By Brian Thomson – World News Australia Senior Correspondent – 24 June 2011
Sunday’s Dateline on SBS ONE uncovered claims that the PNG government was acting under instruction from mining giant Rio Tinto when it killed thousands of people who wanted the mine shut down.
The allegations come from PNG’s former Opposition Leader, and now Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, in 2001 court documents obtained by SBS Senior Correspondent Brian Thomson for Dateline.
In them, Somare says the company, and its subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited, effectively used its wealth to control the government – a claim denied by BCL.
With negotiations now underway to reopen the abandoned mine, could Bougainville be heading for a repeat of the bloody battle over its resources?
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