The 20-year itch

摘要

THE INTENDED destination is not in doubt. Fully 97.7% of voters on the Pacific island of Bougainville opted for independence from Papua New Guinea (png) in a referendum held in late November and early December. But how-and how fast-the island will get there remains far from clear. The outcome of the poll is not binding on the government, which inherited Bougainville, part of the archipelago that includes the Solomon Islands, as a quirk of colonial map-making. There will now be a lengthy consultation between the island's autonomous administration and the national authorities. The ultimate say rests with png's parliament.