FILE PHOTO 13MAY96 - Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan (R) meets Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Sydney May 13, 1996. Papua New Guinea's army chief Brigadier General Jerry Singirok gave Chan a 48-hour deadline to quit March 17 over his plans to use foreign mercenaries against secessionists on Bougainville island. Chan last month hired foreign mercenaries to train and equip Singirok's defence force in what was called a "radical initiative" to end the nine-year war on Bougainville where ragtag guerrilla force has kept the PNG army at bay.

PAPUA BOUGAINVILLE