Declaration of state of emergency in Southern Highlands

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has announced that the National Executive Council has approved the declaration of a state of emergency for the Southern Highlands Province, and a call-out of the Defence Force in the province.
The National Executive Council has agreed to a course of action that will restore order
in the Southern Highlands, ensure all Leaders with potential involvement in unlawful behavior are held to account, and prevent further unlawful activities.
“The actions of reckless individuals damaging property in Mendi has disgusted the nation,” the Prime Minister said.
“The state of emergency in Southern Highlands Province will be in place for a period of nine months, and Mr Thomas Eluh is being appointed as the controller of the SOE.
“Put simply, I have had enough of this nonsense that has been manipulated by people who would call themselves leaders.
“Police will investigate every agitator, and every person who was involved in the unrest we saw yesterday.
“No person is above the law and all involved will face the full force of the law and answer for any crime they have committed.
“The Southern Highlands Province has so much going for it, so many natural resources and agricultural potential.
“We will not let this potential be undermined by people who have failed in politics and want to cause disruption.
“The Southern Highlands Provincial Government has been suspended, and I will oversee the operations of the Southern Highlands Provincial Government on behalf of the National Executive Council.
“It is important that we place the actions we saw yesterday into context.
“The ridiculous behavior by an unruly group is all about local level politics and attempts by failed politicians to vent their anger over their inability to be duly elected.
“If there is any group who thinks they can continue cause trouble, they will find out very quickly that their actions will not be tolerated.”
The Decision by the National Executive Council includes:
- Suspension of the Southern Highlands Provincial Government with
immediate effect for the duration of the state of smergency.
- Thomas Eluh to be appointed as the controller of the state of emergency,
with powers, duties and functions as prescribed by the Constitution and
Emergency Acts and Regulations.
- Deployment of police personnel, mobile squad and criminal investigators
(CID) to the Southern Highlands Province with immediate effect.
- Directing the Commissioner of Police, and the Commander of the PNG Defence
Force, in consultation with the controller, to immediately develop an operational
order for the deployment of troops (police and military) to Southern Highlands
Province for the SOE.
- Delegation of powers under Section 187E(5) of the Constitution and
Sections 66 and 67 of the Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local
Level Governments for the Prime Minister to oversee the operations of the
Southern Highlands Provincial Government on behalf of the NEC.
- Directing the Minister Responsible for Provincial Government and Local Level
Government matters to table a report at the next meeting of the Parliament in
accordance with Section 187E(6) of the Constitution.
- Approval for the establishment of a technical committee under the l
leadership of the Chief Secretary to the Government to coordinate the measures to be taken in restoring the administration of the Southern Highlands Province in
consultation with the acting provincial administrator and the controller.
- Approval of K6 million in funding to enable the SOE mobilisation immediately.
- Direction for all relevant ministries and agencies to take immediate actions to
implement the decision of the National Executive Council.

Veteran pilot：No national pride in Papua New Guinea

by CAPTAIN PAUL BOGA

As an aviator and a former soldier, I am totally disgusted but also sorry for our nation.

Captain Paul Boga

There is NO national pride and patriotism shown by people who call themselves Papua New Guineans.

Aeroplanes have built this nation and stand to be our flag carrier around the world.

Before we point fingers, we must remember that every problem has a root cause.

After 42 years of Independence, the educated know that our Constitution is nothing but a joke.

Laws are too weak to deal with crime and our natural resources are used against us to kill ourselves.

National security?

Well， we need to open our eyes now.

The shame of a Southern Highlands woman

by JACQUELENE TANDA

I am so ashamed to be a Southern Highlander right now.

Jacquelene Tanda

Riots over court decision related to "rigged election" allegations result in the burning down of a plane belonging to our flag carrier.

It begs the question WHY?

Why are we as a province allowing people from two or three districts to engage in acts of terrorism and tar us all with the same paintbrush?

 Why are we acting like Peter O'Neil/Michael Nali/William Powi etc own Air Niugini so we burn it down?

Why are other districts looking at this like a Mendi/Nipa problem and distancing ourselves?

Why do supporters feel the need to burn our historical buildings because their candidate did not make it?

 Are these the kind of leaders we want representing us?

 Plis mi sem ya.

 Yumi tok Souths Pawa na where stap pawa blo yumi? 

We have just declared war on Papua New Guinea by burning the one thing that unites us PNG people.

We need to think hard about our destiny as a people and make some hard decisions.

Time blo sackcloth and ashes lo mekim traipla repent because we are no longer Souths Pawa.

By our complicity and passivity, we have become Souths Pawa-less

Shame, shame, shame!

Air Niugini general-manager reflects on a sad day

by DOMINIC KAUMU
Air Niugini General-Manager Commercial

Air Niugini has been in existence for 45 years serving this country with pride.

It has always been for me a symbol of unity, a unifying factor in bringing our country together for the past 45 years.

 For a country with very limited road infrastructure, it was the airline that brought our people together.

 From East to West or North to South, it was PX that brought us together.

When you traveling in from overseas and you board an Air Niugini aircraft in one of our overseas destinations, you get a sense of pride as you see the bird of paradise on the tail of the aircraft and you know you are home.

For over 2000 staff who work day and night to ensure our airline flies and continue to serve our people every day, despite criticism at times and the fact that many routes are non-profitable but we have to continue to operate as part of our obligation to our country, today is indeed a very sad day in the history of our airline and country.
I am saddened to see the picture below and it breaks my heart.

For me after serving our airline for 36 years,  I am in tears.

 I am sure many of our staff who are so committed to this airline and our country are asking themselves WHY?

After the incident of today, our first priority was to get our dedicated crew out of harms way.

Am pleased that no passenger was harmed but the aircraft, WHY?

This post is my personal reflection of today’s event and is not necessarily of the airline acknowledging I hold a senior post in the airline.

LinkPNG DHC8 aircraft damaged in Mendi civil unrest

Air Niugini

A Link PNG DHC -8 aircraft was damaged during civil unrest at Mendi airport, Southern Highlands Province this afternoon following an election petition decision.

The aircraft has suffered damage when rioters invaded the tarmac, and National Airports Corporation(NAC) has also closed the airport.

Link PNG is suspending flights also to Tari and Wapenamanda until further notice, associated with these developments.

Link PNG regrets the inconvenience this may cause to our customers; however safety is always of paramount importance in our operations.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill condemns Mendi Airport incident

"The actions we have seen today in Mendi are an absolute disgrace.
"A State of Emergency will be declared, and additional security forces being deployed to prevent further unlawful behaviour.
"An emergency meeting of the National Security Council will take place tomorrow at 9am to approve emergency arrangements under appropriate laws.
"Those involved will be detained by police and prosecuted.
"There is no place in in politics for this type of behaviour, and leaders involved with this activity will be held to account.
"All leaders must respect the rule of law, respect decisions of the court and respect the safety of people and property."

59 local community rangers graduate in South Fly District

Australian HighCommission

Twenty-two women are among 59 community rangers from the South Fly District of Western Province who graduated this week through the Building Resilience in Treaty Villages (BRTV) project.

The dignitaries with the rangers following the graduation.

Managed by the Cairns-based Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, the BRTV project aims to build the resilience of the South Fly’s 13 coastal villages by training community rangers in food security, construction, sanitation, first aid and leadership.

Dobrag Done (right) from Sigabaduru village graduated from Phase 1 of the project while Cece Wainetti from Tais village was among the recent cohort. 

The graduation ceremony was held on Daru Island on 11 June and attended by the Western Governor Taboi Awi Yoto and Gulf Governor Chris Haiveta, Minister for Defence Solan Mirisim, Minister for Police Jelta Wong, Minister for Immigration and Border Security Petrus Thomas, the Australian Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, Australian Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Claire Moore and Australian High Commissioner, Bruce Davis.

Monica from Mari Village (left) is one of the 22 women who graduated as a community ranger.

“Papua New Guinea’s South Fly District and northern Australia share a long history of social, cultural and economic connections, formalised through the Torres Strait Treaty which came into effect in 1985,” said Mr Davis.

“It is through these ties that we are supporting a community ranger model for the 13 Treaty Villages in this remote area, which is based on an Indigenous Australian model operating in the Torres Strait Islands.

Following intensive training, the rangers are able to use their new skills to support the delivery of basic services, while also becoming role models and future leaders in their communities.”

The rangers demonstrate how to attend to a snake bite victim, a common issue for villages along the South Fly.

Mr Davis added that there is no separation of roles for male and female rangers, regardless of traditional cultural norms. 

Female rangers are treated equally throughout the training and learn the same skills as men, such as small boat handling, safety and maintenance.

The rangers demonstrate their carpentry skills in building school furniture.

The BRTV program is supported by the Papua New Guinea- Australia Partnership.