A gold and copper island, a former German colony, wants to become an independent state with the help of Trump and American companies
Bougainville, a Pacific island with a tumultuous past, is preparing to declare independence from Papua New Guinea in 2027. The process began with the 2019 referendum, when nearly 98 percent of citizens expressed their desire to become a sovereign state.
Image from Papua New Guinea PHOTO: pixibay
The civil war that ravaged the island in the 1980s and 1990s ended after nearly ten years, with a truce in 1997 and a final peace treaty in 2001 that gave Bougainville the status of an autonomous province.
However, Papua New Guinea has yet to officially recognize the result of the independence referendum, according to NTV.
With a population of about 250,000 and an economy based on agriculture and mineral resources, Bougainville aspires to become the 194th member state of the United Nations.
Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama, a former rebel commander, is counting on the support of the United States to make the dream of independence a reality.
“A perfect addition to Team America,” Toroama told the online portal The World, emphasizing the strategic and economic potential of the island.
According to the cited source, the key could be the Panguna mine, closed since 1989, which contains reserves estimated at more than 5 million tons of copper and about 550 tons of gold, valued at at least $80 billion.
John Kuhns, an American investor and novelist who has lived in Bougainville for several years, says the resumption of mining could finance the island's independence.
“No mining company is going to go there and invest a few billion dollars without the support of the only country in the world that can give them security,” John Kuhns said.
It proposes that half of the profit generated be reinvested in the local community, for infrastructure, energy and medical services, and the rest be used for the economic development of the island.
“Then there would be money available to build a power grid that doesn't constantly crash. And roads that don't look like crater landscapes. And real hospitals.”explained the investor.
In the context of geopolitical tensions in the South Pacific, American support is considered crucial.
However, Toroama does not want to depend exclusively on Washington. If the U.S. lags, there is “another option”: China.
Beijing is already active in the region and has financed the expansion of the local airport's runway. China is looking to consolidate its influence in the Pacific and could quickly support Bougainville's independence.
