And still that ill-wind blows: Is the Bougainvillean referendum an expensive waste of time?

A few years back, I published an article here on PNG Echo entitled ‘An ill wind blows in Bougainville” and it seems that the wind has still not abated but is it gathering momentum? It is well-known that the potentially fatal flaw in the Bougainville Peace Agreement is that the government of PNG has the last say – it can choose to ratify independence (or whatever the outcome of the referendum) or not.  It has the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card and, by all accounts, is gearing up to use it. Just today, Prime Minister James Marape has given everyone a public Continue reading And still that ill-wind blows: Is the Bougainvillean referendum an expensive waste of time?

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An ill wind blows in Bougainville

By PNG Echo A cold political wind is blowing on the islands of Bougainville that’s fuelling a cold war. This wayward wind, which was downgraded to a tropical breeze at the cessation of hostilities in the bloody civil war on Bougainville at the end of the 1990s, has never been tamed but held in check by a peace agreement signed by most of the warring parties. The Promise The keystone of the accord was the promised plebiscite for an independent state, to take place within 20 years of the agreement. The promise effectively took the wind out of the sails Continue reading An ill wind blows in Bougainville

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