BY IRWIN ANGIKI
Premier of Choiseul province Harrison Pitakaka has defended his social media comments suggesting the province breaking away and joining Bougainville.
In a media statement Friday last week, Mr Pitakaka said “My statement rests on my own personal views as a citizen of this country rather than involving Choiseul Province.”
It is unclear whether the Ministry of Provincial Government (MPGIS) has a protocol allowing a sitting premier to comment on social media under his/her capacity as a citizen per se, oblivious of the civil position he/she holds.
SBM Online reported on Wednesday last week Pitakaka’s views in its post ‘Choiseul Looking To Bougainville’.
The article said Pitakaka had “made his feelings known—sounding the alarm of his province’s intention to join the Autonomous Region of Bougainville by 2027”.
“His pro Bougainville switch comments was made when he commented on a news thread on the Opposition MPs’ visit to the Western Province on Tuesday,” SBM Online said.
Pitakaka’s contentious comment, screen shot by SBM Online, said ‘Temotu and Choiseul provinces will fast track a unified quest for national cessation and seek a possible annexation with Vanuatu and ARB (Bougainville)’.
In response, Pitakaka said ‘the comments were personal views on a private social account and not of his province’.
“I regret that fact that it was published causing a lot public misunderstanding and confusion,” Pitakaka’s statement said.
Pitakaka however stood by his idea to secede describing it as “a suitable option for some of us”.
“On the cessation alternative, as a political position for Choiseul Province or Temotu or any province for that matter, this can only be possible through proper sanction by the national government.
“The development of a cessation framework for other provinces can be a suitable option for some of us. It can be further explored and considered part and parcel of the parallel ongoing reforms (ie. Statehood/ PGA Act 1997 reviews) pushed by other Provinces as an alternative.
“Not at any time shall it be constituted as a break away effort or seeking independence as misinterpreted. It is a political alternative secondary to the transitional provision spelt out in our draft constitution and I’m open to discuss it with my other colleague Premiers about it before submitting a memo to the national government,” Pitakaka said.
He adds that his government has not passed any resolution pertaining to the idea of cessation.
“The Choiseul Unity, Change, Progress and Empowerment did not pass any resolutions nor write anything about it in our Provincial agenda. Choiseul remains a peaceful and resourceful Province in Solomon Island.”
Pitakaka closed off his statement by apologising to the Opposition group for labelling their visit the Western province as ‘unfair’.
“The comments on ‘unfair’ were made against the background that such a vital programme from our national government will be meaningful if they were extended to other less frequently visited provinces by the opposition group,” he said.
The Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARB) is a province of Papua New Guinea which sits on the border with Solomon Islands.
With its close proximity to Choiseul province and Shortland islands of the Western province, people from these three island groups share histories and also blood ties.
ARB is pushing for its independence, which the Era Kone Covenant in April 2022 demands that PNG and ARB’s governments must settle on a decision before 2027.
A referendum in 2019 saw the ARB voting overwhelmingly for independence from PNG.
The idea of the western region of Solomon Islands seceding and combining with Bougainville is not a new sentiment. It was popular in the 1970s before Solomon Islands gained independence in 1978.
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