Keith Jackson & Co: PNG ATTITUDE

YOU CAN NOW JOIN THE SOCIETY OF PNG WRITERS – FOR FREE
The Papua New Guinea Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers was incorporated late last year.
Now it's opening its doors to new members – and if you’re a PNG citizen it will cost you nothing.
Simply fill in this membership application form and email it to the Society here.
The main goal of the Society is to encourage creative writing in PNG.
It will also administer the Crocodile Prize national literary awards.  Join now!

PNG Society of Writers offers free membership

BY KEITH JACKSON

AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF PLANNING, the newly incorporated Papua New Guinea Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers Ltd is now ready to welcome its members.

And the members are you, the writers of PNG.

Papua New Guinean writers, editors and publishers are able to join the Society free of charge and can apply on the Membership Application Form or answering the questions on the form in an email.

Send your email application to join the Society to me here.

You should apply for your free membership now and join an organisation which promises to become a real force in the development of creative writing in PNG.

For non-Papua New Guineans associate membership is available at an annual membership fee of $A50.

The Society’s objectives include the promotion of a writing and reading culture in PNG, the development of professional writers, editors and publishers, and assisting members to publish their work.

The Society will also take over the administration of the Crocodile Prize literary contest at its first annual general meeting to be held in September this year.

At present the Society is run by a small steering committee with a full board to be elected at September’s AGM, which will also adopt a new constitution (you can download the interim constitution here).

Steering Committee: Amanda Donigi, Managing Editor, Pacific Islands Publishing (Executive Officer); David Kitchnoge, Manager, Deloitte PNG (Member); Jim Drekore, Analytical Chemist, Lihir Gold Ltd (Member), Keith Jackson AM, Publisher & Editor, PNG Attitude (Joint Director); Phil Fitzpatrick, Director, South Pacific Social Solutions (Joint Director and Treasurer); Ruth Moiam, Public Diplomacy Coordinator, Australian High Commission (Member)

Who does the Lowy Institute really speak for?

BY PETER KRANZ

AUSTRALIAN THINK TANK THE LOWY INSTITUTE, which is a frequent commentator on Papua New Guinea affairs, has urged foreign minister Kevin Rudd to get more personally involved in brokering a solution to PNG’s political crisis.

To remind readers of the interests of the Lowy Institute, here's a list of its board of directors:

Robert Ferguson - former managing director, Bankers Trust Australia
Ross Garnaut - academic, and ex-Director of various PNG-based mining interests (including Ok Tedi Mining and Lihir Mining)
Martin Indyk - diplomat; former United States ambassador to Israel
Frank Lowy - Lowy Institute founder and chairman; co-founder, Westfield Group
Peter Lowy - group managing director of the Westfield Group
Steven Lowy - group managing director of the Westfield Group
Ian Macfarlane - former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Robert O'Neill - academic
Mark Ryan - company director
Judith Sloan - economist
Michael Thawley - former Australian Ambassador to the United States

Well, I'm usually cynical as you may have guessed, but is this really a bunch of grassroots representatives with PNG interests at heart?

Rebel threat to shoot journalist must be investigated

PACIFIC FREEDOM FORUM

JOURNALISTS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA must be able to report the ongoing political tensions in the country without fear or intimidation, says Pacific media monitoring watchdog the Pacific Freedom Forum, PFF.

Speaking from Port Moresby, PFF chair Titi Gabi has called for an investigation after soldiers at the Murray Barracks in Port Moresby reportedly threatened to shoot PNG FM reporter Tauna George on Thursday 26 January.

George, a resident at the Barracks, had rushed to the front gates to see why shots were being fired. As he approached the main office to request an interview, four soldiers ordered him to sit down, searched him, removed his phone, notebook and biro, and threatened to shoot him.

The matter was raised by PNG FM news director Belinda Kora at a press conference called by ex-army colonel Yausa Sasa the same day. Sasa was taken by surprise, apologised and ordered the return of Tauna's equipment.

"An investigation into the officers who took it upon themselves to threaten the life of a journalist going about his job would help them better understand how to treat civilians and media workers during times of tension and upheaval," says Gabi.

"Anyone who has a gun pulled on them and a threat to shoot is a victim of a criminal act, regardless of timing or who is behind the firearm."

She says other incidents and comments on social networking sites from PNG journalists have raised the need for media workers to "be vigilant of their safety and rights, and lean on the rule of law to help them do the best job possible."

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s  PNG correspondent, Firmin Nanol, was also denied access to a press conference organised the same day. In front of other media colleagues, Nanol was shouted at by Defence Department public relations officer, former journalist Benny Sandeka, who blamed the ABC for using the word 'coup' in reporting last week’s event.

The threats to PNG media in recent days come on the back of increasing incidences of self-censorship and intimidation in recent months within industry ranks. Journalists in the National Broadcasting Corporation and EMTV have noted unusual management decisions delaying or cancelling items for perceived 'imbalance'.

In two cases, talkback callers to an NBC live show were asked on-air if their comments were going to be for or against the O'Neill government. The troubled times for PNG newsrooms are compounded by the current leadership void in the nation’s once strong national media watchdog, the PNG Media Council.

"We encourage our PNG colleagues to discuss and report all acts of intimidation and harassment and promptly make all concerns known to other colleagues in the media," says PFF co-chair Monica Miller, from American Samoa.

"Self-censorship often results when intimidation, threats and silence become an accepted norm amongst journalists. We need to deal strongly and consistently with this on all fronts if we want to remain credible, independent and free."

Powder-keg PNG: What's her future?

BY JO CHANDLER *
The Age/Sydney Morning Herald

POINT THE CAMERA, PICK A FRAME, and observers can soon find scenes to illustrate any one of the wildly juxtaposed narratives playing out on the streets of Port Moresby this past week.

Powder-keg, perilous Papua New Guinea: Cue pictures of roadblocks and convoys of riot squads. Tense-jawed soldiers and troop carriers bristling with weaponry. City offices emptying and business grinding to a halt as white-collar workers respond to security alerts urging citizens off the streets, the well-shod retreating behind the razor wire of their home compounds.

Such images inspire grim reflections from market analysts on the repercussions for the resources boom on which the fragile nation's future is staked.

Coming on the back of months of political mayhem as the deposed Michael Somare administration and the usurping Peter O'Neill government enlist the courts, the Parliament, the public service, the police and now the military in a ferocious, paralysing power struggle, ratings agency Standard & Poor's revises its outlook for PNG's long-term sovereign credit rating from stable to negative.

One market intelligence expert tells The New York Times that the Somare faction's unashamed incitement of the mutiny risked escalating tensions and recriminations against military and political figures.

The Somare side's strident justification - a Supreme Court judgment declaring that Somare's removal from office while undergoing medical treatment in Singapore last August was illegal - hasn't cut them any slack internationally. Or, so far, saved them domestically.

Despite 76-year-old Somare being held in warm regard as a political veteran and founding father of the nation, his team has been on the nose with disenchanted voters for years.

O'Neill has capitalised on the hunger for change and clings determinedly to power - and all the perks of incumbency it delivers to his party's campaign for re-election in four months' time - courtesy of a strong majority in the Parliament, popular support (despite some whiffy affairs of their own) and the loyalty of key institutions.

Indifferent, unruffled PNG: Women valiantly hanging out their washing in the drenched tropical breeze. Taxi drivers snoozing under yesterday's newspaper headlines of ''MUTINY!''. Street traders spruiking betel nut. Grimy buses overloaded with business-as-usual passengers. Kids skylarking in the public pool.

This PNG comprises a community of good, embattled citizens who gird themselves against the political crap and the social hardships with resourcefulness, humour, warmth, kinship, irreverence and a perverse pride in their nation's ability to confound. A popular bumper sticker features a pistol and the slogan: ''Baby Glock On Board.''

''Storm in a teacup,'' the visa gatekeeper at Jacksons airport cheerfully assures posses of incoming journalists. Flashpoints come and go in PNG with all the predictability of a tropical downpour and he wonders why we've come, observing that local television didn't even interrupt the cricket to broadcast news of the short-lived mutiny last Thursday.

And while the drama spurred a sharp spike in hits to the site of popular local blogger and quirky new-generation political observer Martyn Namarong, at day's end he tweeted that ''the most popular post I had today [on Facebook] wasn't about the coup, but about getting laid''.

Geeks spot French rifles in PNG coup attempt

THE FIREARM BLOG

THERE IS NOTHING QUITE LIKE a military coup to bring dusty rifles from the depths of secret armouries and into the light of day.

The attempted coup in support of one of the pretenders to the prime ministership of Papua New Guinea ended just days after is began.

The mutineers, about 30 soldiers led by a retired Colonel, symbolically handed in their weapons in surrender (they were subsequently pardoned and their weapons returned).

What is interesting is that some of the mutineers appeared to have been armed with French FAMAS rifles.

A reader emailed me a couple of theories of how the [PNG Defence Force] might have acquired these rifles ...

There are two possibilities. PNG forces use the M16A2 and FN FAL, so they probably got the FAMAS rifles from Vanuatu, a relatively nearby French colony that got 350 of them in 1994.

In 2006 {PNG and Vanuatu troops] did peacekeeping missions together and in the 1980's PNG forces fought against rebels there, so that might have been their illegal weapons connection and source.

The FAMAS F1 rifles, few in number and not very reliable, could have been put in storage and improperly secured.

Another possibility is they got them from the Indonesian special forces, which have bought the FAMAS but aren't known to use them.

There was suspicion that the coup had Indonesian support not only due to Indonesia having a history of interfering with PNG, but also because the retired colonel who led the coup had just come back from a six month embed with the Indonesian military.

Chief justice ousted for 2nd time in new crisis

AAP/ABC/SOURCES

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE MONTHS the O’Neill government has suspended chief justice Sir Salamo Injia pending an investigation into how he dealt with court funds.

"These allegations are very serious,” prime minister Peter O’Neill said. “The government has been troubled by them for some time. I've mulled over it for six months, and after wide consultation we have decided on this action."

Mr O'Neill said he expected a tribunal – comprising ex-judges Graham Ellis, Paul Akuram and Sir Kubulan Los - to complete an investigation within the next three months.

Update: 'Rabaul Queen' sinking - 238 now rescued

AUSTRALIAN MARINE SAFETY AUTHORITY/ABC/AAP/SOURCES

1945 - AMSA continues to provide assistance to the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in coordinating search efforts. Eight merchant vessels remain on scene and have reported that 238 survivors have been recovered by five of the ships. It is expected that the five ships will passage towards Lae overnight. Arrangements for transferring survivors will be made by PNG authorities.

1920 - The most recent number of survivors of the Rabaul Queen tragedy is 220.

1640 - "Our hearts go out to those affected by the sinking of the MV Rabaul Queen," Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says. “I spoke to my counterpart, PNG Foreign Minister Ano Pala, to inform him that Australia stands ready to offer all necessary assistance."

1615 – The ABC reports that 193 survivors have now been rescued by 8 vessels on the scene supported by 3 helicopters.  More people are visible in life rafts. The passengers were mainly students and teachers returning for the start of the new school year.  Search and rescue planes are now in operation over the site. Weather conditions are described as reasonable.

1610 - Australian prime minister Julia Gillard says there is likely to be a very high death toll from the sinking of the Rabaul Queen. "There has been a boat go down in PNG with, as we understand it, 350 people on board," Ms Gillard told reporters in Melbourne. "This is obviously a major tragedy. We have been asked to provide assistance to PNG and we are providing assistance to PNG."

1600 - [Maritime Matters] The 1983-built passenger/cargo ship MV Rabaul Queen, with a gross tonnage 259 flagged in Papua New Guinea is believed to have sunk in bad weather with as many as 350 people on board. The operators Star Ships said it lost contact with the vessel at about 6AM on Thursday while enroute between Kimbe and Lae. A distress signal was sent by the ship.

PNG’s National Maritime Safety Authority said the ship had capsized but it was awaiting more details from officials on the site. “We don’t have any accurate information as yet, a search and rescue team went out early this morning but they haven’t got back to us yet,” a spokeswoman said.

Star Ships added that some survivors have been found, one report said that at least 28 passengers has been rescued [now confirmed as 50], while many more were in the water in life jackets at this time.

1545 - It is reported that 28 people have been rescued from the water.  These people are now aboard one vessel. Authorities are not able to confirm how many people were on the Rabaul Queen other than to say the complement was "probably around 300".

1430 - The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is currently providing assistance to the Papua New Guinea Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre which is coordinating a rescue involving a passenger vessel, the MV Rabaul Queen.

The vessel is reported to have sunk approximately 16 km off Finschhafen while on a voyage from Kimbe to Lae. There are believed to be 350 people on board.

At 07:25am AEDT today, AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre received an initial satellite detection of a distress beacon belonging to the passenger vessel MV Rabaul Queen. This information was immediately communicated to the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

AMSA consequently broadcast a message to shipping in the area and requested shipping to advise of their ability to respond and estimated time of arrival. A number of vessels responded and six merchant vessels are currently on scene, four of which are recovering survivors.

In addition, three local helicopters are on scene searching for survivors and relaying location details to the vessels.

The master of one of the vessels, the Mol Summer, has been appointed on scene coordinator and has reported that approximately 50 people have been rescued so far.

AMSA’s dedicated search and rescue Dornier aircraft based in Cairns has now arrived on scene. The Dornier has multiple life rafts on board and the capability to drop them to survivors in the water.

Further fixed wing aviation search assets have also been tasked by AMSA, including an Australian Defence Force PC3 Orion aircraft (due on scene at approximately 4pm AEDT) and AMSA’s Darwin-based Dornier (due on scene later this afternoon). Both of these assets are capable of aerial stores delivery including life rafts.

AMSA is further assisting the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre by providing search area planning and drift modelling.

AMSA and the Australian Government Crisis Coordination Centre are working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby.

Earlier reports of fine weather conditions have been contradicted by vessels on scene. There are currently strong north-westerly winds at 40kts, and a five-metre sea swell.

Two dedicated AMSA search and rescue Dornier aircraft will remain in PNG overnight.

Details of Friday’s search are yet to be determined by PNG MRCC but it is expected that air and surface searches will be ongoing. Four AMSA search and rescue personnel are currently en route to PNG to provide further assistance to the coordinating authority. They are due to arrive late this evening.

Starships ferry missing with 350 people on board

AAP / ABC

MORE THAN 300 PEOPLE are feared missing after a boat accident between Lae and Kimbe.

PNG's National Maritime Safety Authority said the vessel Rabaul Queen [pictured] owned by Starships Ferries sent a distress signal at about 8.30 this morning.

Rescue coordinator Fred Siroi said he will make a public statement later in the day.

Australian diplomatic staff are monitoring the situation.

Spotter: Peter Kranz

Intimidation is 'nonsense', says Peter O'Neill

BY EOIN BLACKWELL
AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

PRIME MINISTER PETER O'NEILL says accusations police are intimidating his political rival Sir Michael Somare are nonsense.

Sir Michael's daughter, Betha, sent an email to journalists on Tuesday alleging members of her father's cabinet were being intimidated by police, days after the Somare faction launched a failed mutiny of PNG's armed forces.

"I wish to advise that many of Sir Michael's cabinet members are now under intimidation by the PNG Royal Constabulary," she said.

When pressed about the nature of the intimidation, Ms Somare replied "they are threatening Sir Michael's people with arrest but we do not know on what charges".

Prime Minister O'Neill says police are carrying out investigations into the failed mutiny, during which 30 soldiers tried to change the military high command and reinstall the minority Somare government.

"This is a normal police investigation carried out in the lawful way a major crime is investigated," he told the Post Courier.

"If there is evidence that Sir Michael Somare, or (his son) Arthur Somare or (his police minister) Andrew Kumbakor was involved, they will be subjected to the full force of the law.

"It is utter nonsense for Somare to suggest that myself, or Deputy PM Namah, is pushing and intimidating police to arrest him."

During the crisis, Betha Somare told journalists via text message that Sir Michael and his cabinet had backed the mutiny attempt.

Attitude Quotes of the Day
“I am still a Parliamentarian and I have a duty to fulfill my roles as such until the return of writs after the elections. I was very frustrated sitting in the middle benches” (Dame Carol Kidu in ‘No sinister intent’, says the one-woman opposition’)

“For most people here, the lives and exploits of the elite occur in a separate parallel universe. They are not fazed. Governments and politicians come and go, while their lives remain, for the most part, unchanged” (Catherine Wilson in ‘Despite crisis, vibrant Port Moresby hums along’)

‘No sinister intent’, says the one-woman opposition

BY NOU VADA
The Edebamona Blog

I ADMIRE DAME CAROL KIDU and was very impressed with her when she just dissociated herself from the MTS [Somare] mob. 

As technically we do not have a parliamentary opposition, it would be real good if the Dame took up the challenge of sitting there and taking the men to task on the 'hard questions'.

So I asked what her future intentions may be and this is the Dame's candid response:

I am amazed how people are so interested in analysing my recent actions. Thanks to those who offer words of support - being a politician is not easy. 

Some posts are assuming that there must be some devious plot and or tactical movement involved.

Sorry to disappoint them, but as the only woman I've tended to be a 'lone ranger' in my political strategies. I had no alternative than this strategic move. 

After 14 and a half years in politics I have no desire to be tainted by the Military Interventions that occurred. Where else could I go other than the opposition and as it is empty logically I must be the leader unless others decide to do the same.

I believe that at least one other "disenchanted person" wishes to join me but not with the intention for a vote of no confidence as you would all know under existing law it would be illegal this close to an election.

I am still a Parliamentarian and I have a duty to fulfill my roles as such until the return of writs after the elections. I was very frustrated sitting in the middle benches.

At least in the opposition I have a recognised voice in our Parliamentary Democracy. There is a real need for bi-partisan, constructive debate on some of the populist policies that are being announced.

In addition I sincerely hope that I can retain the position as leader of the opposition, because while other MPs are campaigning, I can spend 5 months working on building the institutional capacity of the Office of the Opposition. 

Our Parliamentary democracy has been seriously weakened and a strong, vibrant, independent office of the opposition is basic to good governance. 

In anticipation of the acknowledgement of my letter to the speaker stating my intentions to occupy the opposition bench, I have already started to research capacity building possibilities and seek possible avenues for assistance in this exciting challenge.

Hope this clarifies that there are no sinister intentions, nor ridiculous ambitions for power near the end of my 15 year political career. 

Some of you may be intending to stand and you will soon find, like I did, that politics is not an easy ‘game’.

Well said, and thank you for your candid comments, Dame Carol Kidu. The one woman Opposition!

Papua New Guinea - forever on the brink

BY SEAN DORNEY
Radio Australia / Australia Network News

TO OUTSIDERS PAPUA NEW GUINEA must always seem to be on the brink of catastrophe - but it never quite happens.

The almost farcical attempt last week by a retrenched Colonel to take over as the military Commander led to immediate speculation here in Australia that PNG was having a military coup.

Even Colonel Yaura Sasa ruled that out when he held his one and only news conference. But while denying he was staging a coup he did threaten to take "necessary action" if Sir Michael Somare was not reinstated as Prime Minister.

That amused me because one of the worst novels ever written about PNG was called Take Necessary Action. It was written by two sisters, Australians, who had been in the Highlands of PNG prior to Independence and it was about how rapidly PNG would descend into catastrophe because Australia under a socialist Labor Government would pull out and let the Chinese take over.

One of the most appalling lines in that dreadful book was a quote from one of the white Australian male heroes who, when marvelling at the beauty of the Highlands, remarked that, "This would be a great county if it was not for Oli."

'Oli' was the derogatory term some expatriates used for Papua New Guineans and it comes from the first two words in any Melanesian Pidgin sentence referring to any action by a number of people. 'Ol' is 'All' and 'i' is part of the verb - "Ol i kam": "They come" - "Ol i go": "They go".

So the white hero of Take Necessary Action believed PNG would be a wonderful place if only there were no Papua New Guineans in it!

There are close to seven million of them now and it seems that there is no great enthusiasm amongst many in the population for Sir Michael Somare to resume office as the legitimate Prime Minister.

Colonel Sasa could not arouse the support of any more than a handful of soldiers to reinstate Somare and his attempted takeover of the army lasted about half a day.

He did claim to be trying to uphold the law and obey the Supreme Court ruling that last year's vote in the Parliament which installed Peter O'Neill as Prime Minister was not done in a constitutionally proper way.

But that ruling is not so clear cut. Two of the five Supreme Court Judges who heard the case did not come down on the side of Sir Michael. Peter O'Neill has the support of a majority of the Members of Parliament and that has been demonstrated again and again since last August.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of all this is that public respect for the courts and their rulings is probably being undermined.

The independence of the courts and public acceptance of their impartiality has been for a long time now regarded as one of the Papua New Guinea's great strengths.

Back in 1979, just four years after PNG's Independence, the Full Bench of the Supreme Court jailed the then Justice Minister, Nahau Rooney, for eight months for contempt of court after she had written to the Chief Justice berating him over an earlier ruling.

Somare, Prime Minister then too, made himself Acting Justice Minister and set Ms Rooney free after just one day pending an appeal to the non-judicial Mercy Committee. Five judges including the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice resigned. More than one thousand prisoners then broke out of jail from prisons all around PNG arguing that if it was good enough for the Justice Minister to go free it was good enough for them.

The PNG courts have been called upon to make rulings about parliamentary procedure before.

Prime Ministers in PNG get a certain period of freedom from Votes of No Confidence after being elected. Originally it was six months but later that was extended to 18 months.

Paias Wingti tried to gain an extra 18 months during one political crisis in PNG by resigning in secret to the Governor General, springing that news on a startled Parliament the next morning and then getting himself re-elected PM while his main challenger at the time, the then Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan, was overseas and the Opposition was confused.

The Supreme Court ruled Mr Wingti's snap resignation and re-election was not in accord with the spirit of law, that MPs should be able to make a considered judgement. The court annulled the vote. Mr Wingti knew he could not win a considered vote and resigned.

What makes the current situation so complicated is that Mr O'Neill, at this stage anyway, still enjoys majority support in the Parliament.

One of the more astonishing statements to come from the Somare camp in recent days has been made by Somare's Police Minister, Timothy Bonga.

In the wake of the failure of Colonel Sasa's mutiny, Mr Bonga called on the disciplined forces to back the Somare side.

"We are becoming a police state," Mr Bonga claimed, "where absolute power is now vested in the Parliament ... We cannot continue to call ourselves a democracy if this trend continues."

That, I think, sums up the current confusion in Papua New Guinea.

Elections will be held. They are due mid-year but could come earlier. And Australia does not have to fear an imminent catastrophe unfolding in its former colony and nearest neighbour.

Sean Dorney was the ABC's Correspondent in Papua New Guinea from 1979-1984 and from 1987-1998, and is currently Australia Network's Pacific Correspondent

An analysis of the Tumbi Quarry (Tari) landslide

BY DR-DAVE
The Landslide Blog

LAST WEEK’S LANDSLIDE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA continues to generate a great deal of noise in that part of the world. The confirmed death toll is now 25 people, but that number is expected to rise.

However, given the size of the landslide, I wonder whether it is really possible to recover all of the victims. Only four bodies have been recovered to date.

An article in The Australian newspaper suggests that the landslide occurred at the site of a limestone quarry (of which more below). Certainly the rock would appear to be limestone with quite a thick soil layer.

The very planar rear scarp would suggest a large, unfavourable joint as the release plane. The block at the top is still sitting on this joint and may be unstable. The joint either has a very weathered surface and/or is draped by soil from above.

There is a good overview photograph from the Namorong Report website:

 

It is interesting to see the way in which the lower part of the  landslide has bifurcated down two drainage paths – unusual but not at all unprecedented.  Of more interest is the apparently large lateral margin scarp on the far side of the landslide, below the trees, which suggests that the landslide has removed a considerable volume of material on that side.

 It is hard to tell, but this does not seem to be replicated on the nearside.  To me this suggests quite a complex landslide process (although this does not mean that the triggering process itself was complex).

This does suggest that if a meaningful investigation of this landslide is to be undertaken then it will need someone who really knows how to interpret landslide processes.  It is not likely to be straightforward in any way.

At the time of the landslide there were suggestions that it was linked to the LNG pipeline being built through the area by ExxonMobil.  It now appears that the hillslope was a limestone quarry associated with the project, which fits with my observations of the area at the crown of the landslide. 

There is a pdf online here, with an Esso Highlands logo, entitled “Tumbi Quarry (QA1) Resettlement Action Plan”, which states that “Tumbi Quarry, known as QA1, is required for aggregate to be used by the Project in the Komo area. The Project will be leasing the quarry from Hides Gas Development Corporation (HGDC) for an estimated two year period, depending on aggregate requirements of the Project, after which the quarry will be returned to HGDC.”

The LNG watch blog has a post by Dr Kristian Laslett of Ulster University, which notes that the site had been blasted in the days leading up to the landslide.  This seems to be supported by various news reports, although of course there is no proof either way. 

It seems entirely plausible, though not certain, that the landslide could have been triggered by blasting.  There are many previous examples of landslides being triggered by quarries.

It seems to me that an investigation of this event is urgently required.  However, the investigation does need to be undertaken by an open-minded, independent and very experienced team as the landslide is complex.

If the quarry was the cause or trigger for the landslide, and if it was providing rock for the Exxon-Mobil project, then this is surely somewhat significant.

Given the focus on the Deepwater Horizon accident a couple of years ago, I am amazed that the mainstream media are not pursuing this story with some alacrity.  One would also hope that Exxon-Mobil will fund a proper investigation of this, and that they will look again at any other quarries that are providing rock for the pipeline project.

SOPAC colluding with miners to exploit Pacific

BY EFFREY DADEMO
ACT NOW!

SOPAC, A DIVISION OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT, is pushing ahead with a European Union funded project to promote experimental deep-sea mining in the Pacific region without first consulting with communities about whether this form of mining is environmentally, socially or economically appropriate.

There is currently no scientific consensus on the consequences of mining seabed hydrothermal vents and a lot of international concern about its implications. There is also no evidence to suggest mining by large foreign corporations really delivers a better quality of life for local people in the Pacific.

Yet SOPAC, in alliance with the mining industry and EU, is pushing ahead with developing laws and a regulatory framework for this risky and unproven new industry.

The evidence from Papua New Guinea is that large-scale mining does not deliver a better quality of life for local people and causes a multitude of social and environmental problems. PNG has many mining operations but the Gross National Product per capita is much lower than Pacific countries that are not being exploited by mining companies.

According to the World Bank, GNP per capita in PNG is $1,300 while in Micronesia, Vanuatu and Samoa GNP is more than twice as high, at $2,700, $2,760 and $2,930 respectively. In Fiji and Tonga GNP is almost three times greater than PNG and in Palau GNP is five-times higher than in PNG.

Mining might increase government revenues but most of the money is taken away by the foreign mining companies and their highly paid expatriate staff. In contrast incomes from local food production and farming are wholly retrained in the communities where the businesses are located and these types of enterprise provide a truly sustainable future.

SOPAC says there is misunderstanding and misinformation about its Deep Sea Minerals Project but the truth is it is being driven by the mining industry and the EU, who want to use Pacific resources to increase their own wealth.

The mining industry has been working with SOPAC for many years to map the minerals in the Pacific and those relationships mean we can have no faith in the impartiality of SOPAC in providing technical advice to island countries.

Further, before we drive ahead with laws and regulations we need to decide if the Pacific wants to again be the guinea pig for untried and untested technology just as it was for nuclear testing.

Why don't we let Canada, the US or the EU do their testing in their own waters rather than ours? Perhaps they are afraid of more environmental disasters like the 2010 seabed oil drilling debacle in the Gulf of Mexico.

SOPAC is clearly wrong to say that laws and regulatory frameworks will ensure sustainable resource management and tangible benefits to the Pacific. Again we need to look no further than PNG which has outstanding protections in its Constitution and Environmental laws but has suffered some of the worlds worst mining disasters and a prolonged civil war caused by some the world's largest mining companies.

Despite the denials from SOPAC we stand by our statement that the Deep Sea Minerals Project of the SPC (SOPAC) disenfranchises indigenous people and promotes the interest of big mining companies at the expense of local communities.

SOPAC is spending more time talking with Nautilus Minerals in private meetings and exclusive international workshops than it is having a conversation with the Pacific communities that will suffer the potential impacts of the mining.

Nautilus is the Canadian company spearheading much of the seabed exploration in the Pacific and plans to start production at the world's first undersea mine in PNG in 2013.

The SOPAC has stated the overall objective of the project is to develop an experimental seabed mining industry in the Pacific but fails to explain how an extractive industry can be "sustainable" nor how it will be different from other mining operations that have failed to improve the livelihood of local communities.

While SOPAC may be correct to say that experimental seabed mining could "expand the economic resource base of Pacific countries" this should not be confused with genuine development and improved livelihoods for Pacific people.

We should also not be fooled by fancy statements about "strengthening the system of governance and the capacity of Pacific States” to manage experimental seabed mining. Nothing SOPAC or the SPC can do is going to change the power imbalance between global mining corporations and Pacific Island governments and bureaucrats that make fine sounding laws and policy frameworks meaningless when it comes down to the actual management of individual mine sites.

Laws and policies did not protect the people of Ok Tedi or Bougainville and they will not protect the people impacted by experimental seabed mining.

Rather than continually dancing to the tune of global corporations, captured governments and their failed economic system of unregulated capitalism, SPC and SOPAC should be looking to support and nurture our own Pacific ways of doing business and caring for our families and the environment.

Despite crisis, vibrant Port Moresby hums along

BY CATHERINE WILSON *
Crikey.com.au

AS THE PMV (LOCAL MINIBUS) came to a grinding halt at an intersection in the centre of Port Moresby, I came eye to eye with a sign straddling the traffic light pole declaring “Treat our City as Your Pikinini”.

The city as “child” is an engaging new metaphor for metropolitan city space, but particularly apt for this organic, idiosyncratic and human-centred city.

It offers a clue as to why PNG’s capital, its functioning logic a mystery to many visitors, remains persistently calm through tempestuous and challenging political times.

The day a military mutiny occurred not far from our route, dominating the nightly television news, the city and its bus drivers didn’t miss a beat. From the north of town, our driver maintained his aloof attention to the road, roaring in and out of bus stops, disgorging dust and passengers in rapid succession. If you missed this bus, the next one would be along in two minutes.

Gordons Market was still full of peri-urban food gardeners intent on selling their produce, people were relaxing along Ela Beach in the heart of town and street vendors would not think of abandoning their roadside market tables and potential sales of betel nut, cordial and cigarettes.

The following morning my fellow PMV passengers were brandishing copies of The National and Post Courier newspapers, reading the latest accounts of the city’s dramatic events, but with detached demeanours, soon distracted by their need to get to work or complete their daily errands.

In a nation where 85% of the population support themselves through the informal economy, the reality is that, for most people here, the lives and exploits of the elite occur in a separate parallel universe.

They are not fazed. Governments and politicians come and go, while their lives remain, for the most part, unchanged.

Fifteen per cent are employed in the formal sector, but for the majority, a livelihood depends on self-generated microeconomic initiatives, many associated with cultivating food gardens on the city’s periphery and local market-based selling.

At Gordons fresh produce market, Bire, one of many vendors who works with his wantoks to grow, market and sell produce, is unhesitatingly proud of the fact that “we do all of this ourselves”.

The forthcoming 2012 national election will be an important opportunity for people to select their desired leader, but, in Port Moresby communities, it is not individual politicians’ personalities or parties, but the real issues affecting their lives that generate discussion.

Informal settlements on the outskirts of the capital are home to diverse communities from every province in the country. Residents include public servants, professionals, university lecturers and remarkable achievers, such as distinguished artists and decorated civic leaders, as much as those who are unemployed. Here there is no ambiguity about the real issues.

Might is Right!

BY GANJIKI D WAYNE

Might is Right!
Look at us, Just look!!
Whatever has become of us!?
What darkness has come over this home of ours?
...

Somare camp expects intimidation from rivals

Radio New Zealand International

SIR MICHAEL SOMARE’s opposition group in Papua New Guinea is complaining of what it calls ‘intense intimidation’ by the O’Neill government.

The Somare group expects police intimidation of members to get worse after contempt proceedings were filed this week against prime minister Peter O’Neill and his cabinet among others.

They are accused of defying December’s Supreme Court ruling that Sir Michael was unlawfully removed from office in August.

Former Chief Justice and an MP in the Somare faction, Sir Arnold Amet, says he has not been intimidated himself lately but others have experienced ongoing harassment, including threats of arrest.

“In the court proceedings that are running, the police presence at the court houses has been overly excessive and lawyers and principal parties to these proceedings have been harassed and intimidated by the armed police presence,” Sir Arnold said.

Attitude Quote of the Day
“What began as a political issue is fast becoming a social issue and threatens social order throughout the country” (Martyn Namorong on the fallout from last week's attempted overthrow of the O’Neill government)

To whom it may concern

BY LOUJAYA TONI

To whom it may concern
The interested
The one who wants to know
The curious
The one who is going to do something about it
About the knowledge
Of the contents
Herein and herewith
Who will read it
And respond to it
Copy and file it
Make a recommendation
Write a response
Offer a correspondence
Notify the author
Supply the details
Enclose a copy
Sign the signature
End the dictate
Check the notate
Seal the deal
Post the script
Offer a hand
See that it lands
In the hands of the author
A finished piece of attention to
From you know who
The one concerned
The dear sir/madam
The yours faithfully
And yours truly;

To whom it may concern
I may not have arrived
But I have written something
For your eyes and your ears
For your heart and your tears
I have no fears
It has been years
Like yesterday in a bottle
I send it to you
Who may be concerned!

Mutiny has polarised PNG’s political dynamics

BY MARTYN NAMORONG
The Namorong Report

 

COLONEL YARA SASA DOESN’T HAVE THE POLITICAL BAGGAGE that the Somares have. But having entered a debate that was pretty much confined to the political elite, Sasa is now a political figure and not just a military man.

That said, Sasa has a following amongst people who believe what he did was necessary to restore Constitutional order.

With the involvement of the military, the disciplined forces have polarised into the different sides of politics.

Long before the advent of Facebook and Twitter, Papua New Guineans had a form of social networking known as the Wantok System. The Wantok System is still alive and well and, as other actors like Sasa get embroiled in the political saga, the elements of the Wantok network that get dragged into the impasse enlarges.

The question of whether each side presents its case with sound legal argument now takes the back seat to social alliances. As the main protagonists drag on with their tortuous tango, more Sasas are likely to enter the fray as ordinary people become increasingly frustrated with the impasse.

The lack of leadership and statesmanship displayed by both sides opens the arena for third parties who do not have the political baggage of the main protagonists.

Such third parties would have a greater claim of legitimacy than the main protagonists. And, with the entry of third parties, a growing number of people become politicised as they subscribe to the views of those third parties.

This has been the case with the involvement of the mutineers.

The debate now seems to be heading beyond legal definitions of right and wrong and into the social inclinations of right and wrong based the social circle one subscribes to.

This development brought about by the mutiny is dangerous as the issue becomes personalised, and individuals start defending the views of their social circle against the views of the opposing social circle.

What began as a political issue is fast becoming a social issue and threatens social order throughout the country.

Perhaps it is fair to say that the nation is now more unstable than it ever was. More people are becoming politicised, polarised, and pissed off. It is imperative that fresh elections be held soon to defuse the situation.

Australia treads softly in Papua New Guinea crisis

BY CATHERINE CHENEY
World Politics Review

LAST WEEK, A GROUP OF REBEL SOLDIERS stormed the Papua New Guinea Defence Force barracks, placing the military commander under house arrest and calling for Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to step down.

The mutiny, led by a retired colonel who was subsequently arrested over the weekend, was a failed attempt to put an end to the political impasse that has gripped the Pacific Island country for the past six months, ever since the parliament replaced former Prime Minister Michael Somare while he was out of the country for medical treatment.

In December, the Supreme Court ruled that the parliament had acted illegally, but O’Neill, who maintains the support of lawmakers, refused to step down.

“Everyone thought Somare would retire into the wilderness,” said Jenny Hayward-Jones, director of the Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.

But he didn’t. As a result, said Hayward-Jones, “No one really knew who rightfully held the title of prime minister.”

Reacting to the news of the mutiny, Hayward-Jones wrote Friday, “Even if Michael Somare's legal case is sound, he did his country and himself a massive disservice by using the military to assert himself.”

The military had previously remained neutral in the midst of this constitutional crisis, she explained, but “by using elements of the military to promote his case,” Somare demonstrated that “his personal ambition overrides his concern for the national interest.”

While the incident was resolved without deaths or civil unrest, Hayward-Jones said it created “uncertainty as to who is in charge and where the country goes from here.” 

“The government of Peter O’Neill, while otherwise seemingly legitimate and doing a good job, is in breach of the constitution,” she warned. “This creates a precedent of ignoring the constitution. In the past, the constitution was the fallback. We had a crisis but we returned to constitutional law. The fact that he has stripped that aside is worrying.”

Hayward-Jones said the failed mutiny may cause the prime minister to call early elections, rather than waiting for scheduled polls in June. But in a country rife with systemic corruption, the divisions playing out within the military and the police threaten the elections’ credibility.

“There is a need for the security forces to be united, to support the electoral commission in its work, to make sure that the election is not compromised,” she said, adding that this will be a difficult task if the security forces themselves are destabilised.

Another concern, Hayward-Jones explained, is that the crisis could threaten the future stability of the Papua New Guinea government.

Crisis continues, but PNG not ready for early polls

RADIO AUSTRALIA

THE CRISIS SPARKED BY LAST WEEK'S military mutiny is over, with the 30 soldiers involved granted amnesty.

The mutiny may be over, but PNG politics is by no means stable, and the people are fed up, as Paul Barker, executive director of the Institute of National Affairs in Port Moresby explains.

PAUL BARKER: From the public's point of view, the troops should be in barracks, they should be out of this political battle. Their role is to defend the nation, the state, from neighbours, from illegal fishing operations and so on. So the public hasn't got very much sympathy for this whole situation that arose last week, and the risk to public safety.

The public view is very much that this is a conflict between different sets of politicians for control, neither side has a lot of sympathy anyway, from the public, although it has to be said, that by and large, the public is more pro-O'Neill, for an O'Neill government, they seem to want to change. And he did appeal, particularly with some populist but some tangible policy measures that seem to reflect some of the public aspirations.

You'd have to say that the public, it (also) has a sympathy for the alternative prime minister Somare, they have a sympathy for him as the father of the nation, a sympathy for him that they feel that he should be able to retain his seat in parliament, a sympathy that may be he has some just cause in this regard, but by and large, the public, they're a bit ambivalent.

SEN LAM (presenter): Equally, there are many Papuan New Guineans are there not, who believe that Sir Michael should not be coming back, and making so much trouble?

BARKER: I would say the majority, the vast majority would say "Hey look, you've had your time, you've had a long spell, we respect you as the Father of the Nation, but at this stage, we think you should step aside, if it can be done in some way that is an honourable way, that enables both sides to save face, that would be good."

But particularly, following this saga last week, I think there was a lot of credibility, a lot of the sympathy from people who were, if you like, on his side, faded away, because it seemed to be jeopardising public safety by having the defence force being dragged into what was widely deemed to be a political battle between two factions.

LAM: And Paul Barker, both camps have indicated that they are willing to go to the polls early, before the middle of the year, as scheduled. But is that what they really want, or is that just tough talk?

BARKER: Well, they probably don't want that particularly. If obviously, you're not actually in office, if you're effectively outside, which the Somare camp certainly is at the moment, then they either want the court to reinstate them, or to be able to go to an election and probably gain office. But they obviously would like to get into power again now, but the incumbent, effectively the O'Neill camp would probably like to stretch it out for a period of time, but as you say, they've both indicated that they would be willing to bring it forward.

They know if they're listening to the public, they know that the public very much would like to put an end to this period of political uncertainty. They would like to have a clear-cut single government which is recognised by all parties, by the courts, by the public and all the political factions.

East Sepik artists create their work in Brisbane

AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION

THREE ARTISTS FROM Abelam and seven from Kwoma in the East Sepik have travelled to Brisbane to create new work based on the art found in ceremonial men’s houses in the province.

Last year, Ruth McDougall, Curator of Pacific Art, and Michael O’Sullivan, Exhibitions Manager, from the Queensland Art Gallery travelled to the East Sepik with Papua New Guinea-born architect Martin Fowler to research the ceremonial men’s houses created by Abelam and Kwoma artists.

This research forms part of the development of a major project at the Gallery which explores ideas of the ‘ephemeral’ in contemporary art created in PNG.

Along with the mask cultures of New Britain and the contemporary art of Asmat artists in Papua, the East Sepik structures were chosen because of their powerful visual impact, the continuing strength of kastom and the structures’ ephemeral nature.

McDougall, O’Sullivan and Fowler visited villages in the areas surrounding Maprik and travelled up the Sepik River to Tongwinjamb, Mino and Yessan to view men’s houses and meet with artists and community leaders.

During this travel, groups of Kwoma, Abelam and Arapesh artists also participated in an art workshop based at the Ilahita guesthouse, with materials supplied by the Queensland Art Gallery.

As a result of these visits, two projects were identified as major commissions for the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane as part of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition.

For nine of the ten artists, this project represents their first opportunity for international travel.  They will live in Brisbane for six to eight weeks and will have a dedicated workshop for carving and painting.

Somare seeks contempt charges against O'Neill

BY FIRMIN NANOL
Australia Network News

SIR MICHAEL SOMARE HAS FILED contempt proceedings against prime minister Peter O'Neill and his deputy Belden Namah.

Sir Michael's lawyers are accusing Peter O'Neill and Belden Namah of not recognising a Supreme Court ruling last year which ordered that Sir Michael be reinstated as prime minister.

They are asking the court to order Mr O'Neill and Mr Namah to be arrested and charged with contempt.

Sir Michael's son, Arthur Somare, claims the prime minister’s office is occupied by Peter O'Neill illegally.

''The contempt proceedings that are before the court will hopefully and finally assist us and the court determine who the legitimate government is for Papua New Guinea," he said.

He said he fears that even if the courts find Mr O'Neill and Mr Namah guilty of contempt, it's most likely police will not arrest them and will not enforce the orders as the police are under the control of the O'Neill-Namah Government.

Prime Minister O'Neill said his government will fight the contempt charges vigorously.

THE CROCODILE PRIZE - PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S NATIONAL LITERARY AWARD
The Prize is offered in seven categories and was first awarded in 2011.  It provides opportunities for Papua New Guinean writers to publish their work and gives PNG readers access to their own literature.
You can ensure the sustainability of this important initiative by making a donation.
Email Keith Jackson here to find out how.
Donors at end January 2012: AustAsia Pacific Health Services; British American Tobacco (PNG); Ex PNG Chalkies; Cleland Family; PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum; Ok Tedi Mining; Steamships Trading Co; MRSM Group; ourportmoresby.co; Paul A Povey; Star Mountains Institute of Technology; Corney K Alone & Tanya Zeriga-Alone; Australian High Commission; Bob Ellis; Ed Brumby; Keith Jackson; Dr Lance Hill; Sue & Kev Ellison; Stuart Hoare; Sean Dorney; Paul Dennett; Murray & Joan Bladwell; Don Hook; Graham King; Henry Bodman; Norma McCall; Paul Oates; John Groenewegen; David Wall

Attitude Quote of the Day
“Ms Toni is a poet's poet .... and thank goodness for the Crocodile Prize which enables such talent to be promulgated” (Ed Brumby on Loujaya Toni's scintillating poetry, at present gracing these columns) 

Big men of PNG begin political posturing

The Fairfax media group assigned JO CHANDLER to cover the political crisis in PNG. In this article Jo puts the attempted coup into context

WITH PAPUA NEW GUINEA's five-yearly general election just four months away, outsiders could be excused for being baffled by the desperate, damaging battle for power now consuming Port Moresby.

Why bother, given that the people - not the courts or the politicians - will soon resolve the Constitutional conundrum of who has the legitimate mandate to govern?

The answer was graphically illustrated in events engineered by the rival political supremos yesterday.

Read the full article here: http://www.smh.com.au/world/big-men-of-png-begin-political-posturing-20120130-1qpqu.html#ixzz1kz1My0cN

I was just carrying out orders, says hapless Col Sasa

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE ODDS AGAINST A COMEBACK are prohibitive but Sir Michael Somare, through the strident voice of his daughter and spokeswoman, Betha [pictured], is continuing the fight to be reinstated as Papua New Guinea’s prime minister.

The 75-year-old Grand Chief is relentlessly repeating his cry that the Supreme Court order of last year reinstating him to office be respected.  He is also calling upon the police and the military to join him.

"If this is to be my last and biggest battle I will fight for the constitution, the underlying law that holds the very fabric of our democracy and democratic institutions together," he says.

"I appeal to the leaders of our disciplinary forces to look beyond the current circumstances and come to terms with why you (are) a member of a law-enforcing agency. You are here first and foremost to uphold and enforce the law of the land and the orders of the Supreme Court."

His son and former minister, Arthur Somare, has also challenged prime minister Peter O'Neill to an early election.

"Let's go to an early election and see how many people you pick up, Peter" he goaded. "Let's go right now."

And Somare supporters claim that last week’s failed military mutiny has not stopped their push to have the former leader reinstated.

"We are in charge of Taurama barracks. Taurama barracks is more than 200 soldiers who are there, and we have firepower," claims Andrew Kumbakor, who says he is the legitimate defence minister in Sir Michael's legitimate government.

"Sasa [leader of the mutineers], you have done no wrong. For a public defence force, we have done no wrong," Kumbakor said. "I stand with you and I will defend you all the way and in a very short while, I will have you out and you will be the defence force commander of Papua New Guinea."

Sasa [pictured], the retired colonel who led the hapless attempt to restore Somare, for his part says he has no regrets. "I was carrying out the government's orders. Yes sir," he said.

And now Arthur Somare says it was not the Somare group’s intention to use military force to return his father to office. He claims Sasa's appointment as commander was just normal government business.

Meanwhile, Peter O'Neill has said he is contemplating bringing forward the national elections due in the middle of the year so Papua New Guineans can resolve the leadership conflict at the ballot box.

On that point at least, both sides would seem to agree

Crisis should serve as a wake-up call for Canberra

BY ALEXANDER DOWNER *
Adelaide Now

JUST TO THE NORTH OF AUSTRALIA, something serious has been going on. For the last few months, Papua New Guinea has been engulfed by a political and constitutional crisis.

The country has, in effect, had two prime ministers and two governors general. As you can imagine, that's a very untidy situation.

All this goes back to March last year when Papua New Guinea's long-serving prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, had heart surgery in Singapore. In June, his family announced that Somare had retired. However, there was legal uncertainty about how to replace him, uncertainty the parliament tried to resolve by electing the Finance Minister, Peter O'Neill, as Prime Minister in August.

In the meantime, Somare recovered and returned to PNG claiming he was legally still PM. He went to court and in early December the Supreme Court ruled he indeed was. So the Parliament immediately passed retrospective legislation to overturn the Supreme Court decision. But despite the Parliament overwhelmingly supporting O'Neill, the Governor General swore Somare in as Prime Minister.

The Parliament then sacked the Governor General and appointed the Speaker in his place, and he then rescinded Somare's commission and swore in O'Neill as PM.

This seemed to be pretty much the end of it all until last week when a colonel walked into the office of the chief of the defence force and announced he was taking over the army and would restore Somare as prime minister. This horrifying action was quickly overcome as most of the army supported O'Neill.

I think I've got all that right. And it's a test of you to remember all that detail. You don't need to, of course; you just need to get a sense of what's been going on in the nearest country to Australia. When John Howard was Prime Minister of Australia he used to say that his greatest foreign policy worry was that PNG would descend into political chaos. After all, its neighbour the Solomon Islands did, Vanuatu has come perilously close at times and Fiji is run by a dictator who came to power through a coup.

Although I have known Sir Michael Somare for years, my more intense dealings with him started after he was re-elected prime minister in 2002.

In the wake of our intervention in the Solomon Islands in 2003, Howard and I decided we needed to make sure PNG didn't go down the same path as the Solomons. I told Sir Michael we wanted to help improve his police force and public service. There was too much corruption and the police were becoming dysfunctional.

Our proposed new assistance scheme was called the Enhanced Co-operation Program. Let it be recorded Somare resisted this new intervention. He thought it neo-colonial. I told him we were spending $300 million of taxpayers' money a year in PNG and we weren't getting good value for money.

We were worried about where the country was heading. If we couldn't get better value for money by implementing the EPG we would have to wind back our aid substantially.

He caved in. But he never forgave me and was overjoyed when the Howard government was defeated in 2007. Kevin Rudd, he figured, would have to be better for him than Howard and Downer.

Call for repeal of sorcery act by end of this year

PACIFIC BEAT
Radio Australia

PAPUA NEW GUINEA'S Constitutional and Law Reform Commission says it wants the Sorcery Act repealed by the end of this year.

Last year, the Commission released a review of the Act after human rights groups criticised the increase in the number of false accusations of sorcery.

This broadcast discussion was hosted by presenter Melanie Arnost.

ARNOST: Sorcery, or sanguma, is a part of every day life in Papua New Guinea. Radio Australia journalist Caroline Tiriman says it's difficult to denounce.

TIRIMAN: There are whispers around in the villages saying "oh, so and so does this and that". So you grow up looking at these people who you are told are sorcerers and then you tend to believe that yeah of course there is this sorcery in the villages.

ARNOST: Reverend Jack Urame, a member of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission says the fear of sorcery is widespread.

URAME: According to Papua New Guineans any death is not natural. You know, all deaths are related to sorcery or witchcraft, even if there is an accident, even if someone is dying from malaria or typhoid or whatever disease of sickness. So I think it is more than 90 per cent of the total population still believe in the existence of sorcery and also in the power of sorcery and witchcraft.

ARNOST: Because of this belief, the government introduced the Sorcery Act of 1971 to "prevent and punish evil practices of sorcery" In its preamble, it recognises that laws dealing with sorcery may "encourage" ill-intentioned people "to make baseless or merely spiteful or malicious accusations that their enemies are sorcerers, solely to get them into trouble with other people". While the Sorcery Act says it seeks to outlaw these false accusations, a researcher from Papua New Guinea's Melanesian Institute, Fr Franco Zuma, says it's having the opposite effect.

ZUMA: We found out that that sorcery act is not actually helping to overcome the problem but is making the problem worse. By criminalising sorcery people think "you see, even the government believes that, so we can take the law into our own hands".

ARNOST: Fr Zuma says the current anti-sorcery legislation encourages people to violently attack, and sometimes kill, those they believe practise sorcery. But in his research, he found the vast majority of sorcery accusations were false.

What’s buai got to do with it?

BY ICARUS

IT IS UNFORTUNATELY TRUE that betel nut trade does not make any direct contribution to foreign exchange earnings for PNG. Well, neither does brus or pinats or kumu or kaukau or tapoika or: wait a minute, neither do most of the fresh fruit and vegetables we grow and sell in our local market places all over the country!

The question is posed; are there similarities between the buai bisnis agenda and any of the ‘traditional PNG’ crop and livestock produce?

How about this one: some wise guy (supposedly a research scientist) wrote that at last count there were at least 1.8 million native pigs being kept by village farmers across PNG. One of his colleagues then estimated that this pork meat production was 27 times more than the total output of commercial production in the country.

But that situation may change now that we’ve got the LNG blowing everything out of proportion. The commercial farms as well as the many rural farmers and farming organizations in PNG are now trying to capitalize on the market created by the LNG boom to start up livestock businesses and my guess is that there’ll be a lot of interested potbellied politicians involved too; pigs of all kinds!

Anyway, back to our scientists, another one recently commented that a very conservative estimate of the gross value of traditional pig production (i.e. not charging typical PNG prices for pigs) was PGK 162 million or AUD 69 million. Not a bad bit of business, eh laka? But, if we were to stick to our economic explanation, this ‘village production’ doesn’t bring in any foreign exchange either because it has not been tied into a ‘formal production’ system that has output into an overseas market. Simply put, we need to sell to someone not living in PNG to get some Aussie dollar.

So we can count this as another wasted opportunity because we haven’t learned enough about the workings and potential of that existing traditional PNG pig production system in order to harness and control it for our collective economic betterment. Instead PNG is a net importer of meat and we can buy pig jowls from Australia for around PGK12 per kilo at a local butchery in Mt. Hagen. Go figure!

And that’s only about pig production, if we were to talk about kaukau the same sorry tale would be repeated, even though those rural sweet potato farmers move container loads of bagged tubers from the highlands to Lae and on to Port Moresby, without government assistance! (Ask Consort and Bismark Shipping.) By the way, sweet potato is a delicacy in Australia and McDonalds sells a sweet potato chip specialty with its traditional Big Mac’s.

So what does betel nut have to do with it?

The arguments for better facilitating the betel nut trade are similar; learning and control (and both together too!). That’s one of the jobs of government (and that means us too!), to find out how things are working, if they can be improved for the betterment of one and all and, in a more philosophical sense as one friend on PNG Attitude has recently expounded, to balance the agenda of individualism and pluralism – persons and people.

If we wish to maintain our urban environments in a healthy, hygienic and aesthetically pleasing fashion while still enjoying our betel nut chewing habits then it’s about time we learned and took better control of at least two things; (1) how buai bisnis works and (2) how the actors and their customers impact on the public areas, especially since it’s the customers who create the buai stains.

 

A ‘c’ change

BY MICHAEL DOM

If you should search for knowledge
To answer the riddle of your self

All the books found on every library shelf
Might not relieve your puzzle a smidge

Because ‘h’ is the difference of self from shelf
Search within and you’ll see without eyes.

Things happen in a test tube
That we can easily observe and explain

But anywhere outside of it
It’s not quite the same

That’s because it’s out in the open
Where there’s less control and closure.

Some advise taking only two steps
Once into and once out of water

Supposedly while you’re watching
Perpendicular to a flowing stream

So firstly you get your feet wet
And then you get them dry.

Or you take the opposite length
Over the adjacent length

Then every measured distance
Makes each tangent different

But if trigonometry was used at Pizza
That’s not why the place is famous.

So if a princess was in a tower
And let’s assume she was a prisoner

At least she should have a window
Because horizons offer a fine view

Then the next time the witch calls her
Rupunzel throws down her chair.

Mutinous troops surrender weapons to Belden Namah

ABC CORRESPONDENT LIAM FOX reports on Twitter that the remaining soldiers holed up at Taurama Barracks have surrendered their weapons after discussions with deputy prime minister and defence minister Belden Namah.

Mr Namah says that he will seek Cabinet's approval to grant an amnesty to the mutinous troops, but only this once.

He has told them that there is only one government in Papua New Guinea and that is the government of Peter O'Neill.

She lied

BY LOUJAYA TONI

1

After several years of marriage
She could tell
When the body came home sometimes
The mind chose to dwell where the body had been;

That’s when the motions were
Mechanical
The spirit was not in it
She knew
And
He knew
But
They faked it
No one spake it
Not until …

11

She lied
She laced her lies
It was convenient for her to do so
It was easy
He believed her
That
Was good enough for now
If he asked her tomorrow
She was forced
To remember what she had said today
So her story could stick
She was quick about her business
There were no attachments
No love lost
Just a cash in enterprise
Then
The bread began to rise
Forcing its presence thru the under-clothes
Layer of lying layer couldn’t hide the protrusion
The confusion
The result of fusion
She lied down
Covered in lace
It was convenient for her to do so
It came easy
She died so her story could stick;

111

She was the conscience that troubled his guilt
She rocked his boat
She wouldn’t let sleeping dogs lie
She got under his skin
His patience wore thin
He discarded it
Left it hanging at half mast
After a few drinks
He was having a blast
Now that he got his thoughts together
He was ready to tell her
The sooner the better;

A grand entry with a boot thru the door
And a fist to the jaw
She had long been dead
Only now it looked as if he killed her
She lied
Even in death
Only now he got what he deserved.

Mother’s Day

BY KEITH KNIGHT EPAWE

It’s Mother’s Day
Turn on the FM and I hear him say
“This is a special moment in time
Think of your mom”.

Mom, I am thinking of hugging you first
To my cravings from hunger and thirst
You were always there with the best
I then kiss you on your cheeks
Embrace you some more,
Believe me, I won’t let you go
I shall whisper into ears
‘I have always loved you, for all these
Years
I appreciate everything you have done
To make my life joyful and fun
Although you are too strong at length
I surely admire your strength
Out of all girls born
On whose virgin soil my seed was sown
You were specially meant to be
The first one I opened my eyes to see.

Alas, this great day
Full of sunshine and hearsay
Boys wrapping gifts, looking calm
Girls, more than ready to meet mom
Cube-mate can’t wait for weekend
Praying that the break will extend.
On his return from visit to mother,
He’ll be ready to tackle challenges further.
I shed silent tears
And hide my worst fears
This time of the year
I terribly miss you
I really do
I know I sound insane
Still expecting hugs and kisses again
Thinking of those times
So comforting wouldn’t go off them
Perhaps
You are gone for five years now
Still wanting you back, somehow
But if it has to be this way
That you are not going to be back someday
Then, I give my heart to you
Just as it is, untouched and brand new
Wrapped with love
Crystal ribbons of tears tied above
Placed in basket of hugs and kisses
Doesn’t matter if there is no response
This gift of mine
Of true and pure design
Shall always be presented

Keith Knight Epawe (26) was born in Balimo.  He is the first born in a family of five from Erave in the Southern Highlands.  He was selected for university but dropped out and is currently unemployed and living with a cousin in Erima Settlement in Port Moresby.  He has applied and been successful in finding other training positions, including aviation, but because of the high fees had been unable to continue.  Despite all this he enjoys life, particularly writing and reading.  He says, “I believe now that I don’t have to wait for something good to happen to me. I have to cultivate and nurture what I already have with me”

Monsoonal rain destruction

BY MICHAEL DOM

O herald of creation!
Hark the ominous rumbling
Of thy chariots thundering
Behold the heavens tremble
Spewing fantastic lightening!

O blessed spawn of heaven!
Earth rejoices at thou fury
Bring on thy destructive force
For it is thy right to vanquish
Humanity’s violent rush!

O primordial elixir of life!
Restore Earth with thy tenderness
What rare beauty and wonder
Thou hast delivered unto Mankind
What utter waste Man has rendered!

The night shift

BY GELAB PIAK

IT WAS A FRIDAY NIGHT, a dark and silent Friday night. The air outside the house was cold, and the cold, as I felt, was reaching down into my bones. A shower had proven its existence before it peacefully left, leaving the night to an eerie silence.

A slow breeze began to creep in, cheering the three coconut palms at the back of the house to do a late night dance to farewell the shower that had just left. The branches of the guava tree swayed as if they were bound to worship the wind instead, giving no reverence to the shower.

But yet, there was also a telling presence of the shower itself; as that was evident by the coldness in the air, the reflective wetness and the dark, black clouds. The clouds covered the sky and hung like giant predators stalking their prey, waiting for the right moment to strike in an intercepting manner.

At the same time the dark and black clouds promised rain, as they faithfully hung. I, a lone figure in the dim candle light, sat on a stool, leaning over the table listening to the late night beat on the radio.

The hunter and his dogs

BY VERNER CHAD ESTEVES

This is a true story of a hunter who was saved by his hunting dogs during a hunting trip.

IN EARLY 1972 THERE WAS A HUNTER called Thomas at Sulka in the Pomio District of East New Britain. Instead of attending mass one Sunday he decided to take his hunting tools and dogs to wander into the forest to hunt pigs.  While he was there something terrible happened to him.

Before he left his wife called to him, “Thomas!  Are you coming with us to church?”

He replied angrily. “Bullshit!  You know what I always do on a Sunday like this; I go hunting stupid!  We have enough meat for next week, do we?  Besides, this is the right time to hunt because there will not be many other hunters hunting in the same spot.’

Saddened by her husband’s angry words his wife turned away and marched off to church.

After his wife and children had gone he called all his hunting dogs and checked his hunting tools, especially his bow and arrows.  None of his arrows were blunt - he had been doing this all his life.  They strode off into the thick forest.

Dame Carol steps up as one-woman opposition

BY JO CHANDLER
The Age (Melbourne)

AS THE ONLY FEMALE MP in Papua New Guinea's resolutely macho 109-member Parliament, Queensland-born Dame Carol Kidu is well accustomed to running a lonely race.

Now she's proposing to form a one-woman opposition and - in the absence of other contenders - be recognised by the Parliament as opposition leader.

The move was compelled by her distress over the political machinations behind the short-lived military mutiny on Thursday which aimed to restore Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as prime minister.

Dame Carol is a long-serving and loyal minister in the Somare government and a steadfast figure within the cabinet-in-(internal) exile which has maintained an unrelenting battle to be restored to power since being deposed last August.

She is distancing herself from the desperate actions of Somare loyalists who reportedly endorsed the abortive coup attempt.

While continuing to insist that Sir Michael's removal was illegal and that Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's claim to power is unconstitutional - as was declared in the judgment of the Supreme Court in December - Dame Carol said: ''We must uphold the rule of law. Thus I am uncomfortable with the media statements (if correct) that the Somare government endorsed actions that are outside the rule of law.

''I wish to make it clear that I was not present in any such meetings and I disassociate myself from active participation in both factions in the ongoing political impasse.''

In a statement yesterday she said: ''I have not changed my position that, although Parliament is the supreme legislator as rightly claimed by the O'Neill government, it is not supreme in itself and is answerable to the constitution and to the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea.''

Despite this, Dame Carol told The Sunday Age that the fractured and fragile nation urgently required a functional Parliament and an active, questioning opposition in the months leading up to the general election scheduled for mid-year.

''I am willing to concede to the reality now - though I don't accept it as being correct. It's about pragmatism,'' she said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/dame-steps-up-as-onewoman-png-opposition-20120128-1qnbs.html#ixzz1kmlofPlE

Failed mutiny could have major repercussions

BY MATT SIEGEL
New York Times

A MUTINY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA by a group of soldiers loyal to the country’s ousted leader failed less than a day after the uprising began.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s announcement late Thursday came amid escalating tensions between himself and his dismissed predecessor, Sir Michael Somare, with each of them claiming legitimacy.

Some 20 soldiers stormed the barracks of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in Port Moresby early Thursday, detained the military chief and demanded that Mr O’Neill bow to a Supreme Court ruling ordering the reinstatement of Sir Michael, the country’s first post-independence prime minister.

The apparent head of the failed putsch, a former defence attaché to Indonesia, Col Yaura Sasa, said that Sir Michael had chosen him to head the country’s military and charged him with restoring order — and his benefactor’s position as head of government.

But after a tense day that saw military checkpoints erected in the capital and accusations of treason levelled against the mutineers and even Sir Michael, Mr O’Neill said that his military chief had been freed and that the barracks were back in his government’s control.

“The government has now taken control,” the prime minister told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He added that “the commander is now released; he’s not under house arrest. And, as a result, the government has taken full control of the defence headquarters.”

The current crisis has its roots in August, when, several months after Sir Michael had gone to Singapore to receive medical treatment for a heart problem, Parliament voted overwhelmingly to replace him with Mr O’Neill.

When Sir Michael, whose reputation has been tarnished by accusations of corruption and heavy-handedness, then returned to the country in September, he fought for reinstatement, while Mr O’Neill’s government drafted legislation to retroactively authorise the ouster.

The crisis reached a boiling point last month, when the O’Neill government ignored a Supreme Court decision to reinstate Sir Michael, leading to the bizarre spectacle of two rival prime ministers, cabinets and police chiefs claiming legitimacy over the country.

A decision backing Mr O’Neill in December by the country’s governor general, who represents the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, seemed to have extinguished the crisis.

But Sir Michael never accepted his ouster, and tensions flared anew on 18 January, when he crashed a session of Parliament wielding a copy of the court decision ordering his reinstatement.

A note released on Friday by Neil Ashdown, an Asia-Pacific analyst with the forecasting and market intelligence firm IHS Global Insight, said that the “inept” mutiny would ultimately harm the image of the country’s armed forces and could significantly ratchet up political tensions ahead of elections scheduled for later this year.

“The failed military mutiny in Papua New Guinea risks significantly escalating the political standoff in the country,” he wrote.

“The situation ended peacefully with the mutineers arrested. However, their ties to the Somare faction risk escalating the political standoff with the de facto government of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.”

“In the short term there is the possibility of recriminations against military and political figures seen as linked to the failed mutiny,” he added.

Our forebears’ practices deserve our accolades

BY FRANCIS NII

PAPUA NEW GUINEANS TODAY SHOULD BE PROUD of our ancestors for their sapience in containing the deadly diseases tuberculosis and leprosy from spreading and killing the people in the period prior to the western influence.

Before western medicine was introduced into Papua New Guinea our ancestors already had their own traditional medicines and preventive methods for controlling curable and none curable diseases, chiefly TB and leprosy.

Tuberculosis and leprosy were recognised throughout PNG as communicable and deadly diseases well before western influence. The people had no traditional cures for the diseases, particularly leprosy, but they developed other methods to prevent the diseases from spreading and killing them off.

Confinement of the victims was one way of isolating the diseases from spreading. If a person contracted any of the diseases and it became known through the onset of the symptoms, the information would filter quickly throughout the community. Everyone would know about it and stay away from the victim.

The victim, like every other member of the tribe, being  knowledgeable of the rules governing the prevention of the spread of TB and leprosy, would  confine him or herself to his or her home. He or she would be restricted from going out and interacting with the rest of the people; bathing and fishing in the waters; and hunting and collecting firewood in the bushes etc.

Only the close relatives would bring food, water and firewood and leave them at the door of the victim's home. The victim would collect the items after the relatives had left. 

Whenever the relatives would like to talk to the sick person, they would stay some distance away and talk.

The village chiefs would constantly monitor the condition of the victim by asking the relatives or sending spies to observe and report back. If by any chance the sick person, particularly a TB victim, got healed, the person was free to live a normal life.

On the contrary, if the chiefs learned that the victim's condition had gotten worse, they would meet in secret and issue a decree for elimination of the victim from the community.

A squad of strong young men would be appointed to carry out the decree.

There were several methods that the people practised . One popular way was arson. The squad of young men would set fire to the victim's house at night while the victim was fast asleep. The squad would make sure that the victim was burnt to death and did not escape.

The other popular method was drowning the victim in a big river or sea. The squad would tie a rope around the neck of the victim and drag him or her to the river or sea and drown them. Then they would cut the rope and leave the corpse behind to be washed away or eaten by crocodiles and fishes.

Spearing and poisoning the victim were the other methods.  Spearing a victim was  carried out mainly when the victim misbehaved by going into the no-go zones and/or engaged in restricted activities, for example, bathing in the streams.

The most lenient method was confining the victim in a deep inescapable cave until he or she died. The victim was dragged to the cave by tying a rope around the neck and left there. The relatives would from time to time bring food and water and let it down into the cave by rope. The rope was pulled back after the food was taken. This continued until the food was not taken from the rope. Then the relatives knew the victim was dead. They would stop bringing foods to the cave.

The face of AIDS

BY LOUJAYA TONI

The face of AIDS bore a resemblance
To my brother
To my sister
To my friend
To my neighbour;

It stole their life
Crippled their support
Drained their efforts
And
Sapped their strength;

They became
Shadows in bright sunlight
Until they faded into
The death of night
Remember their plight
Determine to fight
YOURSELF

The one that is free willed
Careless
Uncontrolled
Stubborn and ignorant
Because the next face AIDS puts on
May well be
YOURS!

Cricket match lends a hand to those in need

BY KATHRYN BENNETT
Melbourne Weekly

PAPUA NEW GUINEA CRICKET WILL GET A BOOST when the national team goes head-to-head with the Hawthorn Cricket Club for a charity match today.

Watch the game from 10am, January 29, Rathmines Road Reserve, Rathmines Road, East Hawthorn. Entry is free.

The idea came to Hawthorn coach Dan van den Hoek [pictured] when he was volunteering for an exhibition game between the under-16 Papua New Guinea and West Indies teams.

“I thought it would be a great chance to expose players to an international standard and generate more exposure for the Papua New Guinea team,” he says.

Van den Hoek approached the team manager of Papua New Guinea, Pat Khan, who happened to be a family friend. In just a few weeks, they put together a full day of cricket and fund-raising at the Ainslie Park club in Croydon, where van den Hoek was a player.

Three hundred people turned out to see the PNG side win both games. Nine cricket bags full of second-hand equipment were donated to the club.

“It also doubled as a fund-raiser for the club and we donated the money to the bushfire appeal,” says van den Hoek. “It was a great result considering we didn’t have much publicity or time before the day.”

When van den Hoek moved from Ainslie Park to Hawthorn, he decided to bring the idea with him.

He approached PNG’s team again, this time through chief executive officer Bill Leane.

“Bill was more than happy to oblige and give us the chance to raise some money again,” says van den Hoek.

The aim of the match is to promote grassroots cricket in Victoria and develop the game in Papua New Guinea. While the country’s fledgling cricketers are attracting international attention, they struggle to sustain themselves at a local level.

Papua New Guinea is currently ranked 19th in the world in One Day International matches by the International Cricket Council.

The team is rated the best ODI cricket-playing nation in the east Asia-Pacific region, while the under-19s side has qualified for the World Cup.

Van den Hoek says the team takes every opportunity to practise in attempts to improve their ranking on the ICC ODI table.

“It should be a good game,” he says. “This year I think the game will be much closer, with more players available due to the weekend fixture – rather than midweek like last year – and a great depth of talent at Hawthorn Cricket Club.”

Unknown love (just another love poem)

BY GELAB PIAK

What is it that flow through our eyes,
It makes me so guilty, I look away,
Cry now, my heart shall do,
Because I want to love you,
Even though I don’t know you,

What is it that runs in our nerves?
The feeling rushes my blood when I pass you,
I know that you feel it too,
Because when you want to look at me,
You feel afraid and turn away quickly.

What is it that we are guilty of?
So guilty; we are ashamed of each other,
Yet I am guilty of no crime against you,

And you also know me not,
Not even my name.

What is it that makes us feel we are in love?
Yet our minds think we are not,
And we try to ignore each other,
But our body language says it all,
I’ve seen pretty girls like you,
But you’re different.

What is it that tells us we belong for each other?
I was a childish boy, unwilling to go to school,
One day I got caught in your eyes,
They matured me and I grew,
What is it that I must do to know your name?

Attitude Quote of the Day
“Whether the acts of Thursday were seditious or traitorous, it is clear that Michael Somare has gone too far” (Paul Oates in ‘Reflections on an attempted seizure of State’)

O’Neill wants early poll to end power struggle

RADIO NEW ZEALAND

PETER O'NEILL SAYS HE WILL MOVE TO dissolve parliament next month and go to early polls to end the current political impasse.

Mr O'Neill came to power after Sir Michael Somare was ruled to have missed too many sessions of parliament while he was out of the country receiving medical treatment.

Mr O'Neill says he said he would seek his government's blessing to bring forward the scheduled June general election.

However, a Radio New Zealand International correspondent in Port Moresby said that, while Mr O'Neill has the backing of a majority of MPs, it is unlikely they would vote to dissolve parliament.

Meanwhile, Sir Michael's supporters insist that Colonel Yaura Sasa – holed up with 20 rebel soldiers in Taurama Barracks- is still the legitimate commander of the Defence Force.

But the O'Neill government says police and defence personnel are in the process of apprehending those who conducted the mutiny.

Resource development: big risks, questionable profits

BY MICHAEL WEST
Illustration: michaelmucci.com

THE HIGHLANDS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA are the most expensive place in the world to drill for oil, onshore that is.

This is hostile terrain, rugged and remote. Everything from the drill rig to the workers has to be flown in by helicopter. So the well-heeled speculator can expect to spend $100 million drilling a well, whether it's a "duster" or not. It's a fancy punt when you consider the long odds of producing a return.

Insightful article by Michael West (and great illustration by Michael Mucci) covers the risks of resource development in PNG and the enigma that is the InterOil project. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/big-risks-questionable-profits-20120127-1qlj9.html#ixzz1kiYHQkPN

It’s time to clean up the mess

BY MICHAEL DOM

When we were still floating, “In the
currents /  That swept this land”¹, things
were a lot messier than they are now.
But, there were less of us to see that.
In fact, we didn’t know it was messy.

Much later it was different “For white man,
he came / And our place changed forever”.²
Well, mostly. Maybe we gave in too
easily and didn’t learn how to clean up
our own mess, or to not make one at all.

The question is “What happened back then!” ³
(?) Everything got white-washed in our pre-
Falcongate days. We hid the scandal
of ourselves and now for the life of
us (or our kids) we can’t figure it out!

So every five years we choose who is to
be in charge of ‘cleaning up the mess’⁴
left by those others before them. Funny
that, because there are familiar faces in
this crowd from the last clean-up crew.

And it’s always one mess or another.
But one learned friend says that that is
what we should expect from a vibrant
democracy: Individualism vs. Pluralism⁵.
Now we live in a mess created by that schism.

Do you get that sneaking doubt that
somehow you’re partly responsible
for the disorder too? I do. Maybe it’s just
me and I should check in at Laloki⁶.
I know for sure I didn’t check that box!

It’s spring-cleaning season again PNG, so if
we all get together we can clear out The Mob⁷
we put in charge. That may be a faint hope
but it’s only as weak as our smallest finger
that gets stained with the ink of our guilt.

We’ve been here on this Treasure Island⁸
for a long while. Not discounting the chaos
it’s time we made more than a scratch
on the pages of history. Time is ticking on,
so today, let’s make a mark not a mess.

References

¹ Lines from A Rower’s Song a poem by Steven Edmund Winduo, from his book A Rower’s Song, Manui Publishers 2009, Port Moresby PNG.

² Lines from White man’s war a poem by P. Naringi, published in The National newspaper Writer’s forum on 23 September 2011.

³ What happened back then is a poem by Lapieh Landu, published in The Crocodile Prize Literature 12 January 2012 on the website Keith Jackson & Co: PNG Attitude.

⁴ The most recently recycled political rhetoric regurgitated for public consumption.

⁵ See the essay Theoretical Underpinnings of Development in PNG by Samil Yapi Yanam, published in The Crocodile Prize Literature 12 January 2012 on the website Keith Jackson & Co: PNG Attitude.

⁶ Laloki is a popular destination for idealists and others who might hear voices inside their heads (Is that my rebellious conscience I hear?).

⁷Also known as Parliament.

⁸Treasure Island is a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Some wise guy said that PNG was “an island of gold floating on a sea of oil”.

Written at Bubia Station between 25 and 27 January 2012

Wake up PNG! Radical response needed for HIV/AIDS

BY FRANCIS NII

WHY SHOULD PAPUA NEW GUINEA continue to push an HIV and AIDS policy that has been tested over a decade and has proven to be fruitless?

Despite millions of kina in aid money pouring into the war against the deadly HIV virus each year for more than a decade, HIV infections are still on the rise.

The official HIV prevalence rate of 1.6% reported by the National AIDS Council is based on registered cases and does not reflect the true picture of the endemic.

Experts believed that there are many healthy HIV carriers roaming around undetected. They believed that the true HIV prevalence rate should be within the range of 2-2.5%.

Papua New Guinea has a relatively small population and already a significant number of its people have succumbed to AIDS.

We cannot continue to be complacent and wishy washy in our war against HIV/AIDS and lose even more people.

Apart from the bandaid of massive public awareness and education programs on HIV/AIDS, the authorities should address the root of the problem. This is glaringly obvious and the health authorities are well aware of it.

As long as healthy HIV carriers are free to have indiscriminate sexual practises, HIV/AIDS is here to stay. And more innocent lives will be destroyed.

Drastic mechanisms like compulsory HIV screening and isolation of HIV positives in care centres and even the tattooing of carriers will eliminate HIVAIDS in Papua New Guinea.

It is murder when a healthy HIV carrier intentionally goes around unleashing the deadly venom on vulnerable and unsuspecting victims under the influence of money, entertainment and cargo.

The fear is that, as time passes, all the madness, fear and hurly-burly surrounding HIV/AIDS are bound to wane. And Papua New Guinea will soon be heading down the same road that African nations have been through; accepting HIV/AIDS and living with it just like any other common viral infection such as flu or influenza while their populations are still being decimated by the millions.

We don't have the kind of population that the African nations have to play around with. Our seven million people are nothing compared to the populations of many African nations.

No matter what Australia or the rest of the world may think, culturally we are unique. As a sovereign nation, Papua New Guinea should decide what is best for her people in the war against HIV/AIDS in the context of her own traditions, norms and social behaviour.

Australia and other international donor agencies should refrain from shoving down our throats their ideologies and policy frameworks under the might of their aid money.

These ideologies and policies are not working in PNG because they are irrelevant and not conducive to Papua New Guinean society. Why continue to spend millions of dollars pushing for a policy that has been tested over ten years and has proven to be fruitless?

Wake up PNG and get back to the drawing board. The sooner the better.

Reflections on an attempted seizure of the State

BY PAUL OATES

A coup d'état….is the sudden, illegal deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either civil or military [Wikipedia]

THE IMPLICATIONS OF Thursday’s actions by rogue defence personnel may be just as significant as if there had been a successful coup.

Discipline is a key factor with the PNGDF. Without discipline and loyalty to the nation, a military force is subject to whoever decides to lead. Yet does the PNGDF evidence a history of loyalty and discipline?

There have been recent cases of lack of PNGDF discipline and effective civilian control over the force.

In May 2011 the PNG media reported an armed riot by members of the PNGDF in Moresby. Armed soldiers from Taurama Barracks travelled in convoy from the barracks to a service station and, after discharging their weapons, ransacked the premises and tried to set fire to 80,000 litres of fuel. The damage and loss of property was estimated at more than K5 million.

This came on top of a demonstration of soldiers in Lae after a reportedly drunken officer was refused service and ejected from a store by security personnel. Armed PNGDF personnel left their barracks and patrolled the town in full view of the public. The local police commander was eventually able to get the soldiers to return to barracks. There were no reports of any disciplinary action being taken.

Given the events in Moresby on Thursday, nothing less than immediate action by the PNGDF Commander and investigation by an independent authority can stop further escalation of such mutinous events. It is a worrisome that the Defence Force shows such contempt for civilian rule.

The soldiers responsible must be immediately stood down and all weapons and ammunition throughout the country impounded and placed under proper control. Failure to act decisively could result in a similar situation to that in Wewak some years ago where it was reported soldiers raided the armoury and stole weapons and ammunition, some of which were never recovered.

Either the PNG government, through the PNGDF Commander, has control of the country's defence force or the next step could well be a military coup. It's happened in Fiji and it can happen in PNG.

The people in the Somare camp who reportedly gave an illegal order to a retrenched officer to stage the most recent action must now be confronted with their crime.

Surely such a dishonourable and dangerous action cannot be swept under the carpet. To seek to usurp the wishes of an elected Parliament is seditious (stirring up of rebellion against the government in power).

Deputy PM Belden Namah claimed that Michael Somare had committed treason (the violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or state).

Whether the acts of Thursday were seditious or traitorous, it is clear that Michael Somare has gone too far.

Perhaps his honorific of Grand Chief and his knighthood should be revoked - cancellation is considered in cases where retention of the appointment or award would bring the honours system into disrepute.