Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama Photo: Supplied/ FB -Autonomous Bougainville Government
The president of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville says recent flare-ups of gun-related violence are unacceptable.
Ishmael Toroama was commenting after a gun fight in the middle of last Friday afternoon in the main street of Buka, when bank robbers were confronted by police.
One of the robbers died in the violence.
The president said this sort of behaviour may have been tolerated after the civil war, but the people must now be taking full responsibility for their actions.
"We cannot continue blaming the police, government, or our leaders for the challenges we face," he said.
"Lawlessness is not a failure of governance alone - it is a failure of individuals to uphold the law and respect one another.
"Our people are still very ignorant of this fact and still demand to be spoon-fed by the government and any entity other than themselves.
"This is the type of mentality that will make Bougainville weak and susceptible to a lack of positive progress and tangible development."
He wants Bougainvilleans to not be passive recipients of change, but to become active participants in their own development.
Toroama said this will mean abiding by the rule of law, respecting human life, and valuing the peace that Bougainvilleans had fought to secure.
"For over 20 years, we have had time to reflect on the true value of life.
"We fought a brutal war to secure the safety, dignity, and rights of every Bougainvillean.
"This should serve as a constant reminder that human life is sacred-nothing material is worth taking a life," the president added.
