Chief Ombudsman Simon Pentanu's book launching speech:
THE AUSTRALIAN Broadcasting Corporation's PNG correspondent Sean
Dorney yesterday launched The Sandline Affair, a factual and
readable account of a brief and passing moment in our history which
was dark, scary, tragic, mind-boggling; but at the same time
exciting.
Sean Dorney's book is an evocative history of what
happened. But it also gives an assessment of why it happened and how
it was allowed to happen.
Sean has shown us yet again (as he does, week-in, week-out, with his
radio and televisions grabs) that in many ways he epitomises the
truly professional journalist. He takes his subject very seriously.
He attempts to understand it. He lives it and loves it.
So what we have in The Sandline Affair is not just a record of ten
dramatic days in the life of a nation. Of course, it is possible to
write a book or even make a movie - just on the drama which unfolded
in those few days. But Sean has done much more than that. He has put
it in context for us. And he has done it with an objectivity which I
have always admired, whether he is reporting or writing.
He lets the reader know early on that we cannot understand Sandline
without understanding PNG; and perhaps we cannot really understand
PNG without coming to grips with Sandline.
It is not surprising therefore to see that in Chapter One, Sean
criticises Australian journalists for the way they often trivialise
PNG, by portraying it as a land of "rascals, plane crashes and
tribal fights".
It has to be said that many fell into that sort of trap with
Sandline, which became just a high-farce soap opera, albeit with
some strange twists in the expected plot: The commander said he did
not want to take over the government. There was no mass slaughter in
the streets. The prime minister stepped aside and ordered a
commission of inquiry. In many ways, these weird turns of events
just proved too much for the Australian media to cope with!
The Sandline crisis showed again that the South Pacific, and in
particular PNG, is a mecca for journalists. Let's face it - never
mind a dull day - there is never a dull moment in this place. We
need our journalists to keep us in touch with what is happening in
our own backyard and also the big wide world which we might have
once thought we could escape from.
As I have said publicly before, Sandline proved conclusively that in
PNG truth is stranger than fiction. Or, as Sean suggests in his
book: when you come through the arrival gate at Jackson's, please
abandon all preconceptions and prepare for the Land of the
Unexpected.
Sean's book has come out at a timely moment - just after the release
of the report of the second Sandline Inquiry. Perhaps this is an
omen. Divine intervention? A message from above? (Or below,
depending on which of the many recently arrived sects one chooses to
follow these days.)
Whatever be the case, the lesson is clear: that we as a people, and
as individuals must not forget the how, what and why of Sandline. We
must reflect on the mistakes made and the lessons to be learned.
Sean Dorney is pricking our memories and our consciences very
sharply indeed.
He is reminding us how easy it was for a decision as momentous as
the engagement of Sandline to be made, basically, it seems, on the
whim of a few leaders. There appears to have been no detailed or
proper logistical, economic or political advice. Nobody really knew
who Sandline was. (Sean reminds us that maybe we still don't know.)
Public servants were bullied and allowed themselves to be bullied.
Some loopy legal advice was given. And, as seems so often the case
when the situation cried out for it most, the Constitution was
practically ignored. (The Bougainville crisis itself being the
classic example of this phenomenon.)
Sean, to his credit, dares to comment and quote other people's
comments on corruption. To discuss it in this publication, in my
view acknowledges and concedes that corruption is a powerful life
force of its own. And what the Sandline story is telling us perhaps
is that, in this country, our bureaucrats and politicians are the
driving force of the industry.
When one sits down and seriously thinks about it, Sandline has shown
us that you can never succeed in resolving conflicts and differences
the way the Sandline contract was meant to do for Bougainville.
The very simple lesson that man should have learned years ago is
that conflicts can only be resolved through peaceful means; by a
process of listening and talking across the table and stroking our
minds. These are the faculties through which we can solve our
problems.
The one thing that can help us, or destroy us, is our mind. What
Sean has shown us in his book is that the minds of our politicians -
perhaps suffering from bouts of temporary insanity - almost
destroyed the fabric of PNG and Melanesian society.
It seems that in the eyes of some, the Sandline contract was entered
into with the aim of wiping out a certain coterie of influential
Bougainvilleans. But what those people didn't realise was that for
every key man shot or killed, another nine or ten would have sprung
up in his place. Imagine that: confronting 10 Francis Onas, or 10
Kauonas! let me say that these coterie of people represent the
collective aspiration of many Bougainvilleans.
As fate would have it, many individuals (including those in the
Defence Force) saw the futility and almost indecency of the whole
scheme and joined in the chorus of disapproval, and revolted.
While there has been severe criticism of the "uprising" which took
place, we should not lose sight of the fact that many people
supported - or at least felt very sympathetic towards - what was
happening at the time.
For whatever reasons - good or bad - I think it is fair to say that,
as a result, the country was, fortuitously, saved from what would
have been an even more tragic, bitter and twisted and prolonged
Bougainville crisis than we have experienced already. You don't have
to be from the Yales, Oxfords and Harvards of the world to
understand this.
I don't know Jerry Singirok very well. But, like many people, I have
in my own way tried to find out and understand who he is. Sean's
book assists in this endeavour. Singirok certainly does not seem to
be a vicious or evil coward. At the time he took his decision, he
appeared to be a completely sane individual, rationally motivated by
what he saw as the difference between right and wrong; and
appreciating the consequences of what he was doing.
Sean's book also gives us a first hand and personal account of the
Bougainville issue. For this reason alone, the book demands
attention.
Sean will help the reader understand that the question of the
political future of Bougainville is not, and never has been, just a
matter of winning a war or agreeing on a ceasefire. To many
Bougainvilleans, it is not a matter of life or death. It's much
more than that. In my view, the question of "self-rule" or
"self-determination" or "independence" (or call it what you may)
will never, ever go away. We just have to know how to handle it.
Sean reminds us that, objectively, successive PNG Governments have
not handled the Bougainville question very well at all. There has
been little genuine understanding or appreciation of the issues. Too
many "non-negotiable" statements. Not enough genuine, effective,
listening. Not enough stopping and breathing, to think things
through.
Sean Dorney is to be applauded for presenting us with this gift. A
book that not only entertains and informs us, but also strokes our
minds and our hearts.
One can only marvel at the journalistic and communicative and
analytical skills he has brought to bear on such complex issues,
while at the same time continuing to report on the events which have
shaped us in the last 12 months: the elections; the drought;
Aitape - not to mention "rascals, plane crashes and tribal fights".
As with many interesting publications, including best-sellers, the
easiest thing to do is to purchase the book, and read it. The
Sandline story written by Sean may be easy to follow. But it was
never a simple plot to write about. What he has displayed here is an
uncanny ability to tell a complex matter in a pithy and refreshing
way.
One thing is very clear. Sean has written this book from deep within
his heart. Besides the hard facts and the warm Dorney humour and the
keen sense of irony we have become so accustomed to over the years,
we have been presented with a work of art.
This book conveys a richness of understanding, and a passionate love
and respect for a place and its people. It adds an extra dimension
to our understanding of ourselves: where we have been, where we are
at and wherever we are supposed to be going.
Sean Dorney is to be congratulated. His book deserves to be a raging
success. It is my heart-felt pleasure to declare it officially
launched.
