5 minute read
Leaving an international impact
Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann
Photography: Supplied
Senior Constable Paul Henry is trying to track down two men who have escaped from prison.
The Victoria Police officer is confident he knows where they are hiding but he is hesitant to go because it’s a hostile, separatist-held region.
This rebel territory is not in Victoria. It’s not even in Australia.
It’s in Bougainville, an island north of Australia that lies between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Sen Const Henry, now an inspector, was there with three other Victoria Police officers from November 2004 to May 2005 as part of an Australian Federal Police-led mission to help develop the local police force after Bougainville had gone through many years of civil war.
It is one of many such international peacekeeping, training and liaison missions Victoria Police has deployed officers to over several decades.
Victoria Police’s first ever involvement in an overseas deployment was 60 years ago as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, which started in 1964 to prevent further violence between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.
Ten officers were part of the first Victoria Police group sent to Cyprus, with Inspector Frank Holland serving as the officer in charge of the overall Australian contingent of 40 officers.
The Cyprus mission continued until 2017, with dozens of Victoria Police officers taking part over the decades.
Senior Sergeant Paul van Gemert is president of the Victorian branch of the Police Overseas Service Association.
“Victoria Police members have played an important part in peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding missions around the world,” Sen Sgt van Gemert said.
“In the majority of those missions, our roles have mainly been around mentoring, developing and building the capacity of that country’s police force so they can take responsibility for the security within their country.”
Sen Sgt van Gemert’s own overseas deployment was to Timor-Leste from 2010 to 2011 as the Police Liaison Officer to United Nations Police and the developing Timor-Leste Police Force.
“These deployments were sometimes very challenging because you were dealing with big cultural differences, especially when it came to corruption and the levels of respect for people in positions of authority,” he said.
“We were placed into hostile political situations so it was also pretty confronting to see people killed in front of your eyes and starvation as well.
“And when there is a hand grenade thrown over the wall of your compound, as well as darts and rocks being launched at your vehicles, it makes you realise that not everyone wants you in their country.
“In contrast, most of the people were welcoming and happy you were helping to rebuild their nation.
“Being part of building the capacity of the local police force and seeing it through to the point where it takes over responsibility from the United Nations for internal security, it really was something special.”
Commander Therese Fitzgerald was a leading senior constable when she went on deployments to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in the mid-2000s.
Cmdr Fitzgerald drew on her extensive prosecutions experience for both deployments, which included playing a lead role in bringing the Solomon Islands’ legal system up to speed ahead of several trials of militia leaders for crimes committed during years of civil unrest in the country.
“It was incredibly satisfying because we were doing something new over there by establishing their prosecutions support unit, where we did things like establish security at the courts and locate and coordinate witnesses,” Cmdr Fitzgerald said.
The deployments also gave me a new perspective on Victoria Police and helped me really appreciate everything we have here.
Insp Henry said the local police he worked with in Bougainville were full of gratitude for the help and advice the Australian police offered them.
“They were like sponges and were very keen to put Bougainville on the path to modern policing, earning the trust of their community and making their country a better place,” Insp Henry said.
One of those was an officer called Chris Mate, who partnered Insp Henry in the mission to track down the two prison escapees who had gone into the separatist region held by the Me’ekamui community.
“Chris Mate had a real gift of the gab and managed to convince the armed guards at the entrance to this no-go zone to produce these two fugitives,” Insp Henry said.
“Myself and an Australian Federal Police officer Michael Turner thought they would bring them to us at the gate, which was fine by us because we were unarmed.
“There had been a wise decision not to arm the Australian police in Bougainville because it would help prevent any tensions becoming escalated.
"But then we were asked to join these guards and they would take us into the bush to get the prisoners.
“Chris was extremely confident that it would all be fine, but Michael and I were thinking, ‘What are we doing sitting in a troop carrier with armed members of the Me’ekamui and not knowing where we’re going, and no one knows where we are?’
“But true to their word, and credit to Chris’ people skills, they did produce the two men and we took them back safely.”
