Bougainville secessionist leader dies 

Francis Ona, the Bougainville secessionist leader who launched a bloody civil war that claimed more than 10,000 lives, has died after succumbing to illness at his jungle mountain retreat.

The self-proclaimed king - who opposed the recent election of Bougainville's new autonomous government - died late on Sundayat Guava village near the giant Panguna copper mine that sparked the island's rebel conflict.

His passing could mean an end to lingering secessionist tensions, but there are doubts that the once lucrative Australian-run mine will ever reopen.

The cause of Ona's death is not known.

But Ona, 52, had been seriously ill for more than a week and reportedly died in his sleep.

Bougainville President Joseph Kabui, a former Ona ally, expressed his sadness at Ona's death, saying it was unexpected.

"I am very, very sad to hear the news, especially when we haven't reconciled yet," he told PNG's Post-Courier newspaper.

Kabui said a state funeral was planned for Ona and a week of mourning had been declared to show his government was genuine about reconciliation.

Papua New Guinea's Bougainville Affairs Minister Peter Barter also expressed sadness, saying his greatest wish was for Ona to play a real part in Bougainville's peace process, which he had done indirectly.

"He stood for what he believed in and in a way, he became a legend in his own lifetime. He was a man of peace who will be sadly missed."

United Nations representative on Bougainville Tor Stenbock said Ona's death might trigger reconciliation between his Meekamui Movement and Kabui's administration.

"The thing we have to recognise is that Francis Ona did not interfere in the peace process, he did not interfere in the collection of weapons.

"He did not interfere in the elections process and we have recognised him and thanked him for that," said Stenbock.

The Australian government will not send a representative to Ona's funeral, but Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Bruce Bilson told Radio Australia a state funeral was an opportunity to move towards reconciliation and a more cooperative future.

In 1989 Ona was instrumental in launching Bougainville's secessionist conflict which dragged on through the 1990s.

The spark for the conflict was landowner anger over the giant Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) mine at Panguna and the environmental damage it was causing.

Ona's death is unlikely to boost prospects of the mine reopening any time soon, with Kabui and PNG's Mining Minister Sam Akoitai both indicating it would remain closed indefinitely because it was such a sensitive issue.

But the Meekamui Movement, which Ona virtually embodied, appears unlikely to maintain what cohesion it had now he is dead.

Ona proclaimed himself king of the island and only emerged from 16 years of seclusion in the lead-up to the May election to repeat his claim Bougainville was already independent from PNG.

The situation of two mysterious foreign advisors to Ona, Australian Jeff Richards and Briton James Nessbit, is unclear.

They are understood to still be holed up in the Meekamui no-go zone in central Bougainville since going in last year.

Under the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement, Bougainvilleans have been promised a referendum on independence in 10 to 15 years time.