By Dr. Kris Lasslett 

Last month the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) Axel Sturm publicly raised concerns over the volatility of BCL’s share prices. In an interview with PNG Industry News, he blamed political uncertainty in Papua New Guinea for BCL’s current woes.

However, perhaps the ESBC’s President needs reminding, the greatest threat to BCL’s future remains its unacknowledged past. Despite revelations aired on SBS last year, which evidenced BCL’s complicity in the brutal security force operations on Bougainville, BCL and the ESBC continue to play down the company’s instrumental role in the conflict. 

If the ESBC wish to restore the integrity of BCL, then they should forward the following demands to BCL’s Chairman and Managing Director Peter Taylor:

1. BCL must publicly apologise for its evidenced role in the Bougainville conflict. 
2. In an act of goodwill BCL should publicly disclose the depth of its involvement in the security force operations on Bougainville. This public disclosure should document the logistical support BCL supplied to the government’s security forces between December 1988 and March 1990. It should also reveal the relevant conversations that took place between the BCL management and senior state officials during this period.
3. BCL should demand that Rio Tinto – its parent company – cease contesting litigation taken by Bougainvillean landowners in the US, and fully compensate those victimised by the security forces using BCL property/facilities. 
4. BCL should immediately remove from its Board of Directors, Sir Rabbie Namaliu who was appointed in March 2011. Sir Rabbie Namaliu was the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea during 1988-1992. Under his Prime Ministership the Papua New Guinea security forces – in an effort to reopen the mine – executed and tortured civilians, systematically destroyed villages, and imposed a blockade on Bougainville, which included the denial of humanitarian aid. It is astonishing, in light of these facts, BCL would appoint Sir Rabbie Namaliu to the Board of Directors, and that the ESBC would support this decision. 

As the last ten years has proven, Bougainvilleans are a forgiving people. But they will not suffer corporate intransigence lightly. If BCL comes to the table and publicly acknowledges its role on the Bougainville war, perhaps the healing process can begin. Only then will BCL shareholders find the certainty they demand.