‘No one will stop our people’: Bougainville president defiant in push for independence

Ishmael Toroama tells the Guardian sovereignty from Papua New Guinea is a ‘matter of time’ as long-running process enters next phase

Ishmael Toroama’s life has been dominated by a single ambition. The president of Bougainville, an autonomous island that is part of the Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, has for decades fought for his island to claim its sovereignty.

“Bougainville is for independence,” the president insists. “It is only a matter of time.”

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