Abal vows to fight to ‘correct an illegal action’

 By ISAAC NICHOLAS

THE ousted government is taking legal action to "correct an illegal action by the opposition to wrestle power from a duly-elected government", ousted acting prime minister Sam Abal said yesterday, The National reports.
"We are not making an issue out of this for nothing," he said.
Abal, who was surrounded by Sir Arnold Amet, Ben Semri, Fidelis Semoso, Paul Tiensten, Philip Kikala, Paru Aihi and Anderson Agiru, said a political coup had happened.
"It is an illegal thing and we cannot rest until this thing is corrected. It is for our children and our future before we become a laughing stock.
"Parliament was ambushed by the vetting and abetting by the speaker himself. We have created a constitutional crisis because there is no vacancy in the office of the prime minister."
He said the process had started for the lawful removal of the prime minister. But the group in government had decided to ambush it with the help of the speaker who did not check whether there was an appropriate provision for the removal of the prime minister and went ahead and declared a vacancy.
"It was a well-organised coup that was planned with the speaker of parliament."
Abal said the election of Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, or any other person, could be carried out but it should be done within the law.
"If we allow this to go, then we are encouraging another kind of coup. It is a very sad day for the Constitution to be ridiculed. Politically, it is a government starting on the wrong foot."
Abal said parliament should not sit until such issues were resolved by the court.
"I am seeking an injunction to stop this kind of rummaging going on. This is outrageous and not acceptable to us as leaders and for the people of Papua New Guinea."
Also yesterday, Abal appealed to departmental heads, especially those looking after the public purse, to be cautious especially of leaders coming after public funds.
"This group is in a rush and will start rolling out cheques to prepare illegally and to fund their elections and that is why they took parliament by storm," Abal said.