Bougainville
VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE
Between 23 November and 7 December 2019, a non-binding independence referendum was held in Autonomous Region of Bougainville. 98% of the voters chose independence. MILDA supports the independence of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and its steps toward negotiating the terms of separation from Papua New Guinea.
Bougainville mother's bringing home the votes (pc: Delwin Ketsian)
MILDA Team in Port Moresby ready to board flight to Buka (pc: Mekamui News)
In August 2017, MILDA convened in Panguna and Arawa on Bougainville. One main objective of gathering in Bougainville was for youth from other parts of Melanesia to witness first-hand the impacts of large-scale extractive industries, and to learn from the hardships the people of Bougainville had endured – before the war, due to the environmental and social devastation that their societies had faced as a result of mining, and then during ten years of civil war fighting to defend their land and resources. _ by Joel Simo in Growing Bougainville’s Future
