On the island of Bougainville, a province of Papua New Guinea, fighting began 8 years ago over a copper mine operated by an Australian company. The Paguna mine desecrated sacred lands and destroyed the livelihoods of many local residents. The miners also unearthed long standing ethnic and political differences between Bougainvillans and the Papua New Guinea government and recently the conflict brought down Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Julius Chan. Steve Curwood spoke with two experts on the crisis.
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