Wartoto fails transfer bid

By SAMUEL RAITANO

THE Waigani District Court has dismissed an application by Kokopo businessman Eremas Wartoto to have his case on allegations of misappropriation transferred to Kimbe or Kokopo, The National reports.
Magistrate Cosmas Bidar said although the reasons for requesting the transfer were based on the cost of travel by the defendant, it was not convincing.
He said Wartoto was a regular business traveller and owner of a number of companies and should not find it difficult in having the case heard in Waigani.
The court also dismissed a verbal application by the police prosecutor to issue a warrant of arrest for Wartoto on allegations that he had left the country and produced an unstamped medical report from a hospital in Cairns.
Bidar ruled that the police brief was not ready and a warrant of arrest would not be issued without proper evidence in court.
Bidar directed Wartoto’s lawyer to obtain medical reports from his client.
It was found that Wartoto was in Cairns for medical treatment after suffering hypertension and being seriously fatigued.
An affidavit had been filed in court that medical advice to Wartoto required him to be in treatment for 30 days.
Wartoto is alleged to have misappropriated about K10 million.
An additional charge of misappropriation of K1.9 million is being investigated.
The findings will be incorporated into the police briefs.
Wartoto is expected to make his appearance in court on Dec 1.

Probe team to begin SABL hearing today

THE Commission of Inquiry into the special agriculture and business leases (SABL) in Pomio district, East New Bri­tain, will start today, The National reports.
The inquiry will be held at Vunapope in Kokopo.
Interested parties would give evidence on the validity of each SABL to address issues found in the preliminary hearings over the past months.
The inquiry team was in Palmalmal, West Pomio, last weekend visiting the Drina camp site where logging operations were taking place.
The team was accompanied by government officials and representatives of the project developer, Gilford Ltd.
It was understood that landowners from Mul, Bairaman and Launa, within the Pomata concession area, were already in Kokopo for the hearing until Friday.
The substantive hearings will determine whether land titles for SABLs were truly vested in customary landowners or whether there was alienation to outsiders and foreigners for periods of up to 99 years.
Commissioner Alois Jerewai will hear the SABL inquiries

Greenpeace visit illegal, says administrator

By PATRICK MAKIS

LAST week’s protest visit by Greenpeace to the Drina logging camp in Pomio, East New Britain, was illegal, The National reports.
The visit was not approved by the provincial authorities.
Pomio district administrator Pomaleu Langisan said Greenpeace had failed to seek formal approval from police and the provincial government before going to the district to stage its protests.
He said the Pomio district administration, as the imme­diate government authority on the ground, was unaware of the visit and he and senior officers were turned away by Greenpeace officials when they tried to board the vessel to find out why it had berthed in their waters.
He said the ship, instead, dispatched boats and a helicopter ferrying Greenpeace activists to the village of Mu where they met with landowners who were against the Memalo integrated development project.
Langisan said there was a near-confrontation between pro-Memalo landowners, who numbered nearly 1,000, and the NGO-backed people comprising about 100 supporters.
“I want to thank the members of the police task force who were on the ground at the time and managed to contain the situation, which could have resulted in fatalities,” he said.
Langisan condemned reports published in the Post-Courier, labelling them as biased and mainly concerned with the views of pro-NGO landowners and not truly reflective of the situation that day.
He said the Post-Courier reporter failed to report that the number of people in support of the project was greater than those in opposition.
“I invited the reporter, including other media personnel, to come ashore with me to the Drina logging camp so that they could get a better picture of what was happening on the ground but they refused,” he said.
“I can only understand why the reporting was biased because media officials were accommodated on board the Esperanza and were inclined to report in support of Greenpeace,” he said.
He called on Greenpeace and its supporters in the country to res­pect authorities and landowners when protesting sensitive issues such as the Memalo project.
The Memalo project covers three concession areas of Ralopal, Nakiura and Pomata and comes under the lease-lease back scheme, which would see logging activities conducted with the cultivation of oil palm forming the agriculture component of the project.

Local firm refers Post-Courier to media council

A COMPANY has referred the Post-Courier newspaper to the Independent Media Standards Committee of the Media Council of Papua New Guinea, The National reports.
Memalo Holdings yesterday delivered its letter to the PNG Media Council alleging a breach of the Media Council of Papua New Guinea code of ethics.
Company chairman John Parulria said his action arose from that newspaper’s coverage of Greenpeace activities which took place on Oct 23-24 in the Pomio area of East New Britain and published in three separate articles.
Parulria was alleging that the paper breached the media code of ethics on accuracy and balance and conflict of interest.
He alleged that the paper was not accurate when it reported that the landowners were unhappy and that the company had continued its logging operations despite a court order.
He said there was no court order and that the paper failed to include in its report the commentary of spokespeople from Memalo Holdings and the 121 clans it re­presented.
He further claimed that that only a few members of the clans were protesting with Greenpeace while the majority was for the project which was a fact that had been badly misconstrued by the newspaper.
Parulria also alleged that Post-Courier reporters received and benefited from transportation provided by Greenpeace from Rabaul to Jacquinot Bay.
“This is a formal complaint,” Parulria said in his letter “under the Independent Media Standards Committee guidelines. These matters are causing damage to an important enterprise and generating tensions among landowners. Memalo Holdings Ltd requests the Post-Courier to take appropriate action and reserves all its legal rights.”
The paper was required under the guidelines to respond to each alleged breach within 30 days.

Landowners want activists expelled

THE Immigration and Citizenship Service has been urged to deport Greenpeace activists from PNG if they broke the country’s laws and regulations, The National reports.
In a signed petition, hundreds of people in Pomio want the department and the National Maritime Safety Authority to investigate whether the activists had clearance to land at Pomio last week.
They believe that the Greenpeace vessel, mv Esperanza, entered the area illegally and had failed to follow proper protocol.
The petitioners believe that the Greenpeace activists’ objective is to disrupt economic activity and to impede PNG’s development.
They see Greenpeace as a foreign organisation which is not genuinely interested in the welfare of the landowners.
They believe that Greenpeace is deliberately trying to stop commercial activity in the area and deprive landowners of employment and incomes for themselves and their families.
They accused Greenpeace of deliberately inflaming inter-clan tensions for their own purposes.
They believe Greenpeace has a history of encouraging potentially-violent confrontation in order to create “footage” that it can send to the global media.

Ex-soldiers run amok outside Waigani Haus

A GROUP of ex-servicemen went on a rampage yesterday, damaging cars and state property at Morauta Haus at Waigani, which houses the office of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, The National reports.
The frustrated former soldiers were protesting against what they claimed was the delay in the payment of all their entitlements.
Motor vehicles owned by the state and privately by officers working at Morauta Haus were damaged by the angry mob armed with metal bars and other missiles as they stormed the four-storey building.
They did not gain entry however, glass panels of the buildings were smashed while ground facilities like parking lights were destroyed.
They were angered by comments from the prime minister last Thursday saying  that only the ex-servicemen in 185,334 and the colonial ex-servicemen groups would be paid.
O’Neill had said the 1,360 and the 323 groups would miss out or delayed to allow time for the claims to be verified.
However, the latter said their claims were in relations to the housing scheme, hardship or rehabilitation and the act of grace payments claims which were genuine and should be paid.
They said they were affected by the government’s down-sizing policy of the PNG Defence Force from 2001 to 2006.
At around 11am the frustrated ex-servicemen, numbering more than 100 shouted and yelled and threatened to burn Morauta Haus.
Apart from the prime minister, the building is occupied by the Department of the Prime Minister, the National Executive Council, the minister assisting the prime minister on constitutional matters, the Department of Personnel Management, Public Services Commission and the Central Agency Coordination office.
Terrified public servants stopped work and either locked themselves inside the building or fled home for the day.
Unarmed police officers led by NCD Commander Chief Supt Fred Sikiot arrived 40 minutes later and guarded the building.
Military vehicles were also spotted around the area as the commotion started.
It is believed to be the first time members of the police force including the specially trained mobile squad had come unarmed to quell a disturbance in a public area.
They kept their distance from the group who presented their petition to the acting Prime Minister and  Public Service Minister Bart Philemon.
He said he was going to take their concern to O’Neill when he arrived from Australia.
Meanwhile, a reliable government source said the claims were held back to verify the amounts because some of the claimants were either paid earlier or were not entitled to any payments

Museum boss Mek Kuk sidelined

NATIONAL Museum and Art Gallery director Meck Kuk has been suspended pending investigations into alleged non-performance and mismanagement of funds, The National reports.
His suspension was endorsed by Cabinet last week when it made a number of changes in departmental heads and foreign diplomatic missions.
Kuk’s suspension was published in the national gazette no: G304 on Oct 27, along with other changes in the public service.
Kuk has been replaced by former national Museum and Art Gallery acting director Dr Andrew Moutu, an anthropologist from Wewak, East Sepik, who was teaching at Adelaide University, Australia.
He was recalled to take charge of the institution that has been plagued by poor control since 2004.
The gazettal notice by Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio said he appointed Moutu on the advice of NEC and on recommendation from the Minister for Culture and Tourism, Benjamin Philip.
Moutu was appointed to the position “until further notice” effective from Oct 21.
Sir Michael appointed Joe Luma as Works secretary for a second term of four years.
However, Sir Michael suspended Joseph Nobetau as the acting chief migration officer and appointed senior diplomatic officer Mataio Rabura as the acting head of Immigrations effective Oct 21.
Peter Maginde, head of mission to Brussels, is being recalled and replaced by Rima Ravusiro as ambassador to Belgium and the European Union with concurrent accreditation to France.
Former police commissioner Anthony Wagambie has been rewarded with a diplomatic post as ambassador to the Philippines and a former secretary of finance and businessman Rupa Mulina is now the new ambassador to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.