ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ways in which Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL), Freeport and BP have been perceived by some Bougainvilleans and Papuans as implicated in the colonisation and decolonisation of Bougainville and West Papua. It discusses the concept of colonialism and post-colonialism. The traces of colonialism in the present relate to the pre-specification of the path to development and progress for Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Indonesia at the expense of Bougainville and West Papua. The chapter reviews Bougainville Copper Agreement as an example of the historical injustices which underpinned the development of the mine. The objectives of BCL were to gain the support of the Australian Government to go ahead with the mine. The distribution of mining royalties was applied only in Bougainville at the time and ensured a unique degree of fiscal independence for the North Solomons Provincial Government (NSPG).
