Lawlessness and disorder in Papua New Guinea

The Straits Times (Singapore)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Bruce Gale, Senior Writer

LAST month, when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cancelled a planned trip to Port Moresby in order to deal with the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, observers could have been forgiven for thinking that she had more than humanitarian concerns on her mind.

Poverty-stricken Papua New Guinea is not exactly in the same league as Afghanistan or Iraq. But it is rapidly becoming one of those countries people don't visit unless they really have to.

Just days before Mrs Clinton was scheduled to arrive, a mass jailbreak involving some of the country's most dangerous criminals emphasised just how serious the security situation was. Guns, including high- powered weapons, are more freely available in Papua New Guinea these days than ever before. And while few seriously believed Mrs Clinton might be a particular target, hired killers have become a regular fixture in the country.

Political assassination has a long history in Papua. Until recently, most such murders involved low- and middle-ranking political leaders, government officials and businessmen. Recent developments, however, have been disturbing. Last December, for example, assassins attempted to murder Chief Ombudsman Chronox Manek outside his home in Port Moresby.

International criminal organisations have also begun to make their mark in the country. Last month, police announced that triad assassins had been arrested for the attempted murder of local supermarket tycoon Jason Tan. The presence of triad gangsters has alarmed the police.
Metropolitan police superintendent Fred Yakasa told The National newspaper that the situation was 'frightening'.

Only the hardiest of tourists visit the country. A travel advisory on the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website warns visitors to 'maintain a high degree of caution'.

Crime, it says, is particularly prevalent in Port Moresby, Lae and Mt Hagen, with 'bush knives' (machetes) and firearms often used in assaults and thefts. Carjackings, assaults (including sexual assaults), bag snatching and robberies are common. Walking after dark is particularly dangerous, says the website. All travel at night should be made by car, with doors locked and windows up.

Bloody tribal feuds are yet another problem. The most recent took place in the Southern Highlands on Jan 24, when a gang of villagers from the Erave district attacked a neighbouring clan with high-powered guns in an early morning raid. Reports said 11 people were killed.

Not surprisingly, tourism remains largely underdeveloped, despite the many attractions for potential visitors.

It is not an easy environment for foreign businessmen either. Last month, an Australian law firm withdrew from representing the nation's largest financial institution after its staff were threatened by armed thugs. The firm had been representing Bank South Pacific in a court action in which the bank was attempting to recover money from a company owned by a former Member of Parliament.

Long-running tribal wars and demands from rival landowners for a share of the profits formed a major factor in Chevron's 2003 decision to abandon plans to build a pipeline to export natural gas from the Southern Highlands to the Australian state of Queensland.

History may now be about to repeat itself. In December, an ExxonMobil- led consortium signed a 20-year deal to liquefy the country's natural gas and export it to China, Taiwan and Japan. Mrs Clinton was expected to give her blessing to the project which, partly financed by US official loans, has the potential to transform the local economy.

But because the country does not have enough skilled workers to construct the two planned multi-billion dollar LNG plants, the government is expected to allow the entry of thousands of Asian guest workers, housing them in a specially built camp not far from the capital. Just how these workers will be viewed by the unemployed in Port Moresby is not difficult to imagine.

Last May, anti-Chinese riots spread through several cities in the wake of a dispute between local and Chinese workers at a nickel mine being developed by the state-owned China Metallurgical Construction Group.

At independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea was a reasonably well-run country with a moderate crime rate. But decades of corruption and mismanagement have changed all that.

According to corruption watchdog Transparency International, Papua New Guinea is one of the most corrupt countries in the world - far worse than its neighbour Indonesia. Efforts to deal with the problem are complicated by the fact that - according to the government's ombudsman
- the police force is the most graft-ridden institution in the country.

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton has assured Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare that she will make another attempt to visit the country in the near future. As Washington's most senior diplomat, she probably has little choice. But for all the talk in the capital about such a visit boosting international confidence in the country, few are likely to follow her lead until the security situation improves.

bruceg@sph.com.sg