Word: musingku
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...Others followed. On Sept. 30, an Australian-registered Cessna Citation jet made a secret - and illegal - landing at the decommissioned Aropa airport near Arawa. Aboard was an Australian associate of Musingku, Jeff Richards, his British security advisor, James Nesbitt, and another businessman, Tom Wavik, who is reported to hold an Australian passport. Richards represents himself as Prince Jeffrey, monarch of the independent state of Magilno, near Rockhampton on Queensland's central coast. In that capacity he claims to have signed a deal with Musingku acting on behalf of Mekamui's financial affairs. The deal grants Magilno a share of Bougainville...
...what saps the story of its comic force are the consequences for the people who live within Ona's no-go area. Local officials say the arrival of the mysterious foreigners boosted Musingku's stature, and hence his potential to take more money from Bougainvilleans. They also believe it has jeopardised health programs and disrupted peace negotiations. "All hell broke loose" when the jet landed, says the P.N.G. government's district manager Otto Noruka. "There was talk of a trillion US dollars ... the plane just reinforced it," he says. "They were capitalizing on the illiteracy of the people...
...heard reports that the foreigners were carrying guns. Bougainville Assistant Police Commissioner Joseph Bemu accuses Musingku and the foreigners of giving locals false expectations, which may supplant the more realistic hopes offered by reconciliation with their government. "People are expecting riches coming into the place," he says. "It can have a bad impact on the peace process." As required by the Bougainville Peace Agreement, signed in 2001, a constitution for an autonomous Bougainville has been drawn up and is awaiting ratification. "I'm frustrated because we were just getting this communication with Mekamui," says Noruka. "We have gone back...
...part of the disarmament process. He agrees the foreigners' presence is destabilizing - "Because they come across as serious businessmen, people do believe. It's a cargo cult thing" - but sees some prospect of an end to the no-go zone in Ona's apparent ceding of control to Musingku. "I think Ona's kingdom is shriveling up," he says. "The crowning was a bad move." P.N.G.'s Minister for Inter-Government Relations, Sir Peter Barter, described the coronation as a "mockery of Bougainvillean traditions and customs...
...Richards' involvement in P.N.G. is believed to go back at least two years, when he was introduced to Musingku by Wavik. In 2003, Richards and his Magilno group arranged to install a satellite link, so they could liaise with Musingku over business deals. Magilno hired Australian Simon O'Keefe, initially a supporter of the Magilno concept, to set up the link. O'Keefe established a personal friendship with Ona; so much so that he was the only white man invited to the coronation, and was permitted to film it. But on his last attempt to enter the zone, the Queensland...