PAPUA NEW GUINEA IN 2000 Taking the Bull by the Horns

Abstract

During 2000, Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta’s unflinching diagnosis of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) ills and his evident commitment to confronting them continued to inspire considerable international confidence that he could reverse the country’s political and economic decline. By year’s end he had made substantial progress in reviving the country’s economic credibility and had succeeded in passing decisive legislation designed to bring order to PNG’s unruly political environment. But crucial negotiations on a formula that balanced Bougainville’s political aspirations with the demands of PNG unity continued to prove elusive.