A Bougainville leader has warned the Papua New Guinea government not to derail the clear mandate of Bougainvilleans voting for independence.
A 97.7 percent majority voted for independence in the referendum, although to come into effect, the result must be ratified by PNG's national parliament.
Following the result, PNG prime minister James Marape asked Bougainvilleans to consider what he called a win-win situation, where their "desire for self rule is not harmed and PNG's desire for national unity is embraced".
But his suggestion of a focus on achieving economic independence has prompted a warning from the former Bougainville Interim Government leader and Bougainville Revolutionary Army spokesman Martin Miriori.
Mr Miriori told Johnny Blades that there's a lot of hard work to be done from this point.
Bougainvilleans queue to vote in their independence referendum, Buka, November 2019. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
