Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially Independent State of Papua New Guinea, independent Commonwealth nation (2005 est. pop. 5,545,000), 183,540 sq mi (475,369 sq km), SW Pacific. It encompasses the eastern half of the island of New Guinea , as well as the Bismarck Archipelago , the Trobriand Islands , Samarai Island, Woodlark Island, D'Entrecasteaux Islands , the Louisiade Archipelago , and the northernmost Solomon Islands of Buka and Bougainville (which form an autonomous region). The capital is Port Moresby ; other important cities include Rabaul , Lae , Madang , Mt. Hagen, and Goroka.

Land and People

Papua New Guinea is a wild, rugged region, with limited communications. The climate is tropical, and the largely mountainous country is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The highest point is Mt. Wilhelm (14,793 ft/4,509 m), in the Bismarck Mts. in central Papua New Guinea. The native population is largely Melanesian and Papuan but is divided into many distinct cultures. Some 800 different languages are spoken in the region; Melanesian Pidgin (Tok Pisin) is the lingua franca. About two thirds of the population is Christian, with Roman Catholics and Lutherans the largest churches; the rest follow traditional beliefs.

Economy

Subsistence agriculture supports most of the population; sweet potatoes constitute the main food crop. Agricultural exports (notably palm oil, coffee, cocoa, coconut products, rubber, and tea) are increasing, but mineral and oil deposits account for the majority of export earnings. Copper, gold, and silver are mined, oil production began in 1992, and there are undeveloped natural gas reserves. Timber is another import source of revenue, but logging, largely by foreign companies, is often done without regard for laws designed to promote sustainable yields from the country's rain forests. Pearl-shell and tortoise fisheries dot the coast, and crayfish and prawns are exported. Most industry involves the processing of agricultural and wood products; there is also petroleum refining, construction, and some tourism. Machinery and transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, and chemicals are imported. Australia is by far the largest trading partner, followed by Singapore and Japan.

Government

Papua New Guinea is a parliamentary democracy governed under the constitution of 1975. The monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the head of state and is represented by the governor-general. The government is headed by the prime minister, who is appointed by the governor-general. The unicameral National Parliament consists of 109 members who are popularly elected for five-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 20 provinces.

History

Papua, the southern section of the country, was annexed by Queensland in 1883 and the following year became a British protectorate called British New Guinea. It passed to Australia in 1905 as the Territory of Papua. The northern section of the country formed part of German New Guinea from 1884 to 1914 and was called Kaiser-Wilhelmsland. Occupied by Australian forces during World War I, it was mandated to Australia by the League of Nations in 1920 and became known as the Territory of New Guinea. Australian rule was reconfirmed by the United Nations in 1947.

In 1949 the territories of Papua and New Guinea were merged administratively, but they remained constitutionally distinct. They were combined in 1973 as the self-governing country of Papua New Guinea. Full independence was gained in 1975. In the late 1980s a violent secessionist movement broke out on Bougainville. A cease-fire, monitored by Australian troops, went into effect in 1998, and a peace accord that granted the island broad autonomy was signed three years later.

Proposed cuts in defense forces as result of economic reforms demanded by Australia and international organizations sparked a weeklong mutiny in 2001; the government rescinded the cuts and promised to review the mutineers' concerns over foreign economic influences. Sir Michael Somare , of the National Alliance party, has been prime minister since 2002. In 2004, Australian police officers were deployed in Papua New Guinea as part of an aid package designed to help end gang violence and restore law and order in the country, but after the supreme court ruled the following year that the officers' immunity from prosecution and other aspects of the deployment were unconstitutional Australia withdrew the contingent.

In late 2006 Papua New Guinea's government and its relations with Australia were roiled by the Moti affair. Julian Moti, an Australian lawyer of Fijian descent had been appointed attorney general in the Solomon Islands, was wanted in Australia on child sex charges, and Australia sought Moti's extradition from Papua New Guinea, where Moti was arrested (Sept., 2006) while in transit. Moti managed to flee with apparent help from PNG officials. An investigation into the incident implicated the prime minister in Moti's flight from PNG, a charge Somare denied; Somare subsequently disbanded the board of inquiry, which issued its report to Somare in Mar., 2007. Elections in June-July, 2007, returned Somare to office, leading a reorganized coalition. The defense minister rejected the board of inquiry report in Oct., 2007, on the grounds that the board had not been legally constituted.

Papua New Guinea a country in the western Pacific comprising the eastern half of the island of New Guinea together with some neighboring islands; capital, Port Moresby. Starting with the Portugese landing on New Guinea in 1527 and continuing through the 19th century, the island (all or parts of it) have been claimed or colonized by the Spanish, Dutch, British, and Germans. In 1906 British New Guinea was passed to Australia, and its name changed to the Territory of Papua. With the advent of World War I in 1914, Australian armed forces occupied German New Guinea, the northeastern quadrant of the island taken over by the German New Guinea Company in 1884, and remained there for seven years. Between World War I and World War II, the Australians and the Japanese struggled for control over the Territory. In 1921 the League of Nations granted Australia a mandate to govern German New Guinea (except for Nauru and Micronesia). In 1942 the Japanese invaded New Guinea and part of Papua, but by 1945 Australia recovered the occupied land. The administration of Papua and the New Guinea mandate was then combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. In 1969 Indonesia annexed Dutch New Guinea as the province of Irian Jaya. In 1975 Papua New Guinea achieved complete independence from Britain.

Papua New Guinea is an independent monarchy within the Commonwealth with the queen as head of state. It is formed by the eastern half of the large island of New Guinea together with a number of adjacent islands to the east and north. The western part of the island was claimed by the Dutch and is now part of Indonesia. During the Second World War there was heavy fighting after the Japanese invaded.