Group urges greater gun control action in Bougainville

26/11/2008 09:11:52

There has been a call for the government of Bougainville and the international community to do more to deal with the gun issue in the south of the autonomous PNG region.

Three residents of south Bougainville involved in peace-building work in the region have told a seminar at the Australian National University in Canberra the south is being traumatised by the weapons culture.

Unresolved conflicts from the region's civil war and the breakdown of traditional authority is worsening the situation.

Rose Pihei, a community worker from the Konnou area told Radio Australia a weapons disposal program initiated by donor nations and the UN remains unfinished.

"One of the major contributing factors to the continuous conflict is the unfinished weapons disposal problem and this is becoming a very critical issue for the Bougainville region today," he said.

"As long as we have these guns still at large we will still have conflicts, people will still die, and there will be no end to the war in Bougainville as long as we have the guns still at large."

Produced by Radio Australia and Australia Network