Open defiance of the rule of law - a cause for concern Papua New Guinea

By PNG IGO WE NAU

 

In recent times, Papua New Guinea has experienced unprecedented level of crime with one international organisation dubbing Port Moresby as “one of the most dangerous” capitals on the Planet Earth.

Many of us in PNG will argue that that rating is over-exaggerated considering a number of determining factors including population, frequency of crime and others.

But, despite that, the fact is that in the past few years there has been an increase in highly organised crimes committed in PNG.

Concerns have been raised by people from all works of life for immediate and appropriate government action.

This includes the numerous calls for the Government to start acting and implementing the recommendation of the National Guns Summit report headed by Major General Jerry Singirok (retired).

To this date, the government is yet to implement the recommendations and the report is like a number of other government commissioned reports, collecting dust including the finding of inquiries into the former National Provident Fund (Nasfund), former PNG Investment Corporation (Pacific Equities Balance Fund) and the PNG Defence Force Commission of Inquiry.

These inquiries revealed misuse of funds, abuse of process and breach of the country’s law. Yet, Grand Chief the prime minister has seen fit not to act on them and allow the reports to collect dust.

While the government procrastinates on what to do with these reports more crimes are being committed with the use of arms including high-powered guns.

Had the government moved immediately to implementing the Singirok report, the crime situation may not have reached the current situation.

Has the government moved to act on the initiatives of   PNG professional organisations who met on July 11 and 18 2007 and recommended with a programme for the Government to adopting and dealing with the country’s state of crime and corruption?

The recommendations included:

•           Establishment of a Pacific regional peace keeping force, an idea first suggested by former prime minister and currently governor for New Ireland Sir Julius Chan;

•           Australian ECP experts to be actual operational roles right across the spectrum of the PNG public service to set standards in an attempt to week out corruption; and

•           Reforms in the Whistle Blowers Act, Freedom of Information Act, Vagrancy Act, Crimes Act for Stolen State Property, Tribal and Clan Prosecution Act; and

•           Amendments to the National Intelligence Act

Does the nation have to wait for brutal murder or senseless killing of a serving or former prime minister, minister, governor general, governor of a province or a member of parliament before something is done.

The onus is on the government. The buck stops with the Government. It is high time the current executive government to move at lightning speed to act responsibly.

The innocent majority of over six million PNG citizens deserve better than this from the current government.

Why should the defenseless and innocent majority suffer and live in constant fear? Why should our ordinary peace-loving citizens be at the mercy of the gun-trotting, trigger-happy and senseless criminals?

When will the prime minister start implement the Singirok report as well as the commission of inquiry reports?

The possible and the highly likely reason for the current open defiance of the rule of law in Papua New Guinea is because the common, ordinary and grassroots people are fed up of the so-called leaders getting away with punishable offence and crimes.

The rule of law must be observed from the highest ranking state official in Port Moresby down to the ordinary villagers in the remotest parts of PNG.

People everywhere are saying that if the so-called leaders are getting away with serious crimes why shouldn’t the small people do likewise.

As well, the nation has been anxiously been waiting to hear what the government was doing to resolved a number of controversies/scandals confronting this government including:

•           Julian Moti affair of Oct 10 2006 in which an international fugitive was spirited out of Port Moresby to Solomon Islands in a clandestine operation on a PNG Defence Force aircraft ordered by the PM as revealed by the PNG Defence Commission of Inquiry.

The Inquiry established that secret operation was ordered by the MP and made startling revelations of the PM’s direct involvement by directing Moti’s escape breaking Civil Aviation, Immigration , Security and Customs laws, breaching the Public Finance (Management) Act and the Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. The inquiry recommended for the PM’s prosecutions and all others involved.

However, despite the compelling evidence of breach of the country; laws, the Prime Minister failed to act.

Instead he has sought relieve from the National Court to prevent publication of the Inquiry report.

The current National Alliance-led government is perceived locally in PNG and abroad on the international front as Government that is not transparent, not accountable for its actions and inactions and cannot be trusted.

Simply put, it is a Government plagued, riddled and infested with controversies and scandals.

All relevant state law enforcing agencies including the Judiciary, Ombudsman Commission, Public Prosecutor, Police Force, National Intelligence Organisation, Internal Revenue Commission and others have a paramount constitutional duty to protect and act in the interest of the majority of our people.

It is imperative on the incumbents to move swiftly to perform their Constitutional duties to fully investigate and take appropriate corrective action against all who have been implicated as well as recommended for prosecution.

The Constitutional office holders are empowered by the National Constitution to without fear or favour perform their duties in the best interest of Papua New Guinea.

A number of very important public offices including the Office of the Prime Minister has been brought to disrepute and demeaned by the mere actions of certain individuals.

PNG is being terrorised by highly-organised crime and deep-rooted corruption to an all time high and has reached unprecedented levels which required urgent and resolute response all state law enforcing agencies.

Crime and corruption is systematic and institutionalised and need the fullest co-operation people in all sectors of life to rise and support the professionals and civil society to root out this cancerous crimes from our society.

 

 

 

NARI prepares to host Agricultural Innovations Show 2009

By SENIORL ANZU

 

 The National Agricultural Research Institute is preparing the annual Agricultural Innovations Show for 2009 to be staged at its Sir Alkan Tololo Research Centre at Bubia, Morobe, on May 5.

This will be the third year of this ‘information exchange and knowledge sharing’ event in which partner and collaborating organisations in agricultural and rural development will be invited to display and exhibit their innovations and improved technologies and interact with farmers and the general public.

According to the organising committee, the theme for this year’s occasion will be ‘Adapting PNG Agriculture to Climate Change’.

Chief guest will be the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology Michael Ogio.

 Other invited dignitaries are also expected for the one-day event.

All NARI research programmes throughout PNG will demonstrate and disseminate many of their new and improved research innovations, technologies and information.

Among them will be research activities and outputs on food crops, emerging food and cash crops, stallholder livestock and resource management issues.

Farmers will have the opportunity to see live plant specimens and learn from posters and other publications.

The new Alan Quartermain multi-purpose Hall at Bubia will be the main arena of the occasion and will be open free to the public.

 

InterOil Corporation celebrates New York Stock Exchange Listing

InterOil Corporation (NYSE-Listed IOC) celebrates the company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange after moving its listing from NYSE Amex, a U.S. equities market of NYSE Euronext (NYX), the NYSE reports.

In honor of the occasion, Chairman and CEO Phil Mulacek rings The Opening Bell.

 InterOil Corporation is the first Asia Pacific company to move its listing from NYSE Amex to the NYSE since NYSE Euronext’s acquisition of the former American Stock Exchange. 

InterOil Corporation joins the following roster of NYSE-listed companies from the region:  Alumina Limited (AWC); BHP Billiton Limited (BHP); James Hardie Industries N.V. (JHX); Sims Group Limited (SMS); Westpac Banking Corporation (WBK); Telecom New Zealand (NZT); P.T. Telekomunikasi Indonesia (TLK); P.T. Indosat Tbk (IIT); and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PHI).

InterOil Corporation is developing a vertically integrated energy business whose primary focus is Papua New Guinea and the surrounding region.

 InterOil’s assets consist of petroleum licenses covering about 4.6 million acres, an oil refinery, and retail and commercial distribution facilities, all located in Papua New Guinea. 

In addition, InterOil is a shareholder in a joint venture established to construct a liquid natural gas plant on a site adjacent to InterOil’s refinery in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

InterOil Corporation recently announced that its Antelope-1 well flowed at 382 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcfd) with 5,000 barrels of condensate per day (BCPD) for a total 68,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD), setting a new record rate for the country of Papua New Guinea.

The record breaking gas flow rate confirms other records recently established by the well, such as the largest vertical hydrocarbon column height in a single onshore carbonate reef structure.

The well results establish the country of Papua New Guinea as a world class natural gas resource base in close proximity to the largest and most well developed LNG market in the world. (Source: InterOil Corporation)

 

Samoa attacks on media highlight need for church and media partnerships

 The Pacific Freedom Forum is asking for partnerships with Pacific church leaders in the wake of last weeks attacks on journalists outside the courthouse in Apia.

Samoa media reported a TV crew and photographer were mobbed as they attended court last week, and managed to avoid serious injury when they escaped into the office of the CEO of Justice.

The court case involved a 62-year-old former pastor found guilty in a jury trial of attempted rape and indecent assault involving a 17-year-old woman in his former congregation.

However the presiding judge reversed the verdict on the attempted rape charge and accepted the finding on the indecent assault charge, saying he will pass sentence in August.

“The Pacific Freedom Forum condemns the attacks on media workers going about the sometimes difficult job of informing the public, and we want to stress how important it is that we learn from this and reach out to partner those who need help in understanding our role,” says PFF chair Susuve Laumaea of Papua New Guinea.

“Those who are closest to leaders whom we put on pedestals are often most likely to lash out at scapegoats when their leaders fail them, and it’s important for the public to understand their own anger and disappointment when these highly emotional trials take place,” he says.

PFF co-chair Monica Miller commended the important role of Samoa media colleagues in bringing the trial information into the public domain, within the legal constraints of a name suppression order and the cultural constraints of secrecy involving sexual misconduct amongst religious leaders.

“The fact that charges were laid gave the media an obligation to ensure coverage was fair to both the accused, and the community within which he served.”

“Ultimately, no good can ever come of a situation where the act of reporting on a crime is misunderstood and leads to more crimes being committed,” says Miller, who hails from Samoa. “It is the classic ‘shooting the messenger’ scenario which proves those with the mob mentality don’t understand the rule of law, and the role of their own journalists. The PFF is happy to make the offer to partner with relevant church agencies and build awareness in this regard.”

 

CONTACT:

 

PFF interim Chair

Susuve Laumaea | Sunday Chronicle Newspaper | Papua New Guinea

Mobile: 675-684 5168 | Office: 675-321-7040 | Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com

 

PFF interim co-Chair

Monica Miller | KHJ Radio | American Samoa

Mob    684 258-4197 | Office 684 633-7793 | Email: monica@khjradio.com

 

The Pacific Freedom Forum are a regional and global online network of Pacific media colleagues, with the specific intent of raising awareness and advocacy of the right of Pacific people to enjoy freedom of expression and be served by a free and independent media.

We believe in the critical and basic link between these freedoms, and the vision of democratic and participatory governance pledged by our leaders in their endorsement of the Pacific Plan and other commitments to good governance.

In support of the above, our key focus is monitoring threats to media freedom and bringing issues of concern to the attention of the wider regional and international community.

 

Regional bodies urged to step up on Fiji: Pacific Freedom Forum

THREATS to close down Fiji Times indicate a serious escalation in attempts by the interim regime to control all aspects of life in the republic, warn members of the Pacific Freedom Forum.

They also called on Fiji media to do a “stock take” of their ethical performance, including how frequently newsrooms refer to codes of ethics.

PFF’s immediate concern, however, was the threat to close down an entire newspaper.

“Threatening and deporting publishers and foreign journalists is one thing,” says forum chair Susuve Laumaea. “Closing down one of the main sources of information for people in Fiji is quite another.”

Laumaea says carrying out the threat would represent a “serious escalation of assault on human rights, and a precursor to much wider abuses.”

Unprofessional police and army personnel might be emboldened by closure of the country’s leading daily newspaper, to the point where likelihood of serious injury or more deaths increase, he says.

PFF co-chair Monica Miller says closing a newspaper shuts off a much needed safety valve for any society.

“With fewer newspapers journalists, Fiji people will not be able to stay as accurately informed and in touch with what is happening in their own country.

“There is a risk that ill-informed citizens might become inflamed by rumours and gossip, adding to potential for increased violence.”

She said that if the regime was concerned about destabilisation of their rule then facts from a newspaper had much less impact than word-of-mouth, often wildly inaccurate.

Both are calling on the regime and the media in Fiji to closely study the review report from the Fiji Media Council.

Says Laumaea: “Fiji media need to give themselves time out from their busy schedule to review the report, at all levels, from newsrooms to management.”

One of the world’s longest running newspapers, now 139 years old, the Fiji Times has been a leading critic since the first coup in 1987.

Miller says an ethical stock-take would be a small price to pay to avoid closure of a daily that would mean the loss of an institution from Fiji and the region as a whole.

 

CONTACT:

 

PFF interim Chair

Susuve Laumaea /Sunday Chronicle Newspaper/ Papua New Guinea

Mobile: 675-684 5168 Office: 675-321-7040 Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com

 

PFF interim co-Chair

Monica Miller/ KHJ Radio/ American Samoa

Mob 684 258-4197 Office 684 633-7793 Email: monica@khjradio.com

 

The Pacific Freedom Forum are a regional and global online network of Pacific media colleagues, with the specific intent of raising awareness and advocacy of the right of Pacific people to enjoy freedom of expression and be served by a free and independent media.

We believe in the critical and basic link between these freedoms, and the vision of democratic and participatory governance pledged by our leaders in their endorsement of the Pacific Plan and other commitments to good governance.

In support of the above, our key focus is monitoring threats to media freedom and bringing issues of concern to the attention of the wider regional and international community.

 

The Parable of the Mango Tree.

  An allegorical tale of Papua New Guinea by IONI POKA

 

Many, many years ago we got together, a group of us, and we planted a mango seed. It was a special seed brought to us from Australia. It was called the Westminster Party Mango. We were told by our Aussie friends that its fruit would be very sweet and that by its nature it would provide equal shares of ripe fruit for all of us.

For years my friends and I watered and sprayed and fertilised the growing tree, sacrificing money which we might have spent on our families or on ourselves. But we rejoiced in our anticipation of the day when our tree would bless us with the large, sweet fruit which we expected from it. The fruit which our Australian friends had promised us we would harvest. The tree grew ever so slowly, but we remained optimistic and happy.

After a number of years had passed the tree flowered. The flowers set, and small, green mangoes began to develop. We were overjoyed and sent word to our Aussie friends to let them know that all was going well.

Then, one evening when the fruit had reached a fair size we saw several groups of big flying-foxes converging on the tree. Those bilakbokises circled the tree screaming and making lunges at it, one group fighting the other for ownership of the tree. They fought and settled, screeched, clawed each other and ripped the fruit, and in their fighting and flapping they spoiled large numbers of our beautiful fruit, even though the mangos were still green and very hard and much too sour to eat.

As the mango season went on my friends and I came each evening with sticks and stones, and even an old, rusty shotgun which belonged to someone’s uncle who had been a kiap’s hausboi. All to no avail. In between their fighting and screaming at each other the bilakbokises chewed and clawed our fruit, and sad to say, even defecated upon us as we stood sadly, looking up at our fast-vanishing fruit.

And so it went on, day after day, until the few fruit which survived to ripen were all gone, eaten by the rascally bilakbokises which seemed never to be satisfied. All our hopes, all our sacrifice, all had gone for nothing, it seemed, and we were very sad.

One evening towards the end of the mango season when our tree was completely bare, we sat talking amongst ourselves, talking about what might have been, and as we talked an old friend came along and sat down with us. He was a whiteman, one of those Aussies who took citizenship in ’75 so that he could remain to live out his days with us. Our friend shook his old grey head sadly as he looked at the mess of spoiled fruit and seeds on the ground.

 “I’m sorry,” he said, “I should have warned you. My countrymen were generous to PNG in many ways, and it was kind of them to send you the Westminster mango seed.” He stared up into the ragged branches of our tree as he spoke.

“But they are a strange people, the Aussies,” he went on, “-for all that they hated being ruled by the English in the same way that later they came to rule you, they followed English customs as if they were the slaves of the King, not citizens of a free, self-ruling nation. And one of the silliest things they did was to bring the King and his Westminster party system to rule them instead of starting afresh. Yes, they brought those pesky Westminster Party flying foxes out to Australia and then in 1964 they brought them up here and let them loose in the House of Assembly, and of course they breed like rats, and now you’ve lost the wonderful harvest you were expecting to get from your mango tree. All because of those damned party-foxes which, sadly, now go with the Westminster mango-tree as an inseparable component of the deal.”

Our white friend got up and left us to ponder the problem. Soon, however, we were joined by my country-cousin from the Highlands and Aunty Rabia from the Gulf, and when they heard our story they had plenty to say.

“Oh,” they said, “- don’t you worry, you Moresby fellows, its not just you who have put your faith and your sweat into the hope that you’ll get a good mango harvest. These same big bilakbokises, they’re all over the country now! Even in real bush-places. You go to what used to be a good little outstation, running nicely, providing good simple basic services for the people, and all you’ll find today is a barren mango tree, stripped bare by those blary party foxes!” We looked at each other as Cousin-brother went on.

“ That’s all these Westminster mango trees do, you see, “ he said, “they feed those screaming foxes which do nothing but fight and eat and shit, and the poor people are left with nothing at all!”

“Oibe! Momokani!” said Aunty. “These foxes are a curse on our country. Someone ought to make meamea against whoever brought them here! It wouldn’t be hard with all the shit they leave around!” 

For months after this we continued to sit under our tree in the evenings. Even though it had not fulfilled its promise, it was a convenient, quiet place to sit and talk. Often the conversation turned to our problem and what our old dim-dim friend had told us. And then one evening he came along again, for he often walks along the waterfront to the Weigh Inn for a refreshing glass of cold water with some of the other old dim-dims who gather there.

Our old citizen-brother stopped when he saw us and sat down. And we told him how puzzled we were about the whole thing, especially his story of the party foxes and how our mango dream had been spoiled.

Our friend was quiet for a while but at length he began to speak.

“Well, “he began. “you see, the Aussies did have a good type of mango growing here, one which took root and did well. But someone told them that eating it would cause tribal conflict, so they killed it off. In fact they had two good types of mangoes which did very well together. One was called the District Advisory Council mango, and the other was the Local Government Council mango. They were good, solid, common sense trees and simple to look after, and they drew their nourishment directly from grass-roots, and they provided everyone with the kind of fruit they really needed, local fruit, that people could have some say over and some control over. And of course there were no rascally Westminster Party bilakbokises about in those days, so that wasn't a problem.”

Our friend took a long pull on his mutrus and went on.

“But the Aussies had a big thing about tribal conflict because of something that was going on in Kenya at the time, and for this reason they were scared of regional or tribal mangos. They were so paranoid that at one time some of the real bigmen worried that there was a ‘Kerema conspiracy’ ready to take over the country just because our smart Kerema brothers were to be found as District Office clerks and storemen all over the country. One old ex-Kiap called Ian Downs even wrote a novel showing how such a revolution might come about. And secondly they said that the District Advisory Council mango wasn’t democratic, although the LGC one definitely was, and the two could quite easily have been coupled together. But they had no imagination, those old Konedobu whitemen. So they abolished Legco, set up the Westminster Party system, and straight away all the bright boys wanted to be party members. Well, everyone loves a party, don’t they? And they’ve all been partying ever since, with no thought for the ordinary people.

Here our friend paused to contemplate the stupidity of his erstwhile countrymen.           

“You see, those silly buggers at Konedobu were all scared of a big boss in Canberra called Paul Hasluck. And Hasluck was a Westminster Party Mango man from ‘way back, and a tough little bugger too, and he forced all those silly men at Konedobu to go along with his decree. And  now we are paying for the weakness of the Konedobu mob for not speaking up at the time, and insisting on a direct link between the main mango trees and the grass-roots so that the people could have some say over how the national mango-crop is used. The party system the Aussies gave us was designed to work in England in the eighteenth century where all the mango trees were totally in the hands of a small group of rich people called ‘Lords’, and where the ordinary people had no land of their own and never got the smell of a mango, never mind a feed!” 

Here our friend paused to draw on his mutrus again.

“But here in PNG, “ he went on, “- the system has turned us around from where we all had a few mango trees which provided us with fruit,  to where we have a gang of Lords who eat everything before we even get near the trees! The system has had just the opposite effect in PNG – our Land of the Unexpected. Here, far from putting the resources in the hands of the people, the system has put everything in the hands of a few rich, selfish Lords and their smiling, obliging Public Servant retainers!”

“This has had exactly the opposite effect to what was intended! We can’t go back to where we were in 1964 – that’s obvious. But we need some form of democratic control so that the provinces all get their fair share of the mango crop and the Public Servants obey the will of the people and the foxes either starve or become watch-dogs instead of thieves!”

Saying this our old friend got up and left us, heading towards his favourite watering-hole. But as he turned to cross the street he seemed to think of something else to say, and he turned back towards us.

“Hey, Ive just remembered,” he said, “I heard recently about this valley up in the Highlands somewhere, a place where they still have quite a strong LGC, one which still sits every month and holds elections when they are due. And I hear they’ve decided to make it hard for party-foxes in 2012. They say that everyone’s going to vote for a representative appointed by the LGC in 2012; and he’s going to be on a fixed salary plus expenses authorised by the people, and he’s going to be forced bring his parliamentary salary and his slush fund back to the valley in total and deposit it in the LGC’s bank account before a toea is touched; and he’s going to have to obey the LGC electoral committee and report every month to the Council to tell them what he’s doing in Moresby; and he’s going to carry out the will of the people, by lobbying for the valley he comes from instead of filling his pockets by joining a gang of ‘foxes and spending all his time pamuking around and buying into illegal business-ventures. It may be just someone’s dream, but it sounds interesting, don’t you think?”

Our friend headed off towards his watering-hole, and we sat, still and thoughtful under our barren mango-tree. We remained quiet for a very long time.

 

60 pros for SP Export golf

MORE than 60 professional golfers have registered to compete in this year’s South Pacific Export Golf Open from April 30 to May 3 at the Port Moresby Golf Club in Port Moresby.

Tournament director Bernie Morrisey said the increase in numbers clearly showed the popularity of this event amongst the professional ranks, and was largely due to the sponsorship of major sponsor SP Brewery.

The major sponsor has backed the event with a total commitment of K185, 000 for the second year and is also supported by a range of corporate sponsors.

“We are expecting over 190 golfers in total, including the defending champion Joshua Carmichael and last year’s runner-up Chris Taylor,” Morrisey said.

Past winners Troy Kennedy and Chris Downes will also be participating with a host of the region’s top seeded players including Brad Burns, Eddie Barr from Queensland, Heath Reed from Victoria and Richard Gallichan from New South Wales,” Morrisey added.

For only the second time in 15 years, the event will also field two Fijian players, Makesh Chand and Krishna Singh, in the biggest event of the PNG golf calendar.

Morrisey is also appealing to Port Moresby-based golfers and corporate friends of the PNG Golf Association and Port Moresby Golf Club to contact the organising committee through the Port Moresby Golf Club if they are willing to accommodate some of the professional players.

Interested golfers can contact the Port Moresby Golf Club on ph (675) 3255367 to obtain a nomination form and also confirm their eligibility to participate in the event.

Nomination forms have been sent out to all PNG golf clubs.