{"id":87,"date":"2019-12-17T12:46:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/conflict-and-copper-path-bougainvilles-independence-referendum\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T14:13:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T11:13:59","slug":"conflict-and-copper-path-bougainvilles-independence-referendum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/conflict-and-copper-path-bougainvilles-independence-referendum\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflict and Copper: The Path to Bougainville\u2019s Independence Referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">On December 11, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=098pqgDIdvc\">Bougainville<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, a semi-autonomous group of islands, voted overwhelmingly for independence from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bushHvw__Mo\">Papua New Guinea<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-310\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"bougainville\" width=\"825\" height=\"463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville.jpg 780w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">If you\u2019re scratching your head wondering where Bougainville is, and why this vote has significant social, economic, and political implications, you aren\u2019t, necessarily, alone. As a little-known region of a nation shrouded in mysticism and speculation, Bougainville\u2014its conflict, struggle for freedom, and perhaps even existence\u2014is often forgotten. This is, of course, a mistake. Rich in cultural (and political) history, Bougainville is an important place for both academic research and personal interest.<\/span><\/p>\n<table class=\"table table-hover\" style=\"width: 66.719243%;\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Bougainville Cheat Sheet<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">Bougainville, or rather the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, is geographically located in Melanesia and part of the Solomon Islands (not the nation)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">Occupied\/colonized many times by many different nations\u2014Germany, Australia, Japan<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">Population: ~250,000 people<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">Ethnically and culturally diverse<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\">900km from mainland Papua New Guinea<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-311\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville2-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"Bougainville map\" width=\"825\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville2-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville2-1024x661.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville2-768x495.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville2.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Francis Ona\u2013 Bougainville secessionist leader, de facto president, and self-anointed king of the Republic of Me\u2019ekamui (an indigenous name for Bougainville)\u2014 stated, in the 2001 documentary about the Bougainville fight for independence <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsforaction.org\/watch\/coconut-revolution\/\">The Coconut Revolution<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, \u201cWe are fighting for man and his culture\u2026land and environment\u2026 independence.\u201d Truly, Bougainville\u2014its quest for identity and self-determination\u2014can be understood in these terms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-US\">Man and His Culture: diversity, colonial borders, and a uniting cause<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Bougainville\u2019s recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Solomon-Islands\/History\">history<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> is dominated by an overwhelming colonial narrative, repeated across the globe, where colonial powers drew lines and struck divisions based on their own power struggles with little regard to the people \u2018under\u2019 their flag. Carved into German, British, Japanese, and Australian territory, Bougainville\u2019s connection to Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a remnant of a colonial past rather than an ethnic, geographic, linguistic, or cultural connection. Bougainville is incredibly diverse; however, their closest relatives are the Solomon Islands, rather than PNG.\u00a0 In fact, at their closest point, Bougainville and islands within the Solomon Island nation are mere kilometers apart. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-313\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville3.jpg-300x223.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"825\" height=\"613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville3.jpg-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville3.jpg-768x570.png 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville3.jpg.png 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Bougainville, itself, is ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse. What united a sense of \u2018Bougainville,\u2019 or a collective consciousness, ultimately, was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.ee\/books?id=Gk2QAgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA232&amp;lpg=PA232&amp;dq=defacto+states+bougainville&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=xvpWu52oQs&amp;sig=ACfU3U1tvKWmlpwIjezULbGm4VcXysm3Lw&amp;hl=ru&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjzkKOO5LnmAhXp-SoKHfHCC_AQ6AEwCXoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=defacto%20states%20bougainville&amp;f=false\">copper<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. Indeed, invariably flecked throughout Bougainville\u2019s struggle for independence is copper\u2019s metallic sheen. Discovered on the island in the 1960s, copper, the worlds\u2019 most used <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.copper.org\/environment\/lifecycle\/g_recycl.html\">metal<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, has (in many ways) directed Bougainville\u2019s path to sovereignty. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-US\">Land and Environment: copper, exploitation, and \u2018the world\u2019s first eco-revolution?\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">In the early 1970s, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/bougainville-independence-could-revive-one-of-worlds-biggest-copper-mines\/\">Rio Tinto<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, an Australian-British mining company capitalized on Bougainville\u2019s copper (and other metal) resources and established the world\u2019s largest open cut mine in Panguna. Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining conglomerates in the world, began pumping resources out of Bougainville in 1972. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">The early 1970s were a transformative time for Bougainville. Beyond the establishment of the Panguna mine, the early 1970s saw Bougainville attempt to gain independence for the first time in a unilateral, and largely ignored, declaration two weeks prior to PNG independence from Australia. Involuntarily integrated into the newly formed PNG, Bougainville financially supported the fledgling state with the Panguna mine. In fact, some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/3bxQa04PXg2jSFNhjJRQVR?si=e4higPZXTAeDb1gouyN1Rg\">estimates<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> claim Bougainville\u2019s mine was responsible for ~45% of PNG\u2019s GDP. But, as resources left the island, leaving behind trails of chemical pollutants and marred land, Bougainville islanders saw little profit. Land, taken by force to establish the Panguna mine, produced over 3 billion USD of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsforaction.org\/watch\/coconut-revolution\/\">profit<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">; however, Bougainville islanders only received around 1000 USD of payment. In 1988, under increasing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=098pqgDIdvc\">frustration<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> over the degradation of Bougainville and money leaving the island, some islanders (under the leadership of Francis Ona) collectivized and produced a set of demands, ultimately unanswered by the mine. Activists decided to close the mine themselves, an action met with armed response by PNG forces (supported by Australia). Thus, began the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsforaction.org\/watch\/coconut-revolution\/\">Coconut Revolution,<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> dubbed the world\u2019s first \u2018eco-revolution.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">The conflict, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsforaction.org\/watch\/coconut-revolution\/\">\u201clongest and bloodiest conflict in the Pacific since World War Two\u201d<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> lasted nearly 10 years. Bougainville, severely ill equipped to combat PNG and Australia, suffered immensely. Conflict violence and an Australian naval blockade contributed to the death of approximately 20,000 people, or about a 10th of the island\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ckXZ9yusXFs\">population<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. Peace, arbitrated by international actors including New Zealand, came in 1997, with agreements finalized in 2001. Part of the peace agreement was Bougainville\u2019s status as an autonomous region of PNG and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gMJ5R3KaawE\">stipulation<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> that Bougainville would have an independence referendum before 2020. Thus, in the final hours of 2019, Bougainville was finally able to vote for peace. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-US\">Independence: a long-awaited referendum<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-312\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville4-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"825\" height=\"463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville4-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville4-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/bougainville4.jpg 780w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Bougainville was finally able to vote for independence in early December. In a process that took over two weeks (in order to access even the most remote areas) the referendum, overseen by former Irish Prime Minister <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ckXZ9yusXFs\">Bertie Ahern<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, is generally considered to have been a good <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gMJ5R3KaawE\">democratic exercise<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. But, beyond a democratic exercise, Bougainville\u2019s independence referendum represents a massive <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gMJ5R3KaawE\">psychological relief<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. Voting envoys were met with traditional dancing, song, and a general spirit of celebration. As John Momis, president of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville stated: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-50739203\">\u201cNow, at least psychologically, we feel liberated.\u201d<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> Bougainville voted overwhelmingly for independence, almost <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/dec\/11\/bougainville-referendum-region-votes-overwhelmingly-for-independence-from-papua-new-guinea\">98% (176,928 people)<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> voted for independence. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Although Bougainville\u2019s historic vote for independence can be seen as little else than a mandate for self-determination. Bougainville\u2019s independence vote, however, was non-binding. This means independence will have to be negotiated with PNG, a nation wary of setting a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ckXZ9yusXFs\">precedent<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> for other provinces. PNG receptions to Bougainville\u2019s vote have almost all included an allusion to a lengthy process, directed by PNG. Puka Temu, PNG minister for Bougainville affairs, acknowledged the vote, but implored voters to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-50739203\">\u201callow the rest of Papua New Guinea sufficient time to absorb this result.\u201d<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> PNG Prime Minister James Marape, largely considered to be a conciliatory leader focused on unity, accepted the referendum result but claimed PNG will develop <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asiatimes.com\/2019\/12\/article\/china-has-big-stake-in-bougainville-independence\/\">\u201ca road map that leads to a lasting peace settlement,\u201d<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> a vague epithet with various implications, all of which are ambiguous. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Some Bougainville observers predicted settlement processes will take over ten years, and will require Bougainville to demonstrate economic viability, which most likely means the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/bougainville-independence-could-revive-one-of-worlds-biggest-copper-mines\/\">re-opening<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> of the Panguna mine. The Panguna mine,\u00a0 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asiatimes.com\/2019\/12\/article\/china-has-big-stake-in-bougainville-independence\/\">valued<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> at over 58 Billion USD, would have (and already has) disastrous implications on the environment of Bougainville. Its re-opening has especially become attractive to foreign investors, including <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asiatimes.com\/2019\/12\/article\/china-has-big-stake-in-bougainville-independence\/\">China<\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u2014a nation keen to exert influence in the Pacific. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Only time will tell what happens next to Bougainville. It is clear, however, that Bougainville post-conflict is searching for self-determination and lasting peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span lang=\"EN-US\">Author: Annie Rose Healion<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 On December 11, Bougainville, a semi-autonomous group of islands, voted overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 If you\u2019re scratching &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":1397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dfsrublogposts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1890,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions\/1890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/defactostates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}