‘Cut the umbilical cord’: Bougainville’s bid to break away from Papua New Guinea faces reckoning
Papua New Guinea's parliament will consider whether to endorse the 2019 Bougainville independence referendum, in which the autonomous region voted overwhelmingly for secession. The decision marks a critical juncture for the island's push to become a separate nation, confronting legal, political and economic hurdles. Leaders stress the need for a negotiated settlement to avoid further instability.