Scoop Audio: Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon Talks Peace Making In Melanesia
Interview & Report By Scoop Co-Editor Alastair Thompson on Assignment in Papua New Guinea and the Solomons – Image By Jason Dorday
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon talks to media following the Pacific Island Forum plenary meeting
Listen to the interview with Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon (9.5 mins)
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon attended this year's Pacific Island Forum in Papua New Guinea in advance of
a personal visit back to the location of one of his greatest personal achievements in diplomacy, brokering of the late
1990s peace agreement between Bougainville rebels and the PNG Government.
Mr McKinnon, a former NZ Foreign Minister in National's Bolger Government, Saturday took his wife and son on a day trip
to Bougainville to dedicate a primary school library to which he has contributed personally.
In the interview linked above Mr McKinnon talks about his planned trip to Bougainville and about his involvement in the
brokering of the peace agreement.
Scoop asked Mr McKinnon if there were any lessons to be learnt from Bougainville for the context of the current
independence struggle in West Papua. Mr McKinnon was unwilling to be drawn into the discussion however.
ENDS