www.postcourier.com.pg/20080613/frhome.htm
Kabui, advocate of non-violence
IF ever there was a leader in Papua New Guinea who emulated the virtues of non-violence, peace, harmony and consensus that the world had come to know to be the qualities of leadership so intimately belonging to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi, then it must be Joseph Kabui.
His death has brought to a close a treacherous chapter in the history of Bougainville since its discovery and colonisation.
It is also a chapter that belongs to the history of Papua New Guinea.
He was the only political leader to have lived on the island with his people throughout the decade-long violent conflict that claimed the lives of more than 25,000 people, the greatest majority of them being innocent men, women and children of Bougainville.
It takes a man of extraordinary character to take the stand that Mr Kabui took to live with his people throughout an extremely violent conflict that even threatened his own life on many, many occasions.
Joseph Kabui survived because he was a true man of peace and humility. A simple man yet, a visionary with an uncompromising commitment to lasting peace for his people.
His Christian upbringing through the Catholic Church education system shaped his personality and future leadership qualities along the path of sainthood – a selfless sacrifice for the overall good of his people.
Even his own wife and daughters rated number two. The people came first.
Mr Kabui led a non-violent campaign against fierce opposition from many in the face of a violent, bloody conflict.
But, he believed that only through peaceful negotiations, consensus and compromises could the Bougainville crisis be solved. He rejected all forms of violence whether by the gun or through other means.
He believed that only through trust and faith in God could the Bougainville conflict be resolved peacefully.
He never departed from that principle from the day the first gun shots were fired on Bougainville until the day signatures were put on the Bougainville Peace Agreement some 15 years later. The conviction to strive for peaceful resolution to the conflict enabled him to navigate his way through the many conflicting and warring groups and issues that surrounded the bloody conflict in a way only men of the character of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi would have done.
He was branded with all kinds of tags known only to those from whom the tags were initiated.
The National Government was suspicious of him and many in the Government never really believed that he could be trusted as a man who stood for the unity of Papua New Guinea and that Bougainville was part and parcel of a united Papua New Guinea.
But, whatever the tags were, Mr Kabui chose not to concern himself with them.
He remained resolutely focussed and committed to peace for Bougainville, no matter how long it took and whatever the hurdles were along the way.
It took more than a decade and a half for peace to finally arrive on the shores of his beloved Bougainville. It took that long for the birds to sing once more in the jungles of the island as the noise of continuous gun fire died down.
The title of Nelson Mandela’s own autobiography is: The Long Walk to Freedom.”
Joseph Kabui’s own biography could be titled similarly as “The Long Walk to Peace.”
Many around him often branded him a traitor of his own people. He was not.
He was misunderstood most of the time through the period of the crisis. His peaceful approaches were more often greeted with suspicion and mistrust.
Yet, as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi did, he chose peaceful means to arrive at a resolution to the long conflict.
Throughout the period of the conflict, Joseph Kabui never once held a gun in his hand let alone fire one. It was against his principle of non-aggression.
He walked the long walk to peace a simple, humble and yet fiercely God-fearing man and died a poor leader, leaving his wife and four daughters with no money, no permanent home of their own, no healthy bank account and whatever else that would make life less difficult for them if and when God decided to call him home, as he did in the early hours of last Saturday.
In today’s Papua New Guinea, Joseph Kabui would be the only leader of his standing to fit into that category.
In the weeks leading up to his death, he was under immense pressure over some of the decisions of his Government.
These are decisions made by himself as President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and his cabinet.
He has defended the decisions as being made in the best interests of Bougainville and its future economic prosperity.
If anyone had suggested that Joseph Kabui had benefited financially from any of those decisions then let them provide proof to the people of Bougainville. He is gone for ever.
For now, the focus of Bougainville will be to find a successor to open a new chapter in the search for lasting peace and prosperity for Bougainville.
Joseph Kabui, the President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, died a true servant of his people.
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