Ex-Rebel Leader 'General' Kauona Is Brimming With Confidence In Bougainville Presidential Race
Sam Kauona, a former leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), wants to become president of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region.
Bougainville is immersed in political campaigning as it prepares to choose 46 MPs from 404 candidates in elections shceduled for the first week of September.
Seven people are contesting the presidency, including Kauona and his former BRA colleague, the incumbent President Ishmael Toroama.
Kauona, who styles himself as 'General' Kauona, has in recent years been more focussed on developing a potential new gold mine, but now he wants the presidency.
He ran unsuccessfully in 2020, but this time, he told RNZ Pacific, he is brimming with confidence.
(This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
SAM KAUONA: This time, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get the seat. I'm going to win. I am confident.
DON WISEMAN: Why? Given that you didn't do that well last time?
SK: Because the government, for the last five years, did not achieve what Bougainvilleans, what we, wanted. They were concentrating on one option only. That's why it wasted the last five years, and we did not achieve anything.
DW: And we're talking here about independence?
SK: Oh yes. That's the only agenda for Bougainville - independence. There are many approaches that we can consider.
One, there is an option in which we can work with Papua New Guinea, and there's an option that we negotiate. You know, it varies.
So this government, they went for the option of negotiating for ratification [of the 2019 independence referendum]. They did not achieve what Bougainville wanted.
DW: Well, what do you think they should have done? And what would you do?
SK: Well, to me, I would go to exercising those powers and function that will make Bougainville realise its independent, meaning to say those powers and functions that concern sovereignty protection, sovereignty rights.
Exercising those powers, Bougainville can be able to reach her destiny by exercising the powers of foreign affairs, currency, number two and number three, exercising the powers to protect ourselves - security, defence.
In the Peace Process, those powers and functions were reserved for Papua New Guinea. We were not independent at that time, but after the referendum, people voted not for autonomy to be with Papua New Guinea, but they voted to become independent, on their own, exercising the sovereign right.
It means that with the referendum achieving independence, the door to exercising those rights, sovereign rights, was open. It was open. It was closed during the peace process, when it was open, we should have put into policies necessary functions. For example, the defence.
You see Bougainville is not protected. We are not protected at this point of time, there is fatal incidents happening south to north. We need to exercise the power of security - establishing defence, establishing police powers and functions, protecting our people, our natural resources, our sea boundaries.
Of course, whatever we do, we have to consult with Papua New Guinea and establish those functions.
Currency, [is] another function that we should be able to now establish our own banks [and] currency, so that we can be able to achieve the level of independence.
DW: So you're not talking about making a unilateral declaration or anything like that. You're still talking about negotiating a solution with Port Moresby?
SK: Not negotiating, but coming up with a plan, a strategy, that will accommodate Papua New Guinea to participate.
When accommodating Papua New Guinea, we need to see Papua New Guinea we are on one side. There is still a common enemy out there: BCL, CRA, Rio Tinto using the system, and then they subjugated us with all their systems, the laws.
And here, when we come up with a plan of exercising our rights, Papua New Guinea is part and parcel of that.
We need to compensate Papua New Guinea. We need to support Papua New Guinea, also in the economy which, which was incurred during the crisis conflict. They borrowed so much funding, so we should be sharing.
DW: What you're talking about, still, is negotiation, isn't it? Bougainville can't do these things you're talking about unless it reaches some sort of a deal with Papua New Guinea, and it's going to need the money.
SK: Correct. We need money. Bougainville is full of resources. We are rich in natural resources. But how we manage our resources is a different dimension this time.
Before, we were under all those colonial laws, and when we are free now we should be able to come up with the laws to protect our natural resources and use it wisely, together with whoever invests, that comes in.
But here, I'm trying to say, not so much negotiation, but it's a plan that Bougainville needs to do. The plan is to be user friendly with Papua New Guinea. And of course, for us, we have won it. We have won the political battle. We need to set away.
We need to have a compass that we need to navigate with, and that compass, we Bougainvilleans, we have it in our hands, and that has to be a user friendly direction that we close out.
Papua New Guinea will have to be drawn in, we have to participate in that, yes, to a level, it is negotiating, but it is like, you know, we have to lead the way. We have to come up with a plan [that's] user friendly.
Not just for Papua New Guinea, let me say that. It is friendly to our Pacific countries, our neighbours, Australia, New Zealand.
In terms of security, we will have to make sure that we secure our region together, not just Bougainville, together with the countries that are around us. That's why we need a defence force that is not really big, but enough to protect its internal affairs, internal issues.
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Article – RNZ The former Bougainville Revolutionary Army leader says, 'This time, I'm going to win. I'm confident.'17 July 2025 , RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist Sam Kauona, a former leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), wants to become president of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Bougainville is immersed in political campaigning as it prepares to choose 46 MPs from 404 candidates in elections shceduled for the first week of September. Seven people are contesting the presidency, including Kauona and his former BRA colleague, the incumbent President Ishmael Toroama. Kauona, who styles himself as 'General' Kauona, has in recent years been more focussed on developing a potential new gold mine, but now he wants the presidency. He ran unsuccessfully in 2020, but this time, he told RNZ Pacific, he is brimming with confidence. (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) SAM KAUONA: This time, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get the seat. I'm going to win. I am confident. DON WISEMAN: Why? Given that you didn't do that well last time? SK: Because the government, for the last five years, did not achieve what Bougainvilleans, what we, wanted. They were concentrating on one option only. That's why it wasted the last five years, and we did not achieve anything. DW: And we're talking here about independence? SK: Oh yes. That's the only agenda for Bougainville – independence. There are many approaches that we can consider. One, there is an option in which we can work with Papua New Guinea, and there's an option that we negotiate. You know, it varies. So this government, they went for the option of negotiating for ratification [of the 2019 independence referendum]. They did not achieve what Bougainville wanted. DW: Well, what do you think they should have done? And what would you do? SK: Well, to me, I would go to exercising those powers and function that will make Bougainville realise its independent, meaning to say those powers and functions that concern sovereignty protection, sovereignty rights. Exercising those powers, Bougainville can be able to reach her destiny by exercising the powers of foreign affairs, currency, number two and number three, exercising the powers to protect ourselves – security, defence. In the Peace Process, those powers and functions were reserved for Papua New Guinea. We were not independent at that time, but after the referendum, people voted not for autonomy to be with Papua New Guinea, but they voted to become independent, on their own, exercising the sovereign right. It means that with the referendum achieving independence, the door to exercising those rights, sovereign rights, was open. It was open. It was closed during the peace process, when it was open, we should have put into policies necessary functions. For example, the defence. You see Bougainville is not protected. We are not protected at this point of time, there is fatal incidents happening south to north. We need to exercise the power of security – establishing defence, establishing police powers and functions, protecting our people, our natural resources, our sea boundaries. Of course, whatever we do, we have to consult with Papua New Guinea and establish those functions. Currency, [is] another function that we should be able to now establish our own banks [and] currency, so that we can be able to achieve the level of independence. DW: So you're not talking about making a unilateral declaration or anything like that. You're still talking about negotiating a solution with Port Moresby? SK: Not negotiating, but coming up with a plan, a strategy, that will accommodate Papua New Guinea to participate. When accommodating Papua New Guinea, we need to see Papua New Guinea we are on one side. There is still a common enemy out there: BCL, CRA, Rio Tinto using the system, and then they subjugated us with all their systems, the laws. And here, when we come up with a plan of exercising our rights, Papua New Guinea is part and parcel of that. We need to compensate Papua New Guinea. We need to support Papua New Guinea, also in the economy which, which was incurred during the crisis conflict. They borrowed so much funding, so we should be sharing. DW: What you're talking about, still, is negotiation, isn't it? Bougainville can't do these things you're talking about unless it reaches some sort of a deal with Papua New Guinea, and it's going to need the money. SK: Correct. We need money. Bougainville is full of resources. We are rich in natural resources. But how we manage our resources is a different dimension this time. Before, we were under all those colonial laws, and when we are free now we should be able to come up with the laws to protect our natural resources and use it wisely, together with whoever invests, that comes in. But here, I'm trying to say, not so much negotiation, but it's a plan that Bougainville needs to do. The plan is to be user friendly with Papua New Guinea. And of course, for us, we have won it. We have won the political battle. We need to set away. We need to have a compass that we need to navigate with, and that compass, we Bougainvilleans, we have it in our hands, and that has to be a user friendly direction that we close out. Papua New Guinea will have to be drawn in, we have to participate in that, yes, to a level, it is negotiating, but it is like, you know, we have to lead the way. We have to come up with a plan [that's] user friendly. Not just for Papua New Guinea, let me say that. It is friendly to our Pacific countries, our neighbours, Australia, New Zealand. In terms of security, we will have to make sure that we secure our region together, not just Bougainville, together with the countries that are around us. That's why we need a defence force that is not really big, but enough to protect its internal affairs, internal issues.
