“What is Papua New Guinea coming to when thieves rob those who try to help the most helpless?” HOPEworldwide(PNG) Country Director, Tessa Te Mata asked angrily yesterday when surveying the wreckage at their 3-Mile office in Port Moresby.
Thieves broke in on Sunday and stole medical equipment, computers and staff belongings and trashed the office.
This is the third security incident in less than a week for HOPEww(PNG).
Last week, two of HOPE’s staff at the 9-Mile clinic were attacked by a member of the public.
Patients fled in terror and staff were traumatised by the incident.
Nine-Mile is one of the busiest clinics in Port Moresby.
HOPE also operates a HIV/AIDs outreach and counselling clinic (the “Helvim Bilong Yumi Project”) at the Lawes Road clinic.
Operations were temporarily suspended last week after the husband of one of the main clinic’s staff was car jacked in the car park.
“HOPEworldwide(PNG) is not a rich organisation” said Ms Te Mata.
“We survive on donations and grants from overseas and here in PNG.
"We barely have enough each month to pay our staff.
"Yet every year our staff have to endure robberies and attacks, sometimes at gun point.
"Every year thousands of people depend on HOPEworldwide(PNG) for medical treatment and awareness about HIV/AIDs, diabetes and TB; we sponsor hundreds of children who would not go to school otherwise; we help dozens of farmers earn a living; and we have put millions of library books into schools across the nation. Stealing from us is stealing hope and help from people like this.”
Ms Te Mata called on the public to remember the work of faith based organisations, NGOs and volunteers who work tirelessly for little or no pay.
“There is poverty and hardship in PNG.
"But instead of robbing each other we need to help each other.
"NGOs are here to help communities.
"But communities need to help us too - do not shelter the heartless cowards who did this and do not buy cheap medical equipment or computers off the street because that encourages them to keep stealing.
"One day it might be your child or your mother we can’t help because of break-ins like this.”
HOPE worldwide (PNG) is a Christian non-government organisation founded in 1994. Our mission is to bring hope and change lives by providing medical, educational, and social services to underprivileged Papua New Guineans.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Prime minister justifies his 1994-97 returns
By JULIA DAIA BORE and JACOB POK
PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday said he has never had any other salary than his parliamentary salary ever since he entered parliament in 1968, The National reports.
He told the leadership tribunal investigating him that each year he had compiled his annual returns himself and denied failing to submit his annual returns of 1994 and 1995 to the Ombudsman Commission as claimed by the Ombudsman Commission.
Sir Michael maintained that he submitted all his returns from 1994 to 1997.
“I have always filled my annual statements every year all by myself. I know for a fact that I have fulfilled my obligations to fill my annual returns and submitted them to the Ombudsman Commission,” he said when cross-examined by the prosecuting lawyer, Pondros Kaluwin.
Sir Michael also maintained that he never received any income from his only business, a plantation he owned in Wewak.
“I have been living on a parliamentary salary from 1968 up until today; I do not have any other extra salary for any other businesses except for transport and travel allowances which are parliamentary benefits.”
He maintained all throughout the cross-examination that he had submitted all his returns.
However, Sir Michael said he fell behind in submitting his returns when he moved offices from being prime minister to being in the opposition and then having to move from
The tribunal heard this was when he engaged family friend and accountant Glenn Blake to assist him with his overdue 1997-98 and 1998-99 annual returns.
The request was made in 2000, he added.
“If you indeed submitted the 1994 to 1997 statements of returns, then they would then be in the Ombudsman Commission’s file, is that right?” was Kaluwin’s final question to the PM, who said: “Yes, that is correct.”
Blake, who took the witness stand soon after, said he had filled out the OC’s required annual returns forms following the way previous forms had been filled up.
Asked if that was the first time he had filled these forms, he said “yes”.
Asked why he had not stated “nil” or “not applicable” where there was no required information, leaving blanks on the forms, Blake said he did not think that was required of him.
He added that when he left them blank, he had thought that they meant that there was no information for him to fill out on that space.
These included the parliamentary salary figures of the prime minister which, Blake insisted, he had great difficulties obtaining despite numerous attempts.
The tribunal continues today.
Prime minister defeats suspension
By JULIA DAIA BORE and JACOB POK
SIR Michael Somare remains the prime minister of PNG for the duration of the leadership tribunal hearing alleged misconduct in office charges against him., The National reports.
This was the decision of the tribunal yesterday morning whose members conferred and agreed that the prime minister remains in office pending the final outcome of the tribunal, which seemed likely to conclude before the end of this week.
The two tribunal members who agreed on this decision were chairman Roger Gyles and Sir Bruce Robertson while Sir Robin Auld “reserved” his decision.
The decision was announced to a packed courtroom one at 11am yesterday following a 35-minute adjournment to reach that verdict on the issue of the PM’s suspension.
This became another first in the history of leadership tribunals in Papua New Guinea.
No other leader, covered under the leadership code, had come this far and remained in office while a leadership tribunal had proceeded with investigating allegations of misconduct in office against the incumbent.
All leaders have been suspended by automatic operation of the law upon the chief justice naming a tribunal but, in this specific instance because of some legal doubts raised over the standing of the prime minister, the chief justice, when naming the tribunal, had said the matter of suspension or not would be left to the tribunal to decide.
This – it did yesterday – creating a precedent and history.
Meanwhile, the prime minister, his accountant Glenn Blake who assisted him in filling out his annual returns forms and Chief Ombudsman Chronox Manek took the witness stand later in the morning and in the afternoon and gave their accounts to support their arguments before the tribunal.
Manek was in support of the referral of the prime minister while Sir Michael stood in his own defence, supported by Blake.
Prosecuting lawyer Pondros Kaluwin had, at the start of the tribunal last Thursday, called on the tribunal to immediately suspend the prime minister pending the duration of the tribunal hearing, arguing that the tribunal had the discretion to do so under section 142(6) of the constitution.
The tribunal agreed with the parties to deal with the matter on
Monday, which was yesterday.
Yesterday, while the tribunal agreed with the discretion aspect of their role and commended Kaluwin for acknowledging this, adjourned at 10.22am for 35 minutes and returned at 11am to rule that “there will be no order of suspension” on the prime minister which, effectively, meant that Sir Michael will remain the prime minister throughout the tribunal.
He will perform all functions and powers of the prime minister.
The final outcome of the tribunal would, ultimately, determine the fate of Sir Michael.
 |
| Legal eagles of the prime minister’s defence team Justine Wohuinangu (left), Ian Molloy and Kerenga Kua leaving the Waigani National and Supreme Court premises after they successfully convinced yesterday’s leadership tribunal that Sir Michael Somare should remain in office as prime minister for the duration of the inquiry. – Nationalpic by AURI EVA |
This was the decision of the tribunal yesterday morning whose members conferred and agreed that the prime minister remains in office pending the final outcome of the tribunal, which seemed likely to conclude before the end of this week.
The two tribunal members who agreed on this decision were chairman Roger Gyles and Sir Bruce Robertson while Sir Robin Auld “reserved” his decision.
The decision was announced to a packed courtroom one at 11am yesterday following a 35-minute adjournment to reach that verdict on the issue of the PM’s suspension.
This became another first in the history of leadership tribunals in Papua New Guinea.
No other leader, covered under the leadership code, had come this far and remained in office while a leadership tribunal had proceeded with investigating allegations of misconduct in office against the incumbent.
All leaders have been suspended by automatic operation of the law upon the chief justice naming a tribunal but, in this specific instance because of some legal doubts raised over the standing of the prime minister, the chief justice, when naming the tribunal, had said the matter of suspension or not would be left to the tribunal to decide.
This – it did yesterday – creating a precedent and history.
Meanwhile, the prime minister, his accountant Glenn Blake who assisted him in filling out his annual returns forms and Chief Ombudsman Chronox Manek took the witness stand later in the morning and in the afternoon and gave their accounts to support their arguments before the tribunal.
Manek was in support of the referral of the prime minister while Sir Michael stood in his own defence, supported by Blake.
Prosecuting lawyer Pondros Kaluwin had, at the start of the tribunal last Thursday, called on the tribunal to immediately suspend the prime minister pending the duration of the tribunal hearing, arguing that the tribunal had the discretion to do so under section 142(6) of the constitution.
The tribunal agreed with the parties to deal with the matter on
Monday, which was yesterday.
Yesterday, while the tribunal agreed with the discretion aspect of their role and commended Kaluwin for acknowledging this, adjourned at 10.22am for 35 minutes and returned at 11am to rule that “there will be no order of suspension” on the prime minister which, effectively, meant that Sir Michael will remain the prime minister throughout the tribunal.
He will perform all functions and powers of the prime minister.
The final outcome of the tribunal would, ultimately, determine the fate of Sir Michael.
Abortions skew sex ratios in Asia
From: AFP
March 15, 2011 5:42AM
ABORTIONS of female fetuses have led to a massive surplus of young unmarried men in India and China, raising fears of an outcast group that could threaten the social fabric, a study says.
The trend took root in the 1980s when ultrasound technologies made it easier for families to detect fetal sex early and to abort if it was not what the parents desired, according to the analysis, which is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Sons have traditionally been preferred over daughters in many parts of China, India and South Korea due to social, cultural and financial motivations. Sex-selective abortion is outlawed but can be difficult to enforce.
The phenomenon was first spotted in South Korea in the early 1990s, when the sex ratio at birth (SRB) - typically 105 male births to every 100 female births - rose to 125 in some cities.
Similar rises in male births were seen in China, "complicated by the one-child policy, which has undoubtedly contributed to the steady increase in the reported SRB from 106 in 1979, to 111 in 1990, 117 in 2001 and 121 in 2005," said the study.
India has seen "sex ratios as high as 125 in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat in the north but normal sex ratios of 105 in the southern and eastern states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh," it added.
In parts of China where a second child is allowed, after a daughter is the first born, the SRB for the second is 143, suggesting that many choose to abort a second girl fetus in favour of trying again for a boy.
Estimates of China's actual population difference in 2005 pointed to 1.1 million excess males, with men under 20 exceeding the number of females by about 32 million, according to the study, which was led by Therese Hesketh, University College London Centre for International Health and Development.
"These men will be unable to marry, in societies where marriage is regarded as virtually universal, and where social status and acceptance depend, in large part, on being married and creating a new family," said the authors.
Referred to in China as "guang gun", meaning bare branches, these men are presumed to be unable to bear fruit by coupling and raising a family.
"In China and parts of India, the sheer numbers of unmated men are a further cause for concern," said the study.
"Because they may lack a stake in the existing social order, it is feared that they will become bound together in an outcast culture, turning to antisocial behaviour and organised crime, thereby threatening societal stability and security."
Other concerns include the possibility that the surge of unmarried men will boost the sex industry, which has already expanded in India and China over the past 10 years.
However, "the part played by a high sex ratio in this expansion is impossible to isolate; there is no evidence that numbers of sex workers are greater in areas with high sex ratios", said the study.
Ninety-four per cent of unmarried people aged 28-49 in China are male, and 97 per cent of them have not completed high school, it said.
"Despite the grim outlook for the generation of males entering their reproductive years over the next two decades, there are encouraging signs," said the study.
A crackdown on sex-selective abortion in South Korea has resulted in a more normalised male-to-female birth rate in recent years, and China and India are both down from their peak SRBs due in part to public awareness campaigns and relaxed one-child policies.
But it will likely to be several more decades before the sex ratios return to normal, the authors said.
The article was co-authored by Zhu Wei Xing of Zhejiang Normal University in China.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sinophillia or Sinophobia?
| They are eagerly awaited for the fortunes they are said to bring islanders. And they are equally feared for the destruction they are alleged to have on traditional Pacific ways. Either way, the Chinese are coming. Many are already here in the islands, but the expectation of a far bigger Chinese presence is overwhelming. And the preparation is almost non-existent, in terms of Pacific understanding of the culture, politics, economy or language of China. Many visits are made there—but usually paid for by the hosts, and with an overwhelming focus on seeking financial and material benefits from a China perceived wrongly as wealthy. In fact, China's average wealth is lower than that of many islands countries. But its living standards have been growing very rapidly—for reasons which, for the most part, remain mysterious in the Pacific, because of its inadequate understanding of China: hard work, savings, a family focus on education, a government focus on building—and maintaining high quality infrastructure, and a priority on creating the settings needed for business success and thus for jobs, the core factor in development. In Papua New Guinea, Planning Minister Paul Tiensten has boasted that the country "can become the China of the Pacific." But, while he referred in general terms to "aligning itself with short and long-term government strategies," it is unclear which qualities of China he had in mind. As Australia and New Zealand review and prepare to restructure their aid programmes in the region, China's Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai stated clearly at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Port Vila last August: "China will push forward its relations with the islands countries to a higher level." But the gap between islander expectations and China's capacity and desire to deliver is growing steadily wider as the performance of Pacific societies continues to trail their citizens' hopes. No Pacific country is in the top half of the 2010 UN Human Development Index. Many are turning to China, as the great success story of development in this new millennium, to lead the way. New exploiters At the same time, in some areas, the Chinese are being demonised as the new exploiters. The truth, as ever, is somewhere in between. And it is all the harder to discover and disseminate, since so few Pacific islanders have the experience and skills to understand and explain what drives China and Chinese business. Most Pacific leaders visit China with their hands out for personal or national favours, not with their notebooks open ready to observe and note how China has achieved its remarkable development successes. There is a wide expectation that the best way to achieve maximum material benefits is to set China up to out-perform its apparent Western "rivals" such as Australia, New Zealand and the USA. This assumes that diplomatic relations and aid are part of a big strategic game in which the winner takes all. This was indeed the situation when China and Taiwan vied for diplomatic partners in the region. But since the smart and very internationally minded lawyer Ma Ying-jeou won the presidency in 2008, that rivalry has largely been placed in abeyance. China has eight diplomatic partners among the islands states, Taiwan has six, and the two sides have tacitly agreed to leave the great game at that score for at least a few years to come. That gives the countries scope to focus not so much on "greasing" the politicians in power as on consolidating their relationships and their support for the countries that recognise them. China and Taiwan are also now especially keen to participate in regional programmes as "responsible stakeholders" in the international system. As he proved so often in his long career as an expert island-watcher, the late Professor Ron Crocombe was prescient in his final book, choosing as the topic "Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West." Compete for influence He said in terms of external military influence, the Pacific was known from the 1500s as "a Spanish lake", from the late 1700s as "a British lake", and from World War II "an American lake". Today, he said, the Asian powers are vying for that title, as China and Taiwan, Japan and India compete for influence. A century ago, Crocombe said, "Asians were among the least educated, poorest and lowest-status people in the region". Today, that has all changed. Asia is the main market for the commodities—minerals, oil and gas, timber, fish, tree crops—that the Pacific sells, and increasingly for tourism too. And as Crocombe wrote, "Islanders do not feature in business or politics in Asia—whereas Asians are prominent in business and influential in politics in the islands". Islands governments, he said, which after independence sought self-reliance, "now seek foreign investment—in fact, they plead for it". And as Japan, then Taiwan, Korea and Singapore, and now China, have enjoyed a surge of growth and surplus capital, they have risked some of it in the Pacific, focusing on extraction or speculation more than production, with fishing, logging, land and hotels common targets. Since the 1990s, Crocombe said, "conditions in the islands have attracted speculative 'frontier' enterprises from Asia seeking short-term gains using opportunistic techniques"—a polite term for corruption. The key goals of the aid policies of the larger Asian nations, he said, include islands' votes at the United Nations and at other international forums, and resources. "They try to influence the political and strategic positions of islands governments, as do Western donors, despite denials from all of them." New Asian paradigm But Crocombe believed that long after the tides of population, trade and investment have turned in favour of Asia, Western influences were likely to remain strong because of the English language, Western patterns of education, entertainment and organisation—and Christianity. He lamented that little was being done in the islands to prepare people to gain optimum benefit from the new Asian paradigm. "Responses are needed across the board—not just in foreign policy and practice, but in the preparation of teachers, curricula, media personnel, politicians, civil servants and the public, as well as adaptation of the economy to benefit from the new potentials." The biggest island nation, Papua New Guinea, is at the frontier of these new challenges, as so often happens. It is the first recipient of a major Chinese investment—the $US1.5 billion Ramu nickel mine being developed by one of the country's biggest state-owned businesses, Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC). The succession of problems encountered so far during the project's development—labour issues, landowner disagreements, environmental battles—have placed MCC on a fast learning curve. The company appeared to have expected that its strong relationship with Prime Minister Michael Somare and elements of the central government should be sufficient to ward off any challenges. But it has since learned the need to address all the stakeholders more directly, and has discovered the fiercely independent nature of the legal system in PNG. As Bougainville seeks under its new president, the veteran politician and former Catholic priest John Momis, to regain some of its once envied living standards, it is looking to reopen the copper mine closed 21 years ago at the start of the civil war and to attract investment from China—to which Momis was formerly the PNG ambassador. Momis has joined others in urging that China—to which he recently led a large delegation—be adopted as a model for PNG, stressing the country's success through opening its economy to foreign capital, technology and management skills. But at the same time as Sinophilia—a love of China—is growing in PNG and elsewhere in the Pacific, so is Sinophobia—a fear or hatred of China. Bernard Yegoria, a Papua New Guinean studying for a master's degree in international relations at Jilin University in China's north-east, said: "We witnessed the ransacking of Asian businesses in 2009, mostly targeting people of ethnic Chinese origin in major towns because of the disparity of wealth. "This Sinophobia is growing and could lead to a major social uprising. Chinese entrepreneurs were in PNG a long time before independence and contributed immensely to PNG's development as a sovereign nation. "But in more recent years, a new wave of Chinese immigrants and business activities has moved in a different pattern. "The Chinese have adapted to the changes in PNG society, backed by their guanxi (network) system that is similar to our wantok (relative) system. "We, on the other hand, have failed to evolve the way we do business. As a result, the lack of opportunity experienced by middle and low class citizens has led them to take out their frustrations on foreign-owned businesses"—with the new Chinese migrants, some of whose legality has come under question, in the front line. So at one level, politicians seek support from China, importers depend on Chinese goods, exporters look to Chinese markets, with businesspeople and officials constantly visiting China, as they have done last year for the Shanghai expo. At another very different level, there is a disconnect and intense mistrust between grassroots islanders and the new class of Chinese migrants, workers and businesses. The declaration of peace in the diplomatic war between China and Taiwan, which was especially hot in the Pacific, is a key factor that will permit both countries to start to address such poor perceptions, rather than focusing on consolidating their own supporters and seeking through chequebook diplomacy to entice more countries to join their banners. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu recognise Taiwan, the other eight islands countries recognise China. Taiwan's President Ma has admitted publicly that corruption was a side-effect of this diplomatic war, which involves a quarter of Taiwan's total diplomatic partners around the world. He told ISLANDS BUSINESS during a visit to Solomon Islands in 2010: "We wanted a framework that puts cross-strait relations and our foreign relations on the same plane. "As we have improved relations with China, countries which are China's allies have done the same with us.'' And Taiwan is now, he said, relaxed about its partners building links with China outside diplomacy. That regional visit helped him flesh out how Taiwan's new aid programme will function, with different countries hosting technical assistance programmes that can be tailored for most of the six countries—encouraging a return to healthier diets, operating on cataracts, advising on land reform, for instance. When Ma arrived in the Solomons, he was told bluntly what had to change. The Solomon Star editorialised to him on "the abuse of your taxpayers' money by MPs using Taiwanese aid money as a slush fund. We are begging you to put a stop to this". Ma said President Frank Kabui twice raised such concerns during a state banquet. "Ever since I got here," he said, he had been confronted about the corrupt use of Taiwanese aid. He said: "That is exactly our instruction to our ambassador here. We have a watchdog agency in our government structure, the Control Yuan. It is in charge of investigating bureaucratic activities, and our ambassador here knows that very well. "I sometimes joke to our ambassadors that they have to let their friends know I used to be the justice minister." For a rare moment, though, he wasn't smiling. "We've been accused before of doing things not quite acceptable by international standards," he said candidly. China and Taiwan are both offering scholarships to islanders, through the Pacific Islands Forum. As China's vice-minister, Cui said at the last Forum summit in Port Vila: "China is ready to maintain the high-level exchanges, deepen economic and trade cooperation, and further strengthen cooperation with Pacific islands' regional organisations." This is a side of China's Pacific strategy that appears to be rarely noticed—but is becoming increasingly important. China has been prepared, for instance, to provide Fiji with more material support as Western powers hold back until the country's military rulers hold elections, but this has been more modest than many—including the government—had hoped. Tai chi instruction on the Sukuna Park oval for public servants, while clearly beneficial, does not compensate for the country's economic downturn. Essentially, China wants to work cooperatively within the islands region—including with Australia and New Zealand, to which it has become as close as to any Western countries. It looks to Australia for crucial supplies of minerals and has a free trade agreement with New Zealand. The words of Vice Minister Cui need to be taken as they were intended. China will refuse to be played off as "siding" with any one country or group within the region, where its aid increased by six times from 2005-2008, filling—as Danielle Cave of Lowy Institute in Sydney puts it—"the gap left by US neglect," although Washington, waking up, did send its largest delegation ever to the Forum summit in Port Vila. Beijing lifting its game The Lowy Institute presented a report in 2009 that claimed "China lacks a coherent strategy for its aid programme in the Pacific—beyond checking and reversing diplomatic recognition of Taiwan [a goal now made largely redundant]—and tends to pursue short-term objectives. "China pledges aid in an erratic manner, funds projects without regard to recurring cost, and the secrecy surrounding its programme obstructs development outcomes and breeds suspicion." Beijing has worked since then to lift its game, in part by getting closer to other major aid donors in the region. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi stressed on December 2: "It's important to note that China-US relations in Asia and the Pacific region should be cooperative and win-win—not a zero-sum game." To turn win-win into an even better win-win-win, requires the Pacific to lift its game too, and to work to understand China and how it works in order to benefit more fully from its extraordinary rise without letting negative elements of that rise overflow into the islands |
Tribunal says Somare can remain prime minister during misconduct hearing
A leadership tribunal has ruled
The three-member tribunal bench has decided two-to-one in favour of Sir Michael Somare remaining in the top job.
The tribunal is into its third day of hearing 25 allegations that the Prime Minister failed to complete or did not file financial statements from as far back as 20 years ago.
From the witness box Sir Michael has told a packed courtroom he had always submitted his financial records to the Ombudsman Commission.
But the Prime Minister also said that missing financial statements central to the prosecution’s case could have been lost when he moved office or changed jobs, or been lost by a staff member.
Sir Michael was also asked about his financial earnings relating to his statements, and said he never received any extra pay.
Julia Gillard under the microscope
From JOHN PASQUARELLI
Juliar's performance in the US should have been a few weeks earlier – she would have won an Oscar!
The 16-year-old Juliar who declared she was a socialist and a feminist when she joined the Labor Party, became the misty-eyed Juliar PM when speaking to the US Congress about America's battle during the Cold War and its trip to the moon.
The young Juliar was an active member of the Socialist Forum which was just a rebadged Communist Party of Australia that wanted to scrap ANZUS and get US bases out of Australia, something Juliar's speechwriter obviously wasn't aware of.
Juliar and her union backers have another hurdle ahead – placed in their path by none other than mining billionaire Gina Rineheart, who out of the blue has called for us to bring in unskilled Asian guest workers to help out in remote areas of Australia, which is amazing given that mining today in Australia demands highly skilled workers which includes fluency in English.
Is Rineheart in a time warp – back to the days of coolies using picks and shovels?
What's concerning is that it appears she has made this announcement without consulting with her team?
More ammunition for serial electioneer Pauline Hanson?
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