P.N.G. troops corner rebels

Press, 28 August 1980, Page 6

P.N.G. troops corner rebels

NZPA-Reuter Port Vila I Papua New Guinea troops ■were vesterday poised for a i final assault on rebel headquarters on the South Pacific island of Espiritu Santo and a Vanuatu Government spokesman said he expected the 12week secessionist revolt to be over within 48 hours. Senior P.N.G. military officers said that about 100 specially-trained jungle troops j were in position ready to (attack about 200 m from the (rebel stronghold in the village of Vanafo. Most of the remaining 300 or so hard-core rebels, including the leader, Jimmy Stevens, are holed-up in the village, which contains about 1800 people. The Government’s spokesman. John Beasant, said that Mr Stevens had sent out a letter asking for talks but had still not agreed to surrender and had not taken up a Government offer to send out emissaries from the village. The time for talking was over, Mr Beasant said. He added that the rebels had no chance of escaping: the only other way out would be to hack through impenetrable jungle.

The Government of Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, called for military help from P.N.G. after the outgoing colonial powers Britain and France failed to end the rebellion; The P.N.G. force has moved quickly to crush the revolt since arriving in Santo nine days ago. It arrested more than 130 rebels, including some of the leaders. , Those who escaped from Santo’s main town of Luganville converged on Vanafo and last week-end special jungle troops arrived from Port Moresby to lead the final assault. Peter Taurakoto,. secretary to the Vanuatu Prime Minister (the Rev. Walter Lini), said that P.N.G. troops had found the road to Vanafo blocked with trees placed by rebels. He said that the rebels in Vanafo and another group in Port Olry, north-east of Luganville, wanted to surrender and were scared of the P.N.G. forces. It.was not the intention of the Vanuatu Government that the troops should shoot the rebels; said Mr Taurakoto.