SUMMARY

Papua New Guinea became independent from Australian administration in 1975, but kept close ties with its southern neighbour, Australia. It also remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1994, Sir Julius Chan came to power when he ousted Prime Minister Paias Wingt. He remained prime minister until he resigned in 1997 when the hiring of expensive mercenaries to fight the intra-state conflict in Bougainville sparked civil unrest and a mutiny by the underpaid military. Chan soon regained the position, but was defeated in the national elections the same year. Bill Skate was his sucessor as prime minister.

Under Chan’s leadership, the government of Papua New Guinea supported the formation of, and provided arms to the Resistance Forces, a paramilitary group comprising only Bougainvilleans. Although the formal accountability of the Resistance Forces is not clear, it operated with the PNG military against the Bougainville Revolutionary Army in an intra-state conflict lasting from 1989 to 1996. Some one-sided attacks were committed jointly by the government forces and the Resistance Forces.

The government of Papua New Guinea has been involved in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.