Editing Politics of Papua New Guinea (section)

=== North Solomons (Bougainville) ===
[[File:Bougainville Panguna mine shovel.jpg|thumb|Panguna mine]]
On [[Bougainville Island]], initially focused on traditional land rights, environmental and economic issues stemming from the operation of the [[Panguna mine]], (a ''Conzinc RioTinto Australia'' (now [[Rio Tinto (company)|Rio Tinto]] Limited) and PNG government joint venture), a civil war quickly grew into a war for independence from PNG.

From early 1989 until a truce came into effect in October 1997 and a permanent cease-fire was signed in April 1998 as many as 20,000 people were killed. Under the eyes of a regional peace-monitoring force and a [[United Nations]] observer mission, the government and provincial leaders established an interim government. In 2019 a non-binding [[2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum|referendum]] was held in which 98.31% of voters voted in favor of independence.

The people of Bougainville are closely related to those of the nearby [[Solomon Islands]].