Chinese President meets Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister on bilateral ties

Caption: Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Thomas Somare during their meeting in Beijing, capital of China, April 14, 2009. (Xinhua/Huang Jinwen)

 

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday met with Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Michael Thomas Somare, Xinhua reports.

In their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing, Hu said bilateral relations have made significant progress since both countries forged diplomatic ties in 1976, citing frequent high-level visits, deep political trust and fruitful cooperation in all fields.

Hu appreciated Papua New Guinea's unswerving adherence to the one-China policy and support on China's peaceful reunification.

Hu said Papua New Guinea was an important Pacific island country and played a crucial role in regional affairs.

Hu said his country regarded Papua New Guinea as a good friend and partner in pacific islands.

 On the economic front, Hu said both countries were complementary and had a broad prospect for cooperation. He proposed both countries step up mutually-beneficial cooperation in key areas such as trade, agriculture, forestry, fishery, transportation, resources and energy.

 Hu said the Chinese government encouraged and supported Chinese businesses to invest and operate in Papua New Guinea.

Somare, who was here for an official visit, said Papua New Guinea cherished its relations with China, which was a sincere and reliable partner.

 Somare said his country respected China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and adhered to the one-China policy.

He thanked China for offering generous assistance to his country for many years.

 He said his country would like to work more closely with China on trade, energy, resources and construction.

 Somare is to visit south China's Hainan Province for the 2009 meeting of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BFA) from April 17 to 19.

 

 

 

Death of the Macdhui

A small, but significant, anniversary took place on Monday June 18, 2007.

That was the 65th anniversary of the sinking of the motor vessel Macdhui, sunk in the Port Moresby harbour by Japanese bombs (pictured above in 1942 painting by Richard Ashton) in June 1942.

One of the best-known landmarks in Port Moresby is the wreck of the Macdhui in the waters just off the Port Moresby Technical College at Kanudi.

Many people just drive or walk past without knowing the significant role that the Macdhui played in the development of Papua New Guinea.

Recently, I was asked to be a tour guide for a retired US veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, and one of the World War 11 relics I showed him was the wreck of the Macdhui.

As we stood at Kanudi looking out to sea, I wondered what stories the deep blue sea, the rolling hills, and the wide sky could tell me about what they saw that fateful day in 1942.

It was then that I realised that June 18, 2007, would be the 65th anniversary of the sinking of the Macdhui and decided to put pen to paper.

The Macdhui, 4630 tonnes, built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1930, was owned and operated on the Australia-Papua New Guinea service by Burns Philp and Company Limited.

Macdhui’s maiden voyage took place in March 1931, sailing to Suva, Fiji, via the Azores, Jamaica, and the Panama Canal, with a load of coal.

Then the Sydney to Rabaul route for Burns Philip with 167 first-class passengers’ accomodation.

On June 20, 1931, a fire broke out on another voyage between Madang and Lae, but the passengers were safely taken ashore in lifeboats.

MacDhui was safely towed to Salamaua, New Guinea's then administrative capital, by Neptuna, another Burns Philp & Co vessel.

After patching at Salamaua, MacDhui was sailed to Sydney for six weeks of repairs.

With the onset of war the ship was commandeered by the Navy and used to evacuate civilians from New Guinea, then carrying Australian troops back to Port Moresby.

On June 17, 1942, the Macdhui was attacked by Japanese bombers as it was discharging to lighters in Port Moresby harbour.

It began zigzagging around the harbour but took one direct hit which caused considerable damage.

The vessel later went alongside the main wharf to unload dead and wounded.

The next day, at 10.45am, there was another air-raid warning and the Macdhui moved out into the harbour and began manoeuvring.

Soon after the raid began, it took a direct hit.

The captain headed towards shallow water where his ship finally keeled over onto a reef.

Ten of the crew of 77 were killed along with five Australian gunners from 39 Battalion.

Altogether, the Macdhui took four direct hits.

The dramatic sinking was captured on a black and white movie film shot by the famous Australian cameraman, Damien Parer from a nearby hilltop.

The loss of the Macdhui was a great blow to the morale of the Australian troops in Port Moresby. Until then it had been the only regular and reliable link between Australia and Port Moresby.

After the war, the Australian government compensated Burns Philp for its loss.

The wreck itself is now deeply pitted and corroded under the waterline.

It is gradually breaking up but even if it does slip completely under the surface part of the Macdhui will remain in Port Moresby.

In the late 1960’s the mast was removed and now stands outside the Royal Papua Yacht Club as a memorial to those who died.

One of the bells was erected in the tower of St John’s Anglican Church in Port Moresby and to this day still calls parishioners to worship.

Former vice-commodore of the Royal Papua Yacht Club, Trevor Kerr, tells of a supernatural experience in 1979 when the ashes of the late Captain J. Campbell, skipper of the Macdhui, were laid to rest with his ship.

The powered launch Tina, owned and skippered by yacht club committee member Russ Behan, approached the wreck with Captain Campbell’s two sons, a United Church minister, and Kerr on board.

“The weather in the harbour was unusually placid, not a zephyr stirred,” writes former Port Moresby diver Neil Whiting in Wreck and Reefs of Port Moresby.

“The sea was so clear that the superstructure of the Macdhui could be seen below the surface of the water.

“There was not a ripple on the surface or current drift to break the calm.

“With heads bowed in prayer, the United Church minister upturned the urn containing Captain Campbell’s ashes and scattered the contents into the sea.

“Trevor, observing the ceremony in a more detached fashion than the others, observed the most amazing sequence of events.

“The ashes initially clouded the water as one would expect, but almost immediately condensed into a form similar to a teardrop.

“Then, the most amazing phenomenon occurred.

“The teardrop cloud quite rapidly crossed the six-metre intervening gap between the Tina and the Macdhui and disappeared into the hull.

“At a nudge from Trevor, Russ glanced up and also observed the incredible event.

“The engines of the launch were quickly started and in a state of chilled awe, the funeral party motored away.

“Captain Campbell had returned to his ship.”

Role of vegetables in nutrition and poverty alleviation in Papua New Guinea

By SENIORL ANZU

The contribution of vegetables to human nutrition and poverty alleviation in developing countries will be the focus of a seminar that will be presented at Bubia near Lae on Friday April 17.
Director-General of the World Vegetable Centre, Dr Dyno Keatinge (pictured), who is on an official visit to PNG, will deliver the seminar talk at National Agriculture Research Institute’s multi-purpose Hall at the Bubia head office.
The talk is titled ‘Battling Against Malnutrition and Poverty in the Developing World’, with focus on the contribution of vegetables to human nutrition and poverty alleviation.
The Taiwan-based World Vegetable Centre, also known as the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC), is the leading international centre for vegetable research and development worldwide.
 It is a not-for-profit research institute with the focus on alleviation of poverty and malnutrition in developing countries through the improved production and consumption of safe vegetables.
The Bubia seminar will be a highlight of Dr Keatinge’s five-day visit to PNG.
He arrived at the invitation of NARI as part of its effort to strengthen research and development on vegetables in PNG.                                                                                                                         Om Thursday April 16 Dr Keatinge will pay a courtesy call to the office of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock in Port Moresby and then visit NARI’s Dry Lowlands Programme at Laloki outside Port Moresby before travelling to Lae in the afternoon.
On Saturday April 18, he will travel the Highlands Highway to Kainantu and the NARI Highlands Programme at Aiyura to familiarise with the highlands vegetable farming systems.
The seminar will start at 10.30am followed by discussions and a press conference. Interested individuals or organisations should confirm their attendance by fax  (675) 475 1459 or email seniorl.anzu@nari.org.pg by Thursday April 16 at the latest.
Major stakeholders in vegetable and agricultural food production have been invited to the seminar.
 It is anticipated that NARI and other stakeholders would explore the possibility of developing partnership programmes between AVRDC and NARI and PNG organisations on vegetable research and development. 

National Agriculture Research Institute supplies animals for Wewak farms

By KU KOBILA

 

The National Agricultural Research Institute recently supplied breeding stock of goats, ducks and rabbits to the Wewak-based Foundation of Women in Agriculture Development.

The shipment consisted of six goats (five does and one buck), 14 ducks (12 females and two drakes) and nine rabbits (five females and four males).

The animals will constitute the foundation breeding stock for women groups in Maprik to promote smallholder livestock development in the area.

This will be followed by training by NARI livestock experts in the coming months.

Offspring from these animals will be distributed to other members to expand livestock raising in the area.

Chairperson of FOWIAD Monica Otto organised the procurement and shipment of animals from the Labu livestock research station as a follow-up activity from a meeting of the Momase regional research and development advisory committee with NARI researchers.

These animals will support production of quality animal products (meat, milk, egg, skin), income generation and manure to fertilise gardens.

The animals are known to thrive and perform well under PNG village conditions with minimal external inputs.

However, they need proper feeding, clean and hygienic housing and adequate water supply.

NARI will follow up progress on this project and provide training to livestock keepers.

Organic farming aims to get recognised in Papua New Guinea

Captions: 1. Travellers enjoying fresh coconuts from the Markham Valley. 2. Mothers selling organically-grown taro and pitpit at Rabaul market.

By JOSEPHINE YAGA      

The PNG organic agriculture sector is relatively new, unorganised and underdeveloped to meet certain requirements of international and domestic organic markets.
Unless PNG takes organic farming seriously, the country will continue to miss out on the opportunity to market organically-grown products when its agricultural production systems are primarily organic by default.
Regional organic task force member John Yogiyo highlighted this during a meeting on organic farming strategic plan, which was held at the Alan Quartermain Multi-purpose Hall at Bubia outside Lae recently.
The objective of the meeting was to pave way for the establishment of a PNG organic farming association and the certification process.
The meeting, facilitated by NARI, attracted representatives from the regional organic task force, New Guinea Fruit Company, Fresh Produce Development Agency, Mainland Holdings coffee division, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Agriculture Department of the PNG University of Technology, Aiyura National High School and farmers.
“Although PNG has several industry organisations involved in the development of the organic sector, a formal organic entity with acceptable certification standards and processes needed to be in place”, Mr Yogiyo said.
He added that PNG as the biggest island nation had more resources than other neighbouring pacific island countries - where many individuals, co-operatives, farms and other groups would benefit from a local organic certification establishment.
He said the development of the organic agriculture sector provided PNG with opportunities to address problems in food security, unemployment and environment degradation.  
NARI principal economist Dr Keshav Kshirsagar outlined the advantages of organic farming and provided the overview of global trends in term of organic farming, organic wild collection, certification processes, marketing of organic products and per capita consumption of organic products in various developed countries.
Mainland Holdings Coffee Division Manager Allyosha Reilly commented that most PNG farmers farm organically but the biggest stumbling block is the certification process as it is very long and awkward where it required three years of screening and verification process before the final certificate is awarded.
He said his organisation approached NAASA (an Australian certifying body) about certification but the process was bulky with some of the criteria not applicable to PNG.
Mr Yogiyo said the essence of the meeting was to come up with a PNG organic task force that would look at constrains and opportunities faced by farmers and stakeholders and to find alternate solutions that would prepare this country to be certified as a recognised organic producer.
 He added that PNG was organic by default and urged that it was important the certificated process was organised after the meeting.
NARI director research Dr Sergie Bang provided a copy of a working document by FAO on organic farming initiatives in the Pacific region that had some missing data on organic production for PNG.
“I encourage you participants to provide the needed information if they are available with your respective organisations”, he said.
Commodity boards are also required to provide necessary information.
Dr Bang said although the Secretariat of the Pacific Community had provided K3, 500 to plan the development of organic farming, certification and marketing in PNG, more funding would be needed.
NARI will drive the process forward but will need support from the task force team, the private sector and others.
He recommended an immediate meeting in future to develop an action plan.
The meeting ended with the formation of an organic task force team whose main task will be to develop a strategic plan for the production, certification and marketing of organic produce from PNG.
 

University of Vudal signs agreement with Chinese university

Caption: University of Vudal Vice Chancellor Professor Philip Siaguru (left) and SCAU Vice President Professor Liao Ming seal the agreement with a handshake.

 

By LYTHIA SUITAWA

 

STAFF and students of the University of Vudal will benefit greatly from research and science technology expertise of the South China Agricultural University.

This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two higher education institutions on last month in China’s third largest city, Guangzhou.

The signing marked a historical moment for Vudal and paves the way for staff and student academic exchanges as well as collaborative research.

UoV Vice Chancellor Professor Philip Siaguru and SCAU Vice President Professor Liao Ming, who signed the agreement, both see the partnership as one of mutual benefit.

Professor Siaguru said as a young university, University of Vudal had much to learn from SCAU, which is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year.

“We are committed to making this MoU work because there is so much in terms of research and farming technologies that we can learn from SCAU,” he said.

“The simplicity and appropriateness of the technology used will suit our small rural communities and farmers greatly.”

Professor Liao said he believed the cooperation would develop into more than just collaboration between two educational institutions.

“This agreement also strengthens the ties between our two countries,” he said.

He added he looked forward to having staff and students of the University of Vudal visit SCAU in the near future.

The MoU is valid for five years.

Opposition points out bad maths in 2008 budget outcome

THE Opposition yesterday blasted the Government over its handling of last year’s budget resulting in an estimated K470 million deficit, The National reports.

Deputy Opposition leader Bart Philemon (Lae MP) said the Government did not get its sums right.

“They initially planned an expenditure of K6, 999.2 million.

“They revised this upwards by K790.7 million (to K7, 789.9 million) but ended up spending K7, 551.9 million,” Mr Philemon said.

“Effectively, they overspent by K552.7 million although they tried hiding this through the revised expenditure and net lending which showed they under-spent by K238 million.”

He told reporters at Parliament House yesterday that this was a classic case of “the sins of a Government catching up with it”.

“Without revising the budget, they were on target for a runaway budget deficit of K680.9 million,” Mr Philemon said.

“Their attempts to correct this in the revised budget, aiming for a budget deficit of K9.5 million from the K202.4 million surplus, did not work.

“They ended up with a final budget outcome of K478.5 million budget deficit,” he added.

“That should be reason enough for Treasurer and Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch to resign.

“His inability to stick close to his own budget is a stinging indictment against the Government’s ability to manage the economy – particularly the finances – of PNG.”

The Opposition also alleged that Cabinet was “blackmailed” by Government backbenchers to allocate K534 million for

the district services improvement programme (DSIP) or they would not support

last year’s budget.

“What this means is that the Government did not honour its promises and obligations as this K534 million was part of the K6 million that was to make up each Open MP’s much publicised K10 million DSIP funding.

“The signal we got is that the Government was not communicating, consulting and managing its coalition partners and backbenchers, making the taxpayers pay for their knee-jerk reactions to make last-minute adjustments,” he said.

Mr Philemon said all the fiscal discipline he worked hard (as then treasurer and finance minister from 2002-05) seemed to have disintegrated into thin air.

He also expressed concern over the likely outcome of this year’s budget next year.

He said this was evident in the recurrent budget where, despite an upward revision by K2.9 million (from K3, 636.4 million in actual budget), the final budget outcome expenditure was an additional K127.4 million.

“Effectively, the Government spent K130.3 million when you compare the actual recurrent budget and the final recurrent budget expenditure outcome of K3, 766.7 million,” Mr Philemon said.

 

Prime Minister visiting China

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare is on an official visit to China, The National reports.
Officials decided it would be a low key affair, choosing to release a short statement on the visit hours before Sir Michael boarded the plane for Hong Kong on Monday.
The Prime Minister, who had just returned from an official visit to the Philippines, is visiting China at the invitation of president Hu Jintao.
While in Beijing, Sir Michael will witness the signing of several agreements between officials of both countries.
Sir Michael was scheduled to meet with Hu yesterday.
Today, he will hold bilateral discussions with premier Wen Jiabao.
He is also expected to meet with officials of Chinese companies with interests in PNG, including CNMB, the parent company of BNBM, and MCC, developers of the Ramu nickel mine.
Sir Michael returns to the country next Tuesday.
He is then expected to visit Australia at the end of the month.
However, authorities have not confirmed arrangements for the Australian trip.

Signs of the times?

The sad state of the once-pride of Western Highlands people - Kapal Haus, the provincial government building in Mount Hagen – which was burned to the ground last year.

In front is the famous Mt Hagen Bowling Club

Papua New Guinea vegetable farmers go hi-tech

Rural vegetable farmers in the country will soon benefit from a mobile market information service.

This means that they will be able to access fresh produce marketing information through their mobile phones.

The Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) in partnership with the fastest-growing mobile company in Papua New Guinea, Digicel, has signed a grant agreement with the Agricultural Research & Development Support Facility (ARDSF), who will implement the K500, 000 project.

The FPDA is a government-funded agency responsible for promoting a commercially-viable and sustainable horticulture industry in industry in PNG.

The objective of this project is to disseminate fresh produce market information to stakeholders, especially growers and buyers, through a mobile phone system which will run for exactly two years.

The project is an innovative project whereby the use of the scrolling function on mobile phones will be used to provide real time market information to growers, retailers, wholesalers, and other relevant stakeholders in the fresh produce industry.

The initial idea of the project is that Digicel as the project partner will be used to disseminate the market information to stakeholders, especially growers.

Those growers calling in to the service will then be surveyed electronically to determine the value of the service and to establish how it might be improved.

To begin with, a maximum of 12 products will be listed for Lae and Port Moresby markets.

 In the first three months, the project will start with only 12 products, which will slowly increase in stages until 60 products are listed.

Official market data will be collected by designated FPDA staff.

This data will be sent to Digicel by a certain fixed time in order to be made publicly available through the mobile network for access by stakeholders and the general public at another fixed time every week.

The information will be updated on a weekly basis and weekly market data will be collected from these following centres: Goroka, Mt Hagen, Lae, Kokopo, Port Moresby, Madang, Wewak, Popondetta and Alotau.

Overall, this project aims to benefit all operators in the fresh produce supply chain from growers through to transport operators to wholesalers and buyers.

This would be achieved by the increased flow of produce, and the reduced post-harvest losses to all operators involved in the supply chain.

Another envisaged economic gain of the project is the increase in income for community businesses due to higher grower incomes, and the improved health and nutrition of households at the receiving end of the supply marketing system.

 Growers should also be able to have increased knowledge of marketing their produce.

To embark on the program relevant instruments were signed by former FPDA general manager Ambassador Aiwa Olmi and former interim country director for ARDSF Dr Robin Erskine Smith.

The occasion was witnessed by ARDSF project officer for Highlands Region Bernard Pilon, ISP managers and as well as FPDA senior managers.

 FPDA and Digicel have both praised ARDSF in funding the project saying it will go a long way in assisting rural fruit and vegetable farmers.

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Prime Minister lectures Opposition on real growth factors: The country's economic growth is better off today than it was at Independence

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare reckons Papua New Guinea is in much better shape than it was it independence in 1975. Methinks it would be best to let the long-suffering people of Papua New Guinea themselves comment on that. Perhaps the PM can explain the poverty-stricken people living off garbage at the Baruni Dump in Port Moresby…”many have eyes that do not see”…you be the judge and make your comments below.

 

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday hit back at the Opposition for continuously criticising the Government using unrealistic social indicators over lack of development, The National reports.

“The Opposition uses the current methods of quantifying poverty in our country that was neither here nor there.

“Often our villages were equated to our urban settlements which do great injustice to us as a developing economy,” Sir Michael said.

“Poverty might exist in our urban areas but our rural people, who make up the majority of our population and might lack material wealth, were certainly not starving.”

He said with today’s democracy, it was difficult for any government to change cultures in bureaucracy overnight.

“It is an ongoing process and this Government would continue to address it.

“At Independence, I had a budget of about K250 million; today Southern Highlands province alone has a budget of around K300 million; our annual budget today is around K8 billion compared to the deficit in 2001 and 2002 when we took office,” Sir Michael added.

He said the Government was mindful of the world recession and would also support the growth that was taking place in the economy.

“It is important that we acknowledge the progress that we have made in the last few years and be grateful for our fortunate situation today.”

He said while many economies were suffering, PNG continued to see developments taking place in all its major towns.

“When I brought this country to Independence, there were very few locals running businesses.

“In all our major towns, our colonial administrators lived in areas such as Touaguba Hill, Wewak Hill, Namanula Hill, Rabaul and Top Town in Lae.

“Papua New Guineans 40 years ago lived in settlements and compounds in our major towns.

“Today, wealthy and middle-class Papua New Guineans had moved into all these areas,” Sir Michael said.

 

Prime Minister: Papua New Guinea is rich enough

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, despite a public outcry against the Papua New Guinea government wanting to buy a sleek new executive jet, is insistent that the country is “rich enough”. This is despite the fact that Papua New Guinea is lagging behind in education and health services, infrastructure, law and order, basically everything.

 

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare said yesterday the people of PNG will not be poorer by the decision to buy an executive jet worth millions of kina, The National reports.

The Prime Minister said in a statement the Government had allocated K40 million to Air Niugini to buy an executive jet “to cater for the growing needs in the mineral sector”.

Air Niugini would be responsible for the management and maintenance of the aircraft on a commercial basis and the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers would also have access to it, Sir Michael said.

“Our economy has grown considerably and our budget has significantly increased since the deficit years prior to 2003.

“We are, therefore, not taking money out of any of our service sectors to give to Air Niugini to buy this aircraft.”

He said the Government was rich enough to afford such a luxury, and accused his critics of spreading misinformation.

“As a Government, we have actually increased allocations to all our sectors since 2003.

“It is misleading and irresponsible to tout opinions not based on facts that we are depriving any Papua New Guinean of any essential service through the purchase of this aircraft.

“With the increase in allocation to all sectors, we should be seeing better Government services. Obviously, implementation of these allocations continued to be an issue that we are addressing.

“We are today where we have never been before and we must be strategic.

“We are no longer the impoverished country that outsiders and some of our own elites are so keen in calling us.

“Our future is bright and we, as elected representatives, are here to make the hard decisions that might not be appreciated immediately but would later be deemed timely and appropriate.”

Over the weekend, Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri told The National that the airline was buying a Falcon 900 triple engine executive jet.

He said the plane was not ultra-long range and could fly to most F100 airports in the country.

Mr Kumarasiri said it was part of Air Niugini’s plan to move into commercial executive charter.

The plane is described in a number of websites as an advance comfort jet fit for the rich and powerful.

One site said: “The Falcon 900 is one of the most technologically advanced large business jets available.

“Its design incorporates the latest improvements in aerodynamics and flight systems, which results in beautiful flight characteristics, gentle landings and cruise speeds of over 550mph.”

 

Grave robbers wreak havoc in Lae (and Papua New Guinea) cemeteries

These unscrupulous people will stop at nothing for a quick buck…even the dead

 

There are some things in life that are so hard to comprehend.

These things make you wonder why some people have the audacity to carry out such acts, which include desecrating the memory of loved ones that families and relatives have laid to rest.

These people can stoop as low as stealing brass plaques from graveyards to sell to unscrupulous scrap metal dealers for a fast buck.

In my home town of Lae, this practice has been going on ever since these dealers - who prey on Papua New Guinea's massive unemployment problem - set foot.

Today, a visit to cemeteries in Lae, will show you many headstones on graves that are missing brass plaques.

A case in point is the old graveyard up the road from the famous old Lae airport.

This graveyard is the final resting place for many of the pioneers of Lae and Morobe province, mainly expatriates, and was a relic of a bygone era where visitors could learn so much just by reading the plaques and headstones.

Rest In Peace - RIP - those buried here are supposed to be.

However, this has not been the case over the last 10 years or so, as grave robbers without a care in the world have plundered basically all the brass plaques.

In my younger days, as a journalist in Lae, one of my hobbies used to be wandering old graveyards and reading the plaques and headstones as I could learn so much history. Sadly, I can no longer do this, as many of the plaques are gone.

And the irony is that people are not making any noise about this daylight robbery going on in front of their own faces.

The grave robbers are desecrating graveyards at the old Lae airport, Second Seven (Malahang), and even my Butibam village, to name a few.

Heaven knows what would happen to the Lae War Cemetery if there wasn't tight security around to prevent these intruders.

We never thought that this practice would come to Butibam until a few years ago when plaques started disappearing overnight.

In May 2006, while on a working trip to Lae, I visited my father's grave at Butibam (pictured above) and took pictures.

A short time later, I was surprised to receive a call from my mother, who was in tears as she told me that Dad's plaque had disappeared to these unprincipled grave leeches.

The entire family, just like me, was shocked as we wondered what exactly Dad or we had done to deserve this.

The plaque, to this day, has not been replaced as I somehow have to find the exact wording for a replacement.

My father, the late Mathias Nalu, died on September 17, 1993, after more than 35 years of service with the Education Department as a teacher and later a school inspector.

He had just retired and received his final entitlements, however, never got to enjoy the fruits of his labour as he suffered a severe stroke from which he never recovered until his untimely passing.

Dad was one of those old Dregerhafen and Finschhafen boys who was always proud to call Michael Somare, Paulias Matane, the late Alkan Tololo, and many more, "old school mates".

Dad's school mates went on to become great leaders of this country while he chose to take the backseat as a humble teacher and school inspector.

Hundreds of teachers and public servants packed the St Andrew's Lutheran Church at Ampo in Lae for his funeral service.

The Nalu family was humbled by this show of respect from so many people from all over Lae, Morobe province, and PNG.

I realise that times are hard, but to steal brass plaques from graves to sell to some dodgy scrap metal dealer for a quick buck is unforgivable.

The government should put in place tough legislation to combat those who steal plaques from graves and those who buy them.

These offenders, as part of their rehabilitation, could be sent to Salamaua where the villagers there will teach them how to look after and respect old graveyards.

The old Salamaua cemetery is a relic of a bygone era of the 1920s and 1930s when fevered gold miners from all over the world converged on this idyllic part of the world.

To visit the old Salamaua cemetery is to step back in time, to a rip-roaring period when gold fever struck men from around the globe.

Today the old Salamaua cemetery, or what remains of it, is well tended to by the local villagers.

The graves are mute testimony to the days when European man, running a high gold fever, was claimed by a fever of a different kind.

I have a very simple message for those who removed my father's plaque and those who bought it.

"May God forgive you.

"I find it very hard to do so."

 

Chinese, Papua New Guinean Foreign Ministers meet on ties

 BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Papua New Guinean counterpart Samuel Abal Monday agreed to promote ties between their two countries, Xinhua reports.

China has all along paid great attention to developing friendly and cooperative relations with Papua New Guinea, said Yang.

He said the China-Papua New Guinea relation has achieved remarkable progress since the establishment of bilateral ties, featuring frequent high-level exchanges and widening cooperation in such sectors as economy and trade, agriculture, culture, education and health.

The two countries have also maintained close consultation and coordination in international and regional organizations, said Yang.

The upcoming visit of Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Michael Somare is of great importance in boosting bilateral ties, said Yang, stressing China is willing to join hands with Papua New Guinea to advance bilateral relations.

Abal said Papua New Guinean government attached great importance to ties with China and agreed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy.

Papua New Guinea is ready to work with China to enhance cooperation in economy and trade, energy and resources, so as to make new progress for bilateral ties.

After the meeting, Abal presented a check worth 531,300 U.S. dollars to the Chinese government on behalf of the Papua New Guinean government to support post-quake reconstruction in southwest China's Sichuan province, and Yang expressed appreciation to the donation.

 

Shoot to kill?

Fiji's military have been given permission to shoot civilians without fear of being prosecuted.

 

Terrified Fijians say they are too frightened to speak out after the latest political upheaval, which has seen the nation's media gagged by sweeping state censorship restrictions in a crackdown on dissenting free

speech.

Armed forces chief Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama returned to power as  prime minister on Saturday, a day after the president suspended the  constitution and fired the judges who had declared the his previous  government illegal.

President Ratu Josefa Iloilo also declared a 30-day state of emergency, limiting freedom of speech, expanding police powers and curbing media.

Reports emerged yesterday of people being detained without charge in the absence of a judiciary.

Public Emergency Regulations imposed by the military regime have given military personnel permission to use arms to break up processions, meetings or assemblies.

If anyone is injured or killed, the decree grants soldiers immunity from prosecution.

Yesterday's Fiji Times had blank pages after police censors forced the paper to erase international reaction to latest developments.

Privately owned Fiji TV pulled its 6pm news bulletin yesterday, refusing to allow the military regime to censor its broadcast.

It is understood that judges sympathetic to the military regime may be reappointed today.

In a national address after his reappointment, Commodore Bainimarama told Fijians they had the opportunity to build "on a clean slate, a new beginning".

"We must all be loyal to Fiji, we must be patriotic," Commodore Bainimarama said.

"The necessary regulations are in force. I'm sure we will all including the media co-operate with the relevant agencies."

Commodore Bainimarama has been in power since he overthrew the democratically elected government of Laisenia Qarase in 2006.

Attempts are being made to bring forward a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, where Fiji's suspension from the Pacific Forum looks certain and harsher sanctions are likely to be debated.

A Fijian citizen, too afraid to be named, spoke from Suva yesterday about his fear of being arrested, beaten or killed for speaking out.

"There's no constitution, there's no law. They are the law."

Many Fijians had struggled since sanctions against the regime crippled the economy, the man said. "People cannot afford to send their children to school or put food on the table. People are just struggling to find ways and means to live. You can't fight the military because they're the ones with the guns.

"Everybody's praying and hoping that things will change soon that will  return the government back to democratic elections ... where people are  free to speak [and] you're not always looking back and worried about  what will happen to you and your family."

Mr Qarase said he had to be careful to "say nothing" but feared that crime was likely to rise as poverty worsened. "The place is calm right now. Ahead, potentially, I don't know."

Government spokesman Major Neumi Leweni said no-one had been detained and there was no shoot-to-kill policy in the new regulations.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd condemned the situation in Fiji and labelled Commodore Bainimarama's administration "virtually a military dictatorship".

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully called the reinstatement of Commodore Bainimarama "a sham". "The events that surround his appointment take his country down an even darker path."

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has been operating in Fiji for months on reduced staff after Commodore Bainimarama expelled high commissioner Caroline McDonald and refused to allow the replacement of police and defence attaches.

The ministry was advising caution for Kiwis in Fiji yesterday, saying there was "some risk" to security. "Fiji is calm but a rapid deterioration to the situation, including the potential for civil disorder and violence, cannot be ruled out."

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/2330628/Armys-new-powers-terrify-residents

Closing internet access in Fiji? Whats possible?

We have been advised that tyrant FrankBainimarama   has ordered FINTEL, Vodafone, Kidanet, Connect and other Internet Service Providers in Fiji to close their internet operations.

 We are told that this advice was given to Bainimarama by his Vodafone advisor and Vodafone CEO, Aslam Khan.

Aslam is husband of Justice Nazhat Shameem, sister of Human Rights Commissioner Director, Shaista Shameem!

 The warning came from Fiji blogs and Fiji people social networks about a minute ago and it was started by Raw Fiji News, a blogspot against Bainimarama’s interim government.

So, if Fiji goes dark soon, then the advisory is correct...in the meantime, please tell everyone about what's happening...

IFJ demands Fiji regime reverse media clampdown

Tuesday, April 14: THE unprecedented clampdown on the media in Fiji at the weekend underscores the unwillingness of Fiji’s military leadership to uphold long-promised democratic reform in the Pacific island nation, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said today.

“Press freedom in Fiji is in tatters. The repressive actions taken against Fiji’s media at the weekend give the lie to promises by the military government throughout the past year that it would support press freedom and media professionalism as essential components of the country’s return to democratic rule,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.

 “But now, the draconian and reprehensible manner in which the military leadership is seeking to control information about highly significant events and issues in Fiji is comparable to the actions of other dictatorial regimes and closed societies, including Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe.”

 Following an appeals court ruling on April 9 which declared the 2006 coup led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama was illegal, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo abrogated Fiji’s 1997 Constitution, sacked the nation's judges, declared himself head of state. He reappointed Bainimarama as prime minister on April 11.

 Ministry of Information officials and the police immediately imposed sweeping censorship of the media and installed censors in newsrooms. The media was warned not to publish or broadcast "negative" reports about the President’s actions and the appointments of Bainimarama and the Cabinet.

 Under 30-day Public Emergency Regulations, journalists are now required to submit “sensitive” news reports to government officials for approval. Media organisations could be shut down if official directives are ignored.

 Newspapers and television outlets protested by refusing to broadcast news bulletins and carrying blank pages and spaces in newspapers.

A blank page in the Sunday Times simply included a line declaring, “The stories on this page could not be published due to government restrictions.”

 However, most organisations are no longer running political reports. Local media personnel are privately reporting a “climate of silence” has gripped some newsrooms.

 Veteran Pacific affairs correspondent Sean Dorney, of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and reporter Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith, of New Zealand’s TV3, were due to be deported today. Their news reports over the weekend detailed the extent of the media clampdown.

 The IFJ is extremely concerned about the impacts of denying information to people in Fiji and the well-being of media personnel who seek to do their jobs amid a climate of fear and persecution.

The IFJ joins journalists and media organisations throughout the region, including IFJ affiliates in New Zealand and Australia – the NZ Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) –  the Pacific Media Centre (PMC), Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Fiji Media Council in demanding that the Bainimarama regime immediately end all restrictions on Fiji’s news media and allow local and foreign journalists to do their jobs in the public interest.

 The crisis in Fiji follows more than a year of systematic and increasingly severe efforts by the military leadership to silence independent reporting by local and foreign media personnel and commentary by members of the public who dare to question the regime’s legitimacy.

 Anti-media actions have included deportations of publishers and editors, refusal of entry to foreign media personnel, police searches of newsrooms, contempt of court rulings, and public comments by military officers suggesting critical media must be shut down.

 Safety concerns have increased since a firebomb attack by unknown assailants on the home of the editor-in-chief of the Fiji Times, Netani Rika, on March 23. The bomb failed to ignite.

 

 For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

 The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide