o New Zealand hosted peace talks between the rebel groups in 1997.

  o The peace negotiation was run using tikanga Māori on a marae near Blenheim.

  o There was a hui, haka, singing, and pōwhiri. Our Māori ways were able to convince the rebels to agree to peace.

  o New Zealand sent troops to Bougainville in 1997 to make sure the truce (agreement to stop fighting) was maintained.

  o The soldiers were unarmed. They took guitars, bibles, translators, and food!

  o Most soldiers left in 1998. Peace was declared in 2001.
• How did the war affect our identity?

  • The role of Māori culture in New Zealand has changed a lot since our first wars.

  o The use of non-violent peace keeping methods showed us and the world that peace is possible.

  o It showed the value of tikanga Māori.
• What were the consequences for NZ and NZers?

  • New Zealand took its chance to be leaders in the South Pacific.
• How is this war remembered today?

  • The war is not widely remembered in New Zealand culture.

  • Perhaps this is due to its small size compared to other wars, and the lack of deaths for New Zealand soldiers.
• How significant was NZ’s contribution to this war?

  • New Zealand managed to bring peace to a region that was fighting for almost 10 years.

  • They did it without using weapons.

  • Australia had tried and failed, but we helped bring it to a peaceful end.
• 14 peace attempts failed to stop war
• of the 120000 population 20000 were killed and 40000 people made homeless
• where is Bougainville

  large Island between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands - about 1000km north of Australia
• • 1960s worlds largest deposit of copper ore was discovered.
  • 1970’s Australian company, Rio Tinto, set up a mine on the site - upset many locals
  • locals disliked that overseas people were getting rich and they were not (Papua New Guinea and Australia)
  • Bougainville wanted to be independent from Papua New Guinea