Bougainville independence vote delivers emphatic demand to become world’s newest nation
(CNN)An autonomous region of Papua New Guinea has voted overwhelmingly to leave the country and form a new independent nation, authorities announced on Wednesday. The vote is a significant indicator of public sentiment, but is non-binding, and will now need to be approved by the Papua New Guinea parliament before Bougainville can become its own country. Bougainville independence campaigners are bracing for this next step; the copper mine, estimated to be worth $58 billion, has long been a point of territorial contention. The civil war had in part been over a dispute about the mine’s management, and some predict Papua New Guinea will be reluctant to lose access to the region’s valuable natural resources. The referendum has been a long …
