PNG parliament to consider Bougainville region's bid for independence

Papua New Guinea's ​autonomous region of Bougainville moved ​a step closer ‌to possible independence ​on Thursday as the country's parliament prepared to consider the results of a ‌non-binding referendum in which voters overwhelmingly backed secession. Residents of Bougainville, which consists of two main islands and several smaller ones with a ‌population of about 370,000 people, voted 97.7% in favour of ‌independence in 2019.

But it has taken years of negotiations between the national and regional governments to get to the next step. Papua New Guinea's ⁠parliament ​must ratify the ⁠referendum result for it to take effect, and the two sides agreed ⁠this month that parliament would begin considering it on Thursday. No date for ​a vote has been announced.

Leaders on Bougainville, which has ⁠had an independence movement for decades, have targeted greater self-government in September 2027 ⁠and ​full sovereignty in 2030. Bougainville's push for independence stems largely from longstanding grievances over control of revenue from the now-closed ⁠Panguna copper and gold mine and a decade-long civil war that killed ⁠thousands.

A ⁠peace deal was reached in 2001 in the war and included an agreement to defer an ‌independence ‌referendum