Bougainvilles political Journey
Bougainville's Political Journey. Bougainvilles political Journey Bougainville is an island in the South Pacific that is part of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The island has a complex political history, with a long-running conflict over autonomy and independence. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a significant separatist movement on Bougainville led by the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), which sought independence from PNG. This movement was sparked by frustration over the environmental and social impacts of a large copper mine on the island, which was operated by a subsidiary of the Australian mining company Rio Tinto. The BRA fought a brutal civil war against the PNG government, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. In 1997, a ceasefire was reached, and peace talks began between the BRA and the PNG government. The talks resulted in the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement, which granted autonomy to Bougainville and established a framework for a referendum on indepen...