98 percent have voted for independence for Bougainville, which can thus become the world’s youngest nation.
Stillehavsøen Bougainville has, with an overwhelming majority voted for independence from Papua New Guinea.
It shows the count of a referendum early on Wednesday morning, Danish time, writes the news agency Reuters.
Almost 98 percent of the voters in the archipelago have voted yes to independence.
Thus the initiation of negotiations for autonomy with the government of Papua New Guinea.
Bougainville island, which has about 207.000 inhabitants, can thus become the world’s youngest nation.
Stillehavsøen is located 640 kilometers east of the Solomon islands, but is a province belonging to Papua New Guinea which is located 1200 kilometers away.
the Referendum was initiated on Saturday, 23. november and has lasted for over two weeks.
During the vote, should the voters vote on either independence or increased autonomy.
the Vote was the cornerstone of a peace agreement from 2001, which brought a more than ten year long bloody civil war to an end.
the War, which was fought between groups in Papua New Guinea and Bougainville, claiming the lives of over 20,000 people.
There has been a degree of reluctance against the referendum in Papua New Guinea, writes news agency AFP.
It is due to the government of Papua New Guinea fear that it will be able to inspire other selvstændighedsbevægelser.
Bougainville is named after a French explorer. The island was a German colony in 1885.
When the First world War broke out, occupied by the australian forces, the island, together with other German territories in Papua New Guinea.
Bougainville was under australian control in 60 years, until the island became part of Papua New Guinea in 1975.
People from Bougainville is culturally different from the other inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, and the island has already a certain degree of autonomy with its own government for local affairs.
Stillehavsøen is rich in copper and gold, but it is limited in how large a yield the local residents have received from the foreign mining on the island.
Many residents have also suffered from a damaged the environment and poisoned rivers from mining operations.
/ritzau/
