Leader of PNG Party Belden Namah has expressed grave concern over a directive from acting Prime Minister Sam Abal for his arrest and detention before next month’s Supreme Court-directed session of Parliament.
Namah said he was reliably informed during the long Christmas weekend of the confidential executive directive for his arrest over the Border Rangers issue.
“The Border Rangers in Vanimo was merely set up to carry out similar functions of the City Rangers in Port Moresby - to keep the Vanimo town clean and prevent people from selling cheap smuggled goods form Papua province of Indonesia,” he said.
“This matter has been competently dealt with by appropriate state law-enforcing agencies in Vanimo and does not require political directives from the nation’s highest office for my arrest,”
Namah said he was reliably informed by government insiders that Abal was pressured by powerful political forces from with the government for his arrest.
“I’m told that Mr Abal has directed acting police commissioner Tony Wagambie and acting deputy commissioner operations, Fred Yakasa to arrest and detain me before the 11th January 2011 session of Parliament,” he said.
“I urge the Mr Abal to let common sense to prevail and not to compromise his position to be used by those who have vested interests, including heavily-implicated politicians and their cronies to do their dirty work.
“The perpetrators are merely using the Border Rangers issues to silence me because I know too much about the rotten and corrupt deals that they are involved in.
“Mr Abal should not listen to such people because now that I’m in the Opposition.
“I’m more determined to be critical and fight for accountable, transparent and good governance.”
Namah also said that the plot was aimed at silencing leaders and citizens who were critical of the current government’s dismal failure to address head-on the issue of corruption.
“It is a dangerous and very frightening plot devised by desperate politicians to cling onto power because they know that if the current government is ousted, they will be in serious trouble, including prosecution and imprisonment,” he said.
“I’m fully aware of this sinister plot to have me arrested, not because I’ve broken any law, breached the Leadership Code or the Constitution.
“It is not because I’m indifferent with the law.
“It is merely because I’ve been most vocal and critical on corruption that is evidently rampant in the current government.
“It is common knowledge that corruption in PNG has reached unprecedented levels, yet this government has miserably failed to address it head on, starting from its very own backyard.
“I’ve never tried to seek relief from the courts to prevent the Ombudsman Commission and the Public Prosecutor from performing their constitutional mandated duties.
“I do not go around ordering citizens to be kidnapped or assaulted. I don’t steal or use public funds to build expensive properties in PNG and abroad or acquire wealth.
“During my working life, I have fought to save thousands of Papua New Guinean lives as well as fought hard to ensure that forestry resource owners gained maximum benefit for their forest resources.
I will continue to fight for the rights of the over six million PNG citizens.
“I will not be silenced by the executive directives for my arrest and urge Mr Abal to allow common sense to rule over ill-conceived advice from those who have personal and hidden motives.”
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