Autonomy
New Zealand brokered the formation of an Autonomous Bougainville Government, ignoring Ona’s claim to control over 90% of the land and 90% of the people. The governments of PNG and Australia were anxious to regain control of the Panguna mine, still controlled by Ona and BRA.
On 17 May 2004, Francis Ona had himself crowned as King Frances Dominic Dateransy Domanaa, King of Meekamui (meaning “Holy Land”). Ignoring his coronation, the Autonomous Bougainville Government organized its first elections in June 2005. Ona came out of 16 years of hiding into the public light to oppose the elections, which he felt were superfluous. Only 3% of eligible voters participated; Ona attributed this to the persisting loyalty of Bougainville to him and his vision of sovereignty.
- "The Bougainville autonomous government is a minority government and has no mandate of the people to rule, and can effectively be declared an illegal government", wrote Professor Louis Berrigan.
Joseph Kabui was elected President of the Autonomous Government favored by PNG and brokered by New Zealand.
Read more about this topic: History Of Bougainville
Famous quotes containing the word autonomy:
“A primary function of art and thought is to liberate the individual from the tyranny of his culture in the environmental sense and to permit him to stand beyond it in an autonomy of perception and judgment.”
—Lionel Trilling (1905–1975)
“I’m tired of earning my own living, paying my own bills, raising my own child. I’m tired of the sound of my own voice crying out in the wilderness, raving on about equality and justice and a new social order.... Self-sufficiency is exhausting. Autonomy is lonely. It’s so hard to be a feminist if you are a woman.”
—Jane O’Reilly, U.S. feminist and humorist. The Girl I Left Behind, ch. 7 (1980)
“If the Russians have gone too far in subjecting the child and his peer group to conformity to a single set of values imposed by the adult society, perhaps we have reached the point of diminishing returns in allowing excessive autonomy and in failing to utilize the constructive potential of the peer group in developing social responsibility and consideration for others.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)