On June 16, Bougainville's first autonomous government was sworn in at a ceremony watched by its new president, Joseph Kabui, and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Michael Somare. A 40-member parliament for the island province was elected on May 27, a key step in the Australian-brokered 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement, which ended years of bloody secessionist conflict that cost up to 10,000 lives. The secessionist movement was fuelled by anger among traditional tribal landowners at the treatment they received from the Australian-owned Bougainville Copper mine. Armed attacks by traditional landowners forced the giant copper and gold mine to close down 16 years ago. Kabui, a former PNG-appointed premier, defected to the armed opposition in the early 1990s and later led most of the secessionist fighters into the peace deal. Under the peace agreement, a referendum on whether the island will become independent from PNG is promised in 10-15 years.

From Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005.
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