11 Sep 2017

Call for Bougainvilleans to look at independence options

From , 5:03 am on 11 September 2017


An Australian academic, Ted Wolfers, says it is vital people on Bougainville discuss possible independence and what they would want from it.

The region is to hold a referendum on whether it should be independent from Papua New Guinea in June 2019.

That vote is to be the climax of a peace process that began 20 years ago following nearly ten years of civil war that claimed thousands of lives.

Professor Wolfers, who's had a long involvement in Bougainville issues, told Don Wiseman that there has to be dialogue about what the options are and what independence means.

Over 20,000 people died in the Bougainville civil war and many disappeared without being accounted for.

Over 20,000 people died in the Bougainville civil war and many disappeared without being accounted for. Photo: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)