OPERATION BEL ISI
"Calm Stomach"
30
April 1998 - 23 August 2003
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.
It must be pointed out that both sides of the conflict welcomed
the group being on Bougainville. This 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 171
Op Spt Sqn, 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 liaising 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.
Members with 30 days service
during the operation are entitled to the Australian Service Medal
with Bougainville clasp - (second from the left)
Simon Woolley's Medals
Click to enlarge
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Monitoring_Group
http://www.aph.gov.au/House/committee/jsct/august2003/report/chapt6.pdf
