Fiji hired guns were 'advance' platoon

SYDNEY - Eight alleged Fijian mercenaries on Bougainville were the "advance guard" of 300 others recruited by a self-proclaimed secessionist "king" to overthrow the new semi-autonomous Government, Papua New Guinea's High Commissioner to Fiji has said.

PNG is calling for the immediate expulsion of the eight alleged mercenaries, former Fijian soldiers who claimed to be missionaries when they flew into the rugged island of Bougainville three weeks ago.

The men, two of whom are believed to be British-trained and to have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, were the advance guard of a much bigger force, it was reported.

PNG's High Commissioner to Fiji, Peter Eafeare, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he received information in May that 300 former Fijian soldiers planned to travel to Bougainville.

The men, who had been promised US$1 million ($1.4 million) each, were allegedly led by Ilisoni Ligiari, a former member of the British SAS, who took part in Fiji's 2000 coup in which the country's Indian Prime Minister was held hostage with his cabinet.

The affair has caused an outcry in PNG, where eight years ago the Government employed a British security company, Sandline International, in a thwarted bid to quash Bougainville's secessionist movement.

Bougainville, which is ethnically distinct from the rest of PNG, descended into rebellion and anarchy in the early 1990s. A bloody civil war left more than 10,000 people dead.

The conflict was largely sparked by islanders angry that they were not benefiting from the hugely profitable Panguna gold and copper mine.

The granting of autonomy in June brought hopes of peace and stability, but some fighters have refused to give up the struggle for secession and hold out in remote areas which are no-go zones for police.

The former soldiers were allegedly hired to provide weapons training for villagers in a rebel-held part of the islands south, near the town of Tonu.

The area is ruled by Noah Musingku, a conman who ran a pyramid scheme which cheated thousands of investors in PNG, Fiji and the Solomon Islands of their life savings. He has proclaimed himself monarch of the Royal Kingdom of Papala, which PNG authorities say does not exist.

Ezekiel Massat, the island's police minister, said the Fijians could face serious charges if caught.

"There are grounds to look at very serious charges of sedition and treason. I'm of the opinion that there's been an attempt to undermine the existence of the autonomous Bougainville Government. It's causing a lot of concern."

Fiji's High Commissioner to PNG, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, conveyed his country's "deep embarrassment and regret" over the affair.

The last time mercenaries tried to intervene in PNG, disaster ensued. When details emerged in 1997 of a deal the Government had struck with Sandline to fight the separatists on Bougainville, PNG's Army mutinied and the Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan, was forced to resign.

The leader of the mercenaries, former British Army officer Tim Spicer, was arrested and expelled.

The former commander of the PNG Army who ordered the revolt against the Government, Jerry Singirok, told Radio Australia: "It's important that the Government of Papua New Guinea quickly acts decisively to prevent what may be another escalation of armed struggle."