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An Anzac peacekeeping mission that used guitars, not guns

New Zealand Defence Force Brigadier Roger Mortlock shakes hands with a Bougainvillean woman.

New Zealand Defence Force Brigadier Roger Mortlock shakes hands with a Bougainvillean woman. Source: Soldiers Without Guns (Will Watson)

It's not widely known that a peacekeeping mission to a war-ravaged Pacific island brought an end to civil war using guitars and culture - not weapons.


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By Stergos Kastelloriou, Tom Stayner

Source: SBS



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It's not widely known that a peacekeeping mission to a war-ravaged Pacific island brought an end to civil war using guitars and culture - not weapons.


The tale of the peaceful end to a bloody 10-year civil war on Bougainville [[BO-gun-vill]] is being recounted through the documentary, Soldiers Without Guns.

This story of a peacekeeping mission to a war-ravaged Bougainville is a rarely-told tale of ANZAC cooperation.

The Pacific island was in the midst of a decade-long civil war during the 1990s, a violent conflict that claimed at least 20,000 lives - almost one-sixth of the population.

A scene from Soldiers Without Guns
A scene from Soldiers Without Guns Source: Supplied

Following a series of failed peace efforts, in October 1997 New Zealand Defence Force Brigadier Roger Mortlock came up with a daring plan.

He told reporters he would deploy a Maori concert group and a shipment of guitars.


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