18 Feb 2009

Bougainvillean President to seek reconciliation with scam operator

3:15 pm on 18 February 2009

The President of the autonomous Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville is today planning to meet with pyramid scheme operator, Noah Musingku, in Tonu, in the south of Bougainville island.

Mr Musingku gained notoriety after losing of millions of kina in a scam.

He established the so called Royal Kingdom of Papala, printed his own currency and established a private armed militia, at one stage using former soldiers from Fiji.

But the new Bougainville President, James Tanis, says rather than confrontation his visit is aimed at reconciling with Mr Musingku.

"Because Bougainville has had a lot of problems that were much more complicated than [the] Noah Musingku case. The big step is for the President to go and talk to him and also after that, on Friday, I will be moving into Buin where there has been this fighting between difference militant groups."

That's the President of Bougainville, James Tanis, who has set reconciliation as his priority.

He has already made progress in bringing together the factions around the Panguna mine in central Bougainville.