Buka figure disappears
A prominent leader and pro-secessionist on the northern Bougainville island of Buka, Dennis Sareke, has disappeared. Great fears are held for his safety.
The news of Sareke's disappearance was bought to the attention of Radio Free Bougainville by a delegation from Buka that secretly crossed into central Bougainville. The delegation brought grim news that the practice of kidnapping and disappearances is still being carried out by Papua New Guinean soldiers and vigilante groups.
Sareke, who prior to the war was a member of the now defunct North Solomons provincial government, had been jailed by the PNG government and had been released just prior to his disappearance.