The protest march conducted yesterday was somewhat successful as the Prime Minister said to repel the Judiciary Bill on the condition that the Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia and Judge Nicholas Kirriwom step down as judges pending investigations. He also appealed to Legal professionals to point out the exact clause(s) in the act that needs to be taken out. As to the deferment of elections, the Electoral Commissioner himself has declared upon consultation with all stakeholders that the issuing of writs will be delayed by 3 weeks and not 6 months as parliament voted. This means that the election campaign period for intending candidates will be shortened by 3 weeks to only 5 weeks instead of the normal 8 weeks. In all, everything turned out to be a success for the people of Papua New Guinea.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
PNG in turmoil
10th April, 2012, marks the day PNG citizens make known their intentions to the country’s Political leaders, its government in particular, to show their grievances, against the government’s recent political decisions. The first is the passing of the Judicial Review Act and the other is the deferral of elections by a further 6 months. The Judicial Review act in brief empowers the Legislative arm of the government to place judges under investigation for misconduct or biasness in their official duties, as a recommendation to the Governor General to appoint a tribunal for review of the case. The deferral of elections by 6 months due to a parliament decision by vote of 63-11 to defer the elections by a further 6 months has been seen as again an act of disregard or disrespect to the country’s constitution. As a result, the people have decided to take action against the government by conducting a protest march to parliament today to have them repeal their decisions with regards to the mentioned decisions discussed above. The groups involve include the student groups from the countries universities especially UPNG and Unitech, NGO group’s, Trade Union Congress and all its affiliated association members (where all workers of PNG fall into through their respective unions), civil society members, women’s groups, and the general public. School for all kids has been cancelled, many business houses are closed, public transportation has been reduced to a minimum and police presence is on a high.
Opportunists have used the occasion to disrupt normalcy by doing some of the following:
- TST Waigani has been destroyed by a mob from Morata.
- KMC at Badilli has been set on fire by a mob there.
- Mobs have been reported to chase away Asians and loot their shops at 6 Mile area.
This is the news as of lunch time today. Whatever develops throughout the afternoon, will be made known later. May our good Lord step in and take command of the situation.
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