SUMMARY
The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a rebel group that fought an intrastate armed conflict to achieve independence for the island Bougainville from Papua New Guinea. The group was no longer active after 1997, and it signed a peace agreement with the Papuan government in 2001.
The BRA was active on the island of Bougainville, and the group’s leader and founder was Francis Ona. In 1998, Ona defected from the group and Ishmael Toroama became the new leader in 1999; BRA’s military commander was Sam Kauona. At most, the BRA had access to some 2500 personnel, of which half were active fighters.
The BRA grew out of a movement called the New Panguna Landowners’ Association (New PLA), which was founded by Francis Ona; Ona himself was a former employee at the Panguna copper mine. The New PLA transformed into the BRA in 1989, when it was joined by Sam Kauona, a former officer of the Papua New Guinea Defense Forces. A direct motivation for the creation of the BRA was the environmental degradation caused by the Panguna mine, the lack of economic compensation for this damage, and the exclusion of the local Bougainvilleans from the revenues generated by the mining operations. These grievances led to a deep resentment towards the Government of Papua New Guinea. However, Bougainville also harbored latent demands for secession and autonomy that traced back to the colonial era, and which had led to an abortive attempt at independence in 1975. The amalgamation of the group was in large part driven by the violent response from the Government of Papua New Guinea to the initial militant activities of the New PLA/BRA.
In May 1990, BRA leader Ona ordered the formation of the short-lived Bougainville Interim Government, which was part of another abortive attempt to achieve independence. The civilian population of Bougainville initially offered strong support to the BRA. However, the fact that the BRA was motivated by highly localized grievances particular to the area around the Panguna mine meant that this popular support deteriorated over time. The general breakdown of law and order, and the hardship brought by a government blockade against Bougainville, led to the creation of an armed group, called the Bougainville Resistance Forces (BRF), directly opposed to the BRA.
In 1998, Ona left the group and brought with him a contingent of fighters. The reason for Ona’s departure was his displeasure with the compromises made during the negotiations with the Government of Papua New Guinea on the matter of secession. Several BRA units chose to join him, forming the “Government of the Republic of Me’ekamui” and the Me’ekamui Defense Force (MDF). The MDF established control over a piece of territory around the Panguna mine. Ona proclaimed, however, that he would not disturb the peace process by violent means, and the UCDP has recorded no armed activity from the MDF. Ona died in 2005.
