Former Bougainville Revolutionary Army Commander, Sam Kauona, says the 10-year bloody conflict, which claimed the lives of many Bougainvilleans, Papua New Guineans and Solomon Islanders, was the result of colonialism. He demands that current laws on Bougainville be changed before any renewed mining activities take place.
Meanwhile, the UN Environmental Programme has offered the Bougainville provisional govermnent assistance in cleaning up the mess which former Panguna mine manager, Rio Tinto left behind when it quit the island in 1999.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=12435.