Bougainville celebrates eleventh anniversary

THE Autonomous Bougainville Government will celebrate its 11th anniversary today at Hutjena, North Bougainville, acting chief secretary Paul Kebori says.
Kebori told The National that other celebrations would also take place in all constituencies in the region to commemorate June 15, when Bougainville became an autonomous government in 2005.
He said during the celebrations, awareness would also be done on Bougainville’s proposed referendum on June 15, 2019.
A funding of K400,000 has been allocated by the Autonomous Bougainville Government to cater for the one-day event.
Kebori said it would also be a public holiday today.
Meanwhile in Port Moresby, the media manager for the national coordinating office of Bougainville Affairs Terence Mose said there would be a one-day workshop on issues concerning Bougainville as it prepared for the proposed referendum.
Previously known as the North Solomons province, Bougainville is now an autonomous region.
The population of Bougainville is 249,358, according to the 2011 census. Bougainville is ecologically and geographically part of the Solomon Islands archipelago but is not politically part of the nation of Solomon Islands.
Buka, Bougainville and most of the Solomons are part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion.