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Bougainville

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Progress reported out of Bougainville independence talks at Burnham

June 12, 2025

By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist Reports in Papua New Guinea say the governments of Bougainville and PNG have agreed to table the 2019 independence referendum results in Parliament. While discussions are ongoing, some degree of consensus has been reached during the talks, being held at Burnham Military Camp, just outside of Christchurch in ... <a title="Progress reported out of Bougainville independence talks at Burnham" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/12/progress-reported-out-of-bougainville-independence-talks-at-burnham/" aria-label="Read more about Progress reported out of Bougainville independence talks at Burnham">Read more</a>

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Bougainville takes the initiative in mediation over independence

April 22, 2025

By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist In recent weeks, Bougainville has taken the initiative, boldly stating that it expects to be independent by 1 September 2027. It also expects the PNG Parliament to quickly ratify the 2019 referendum, in which an overwhelming majority of Bougainvilleans supported independence. In a third move, it established a ... <a title="Bougainville takes the initiative in mediation over independence" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/04/22/bougainville-takes-the-initiative-in-mediation-over-independence/" aria-label="Read more about Bougainville takes the initiative in mediation over independence">Read more</a>

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Bougainville president condemns ‘dangerous’ AI-generated fake video of scuffle with Marape

April 7, 2025

RNZ Pacific Autonomous Bougainville Government President Ishmael Toroama has condemned the circulation of an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video depicting a physical confrontation between him and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. The clip, first shared on Facebook last week, is generated from the above picture of Toroama and Marape taken at a news conference ... <a title="Bougainville president condemns ‘dangerous’ AI-generated fake video of scuffle with Marape" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/04/07/bougainville-president-condemns-dangerous-ai-generated-fake-video-of-scuffle-with-marape/" aria-label="Read more about Bougainville president condemns ‘dangerous’ AI-generated fake video of scuffle with Marape">Read more</a>

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Top Pacific diplomats ready for direct talks on Bougainville independence

March 22, 2025

By Leah Lowonbu, Stefan Armbruster and Harlyne Joku of BenarNews The Pacific’s peak diplomatic bodies have signalled they are ready to engage with Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Government of Bougainville as mediation begins on the delayed ratification of its successful 2019 independence referendum. PNG and Bougainville’s leaders met in the capital Port Moresby this week ... <a title="Top Pacific diplomats ready for direct talks on Bougainville independence" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/03/22/top-pacific-diplomats-ready-for-direct-talks-on-bougainville-independence/" aria-label="Read more about Top Pacific diplomats ready for direct talks on Bougainville independence">Read more</a>

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PNG and Bougainville to hold more talks on independence issue

March 21, 2025

By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist The parties involved in talks aimed at resolving an impasse over Bougainville’s push for independence are planning to meet several more times before a deadline in June. The leaders of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville have been meeting all week in Port Moresby, with former New Zealand Governor-General ... <a title="PNG and Bougainville to hold more talks on independence issue" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/03/21/png-and-bougainville-to-hold-more-talks-on-independence-issue/" aria-label="Read more about PNG and Bougainville to hold more talks on independence issue">Read more</a>

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Former PNG army commander Jerry Singirok pays tribute to Sir Julius Chan

February 1, 2025

By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent The former Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) commander who defied a government decision to send mercenaries to Bougainville during the civil war in the late 1990s has paid tribute to Sir Julius Chan, prime minister at the time. Retired Major-General Jerry Singirok, who effectively ended the Bougainville ... <a title="Former PNG army commander Jerry Singirok pays tribute to Sir Julius Chan" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/02/01/former-png-army-commander-jerry-singirok-pays-tribute-to-sir-julius-chan/" aria-label="Read more about Former PNG army commander Jerry Singirok pays tribute to Sir Julius Chan">Read more</a>

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Five Pacific region geopolitical ‘betrayals’ in 2024

January 6, 2025

COMMENTARY: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report With the door now shut on 2024, many will heave a sigh of relief and hope for better things this year. Decolonisation issues involving the future of Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua – and also in the Middle East with controversial United Nations votes by ... <a title="Five Pacific region geopolitical ‘betrayals’ in 2024" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/01/06/five-pacific-region-geopolitical-betrayals-in-2024/" aria-label="Read more about Five Pacific region geopolitical ‘betrayals’ in 2024">Read more</a>

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Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year

January 4, 2025

Navigating the shared challenges of climate change, geostrategic tensions, political upheaval, disaster recovery and decolonisation plus a 50th birthday party, reports a BenarNews contributor’s analysis. COMMENTARY: By Tess Newton Cain Vanuatu’s devastating earthquake and dramatic political developments in Tonga and New Caledonia at the end of 2024 set the tone for the coming year in ... <a title="Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/01/04/pacific-2025-vanuatu-quake-tongan-and-kanaky-shakeups-trump-questions-set-tone-for-coming-year/" aria-label="Read more about Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year">Read more</a>

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Panguna human rights report fuels Bougainville demands for Rio Tinto-funded mine clean-up

December 9, 2024

By Stefan Armbruster in Brisbane The first large-scale environmental impact assessment of Rio Tinto’s abandoned Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea has found local communities face life-threatening risks from its legacy. The independent study was initiated after frustrated landowners in PNG’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville took their longstanding grievances against Rio Tinto to the Australian ... <a title="Panguna human rights report fuels Bougainville demands for Rio Tinto-funded mine clean-up" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/12/09/panguna-human-rights-report-fuels-bougainville-demands-for-rio-tinto-funded-mine-clean-up/" aria-label="Read more about Panguna human rights report fuels Bougainville demands for Rio Tinto-funded mine clean-up">Read more</a>

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Rio Tinto class action begins over ‘toxic’ Bougainville mine disaster

October 13, 2024

By Harry Pearl of BenarNews An initial hearing of a class action against mining giant Rio Tinto over the toxic legacy of the Panguna copper mine on the autonomous island of Bougainville has been held in Papua New Guinea. The lawsuit against Rio Tinto and its subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is seeking compensation, expected ... <a title="Rio Tinto class action begins over ‘toxic’ Bougainville mine disaster" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/10/13/rio-tinto-class-action-begins-over-toxic-bougainville-mine-disaster/" aria-label="Read more about Rio Tinto class action begins over ‘toxic’ Bougainville mine disaster">Read more</a>

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Lawsuit promises justice for Rio Tinto’s mining disaster in Bougainville – but some say it’s a cash grab

August 2, 2024

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT: By Aubrey Belford of the OCCRP High in the forested mountains of Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville Island lies an abandoned, kilometer-wide crater cut deep into the earth. Formerly one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines, the open pit now serves as an unsightly monument to the environmental and social chaos that ... <a title="Lawsuit promises justice for Rio Tinto’s mining disaster in Bougainville – but some say it’s a cash grab" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/08/02/lawsuit-promises-justice-for-rio-tintos-mining-disaster-in-bougainville-but-some-say-its-a-cash-grab/" aria-label="Read more about Lawsuit promises justice for Rio Tinto’s mining disaster in Bougainville – but some say it’s a cash grab">Read more</a>

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Thousands of Bougainville residents support lawsuit against mining giant

July 24, 2024

RNZ Pacific About 4500 Bougainvillean residents now back a lawsuit against mining giant Rio Tinto. This is an additional 1500 people from the autonomous Papua New Guinea region joining the action since it was filed in May this year. Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama said the lawsuit was disappointing and was pursued by those people acting ... <a title="Thousands of Bougainville residents support lawsuit against mining giant" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/07/24/thousands-of-bougainville-residents-support-lawsuit-against-mining-giant/" aria-label="Read more about Thousands of Bougainville residents support lawsuit against mining giant">Read more</a>