PNG: 'The people stepped in'

April 9, 1997
Issue 

By Norm Dixon

The decision by PNG prime minister Julius Chan, his deputy Chris Haiveta and defence minister Mathias Ijape to stand aside pending an inquiry into the hiring of the Sandline/Executive Outcomes mercenaries was made because politicians of all stripes feared the people of PNG.

Chan stubbornly resisted calls to resign from mutinous military chiefs, newspaper editorials at home and in Australia, the governor general Wiwa Korowi, the chief ombudsman, at least three cabinet ministers and the parliamentary opposition.

He was able to bribe and cajole enough MPs to survive a June 25 vote calling on him to stand down. Opposition MPs, desperate that their motion not to be interpreted as an endorsement of the demands of 6000 students, soldiers, workers and unemployed gathered outside seeking Chan's resignation, watered it down to a polite request that Chan stand aside pending the results of the inquiry.

With an eye on the Australian government and big business, MPs of all stripes spoke of the need for parliament not to be seen to be responding to "a section of the community". Even sacked PNGDF commander Jerry Singirok, whose opposition to the deployment of the mercenaries on Bougainville triggered the crisis, and the pro-Singirok leader of the striking troops Major Enuma, pledged that the PNGDF would respect the outcome of the vote and confined troops to their barracks. Several hundred troops ignored orders and joined the protests.

But when the huge demonstration, hearing of the failure of the vote, sealed all exits from the parliament buildings, preventing more than 100 of the country's 109 MPs from leaving, Chan soon relented. Addressing nervous MPs on June 26, Chan stated plainly he and his colleagues stepped down "to diffuse something which I consider to be very explosive outside".

The radical Melanesian Solidarity (Melsol) group played a prominent role in the demonstrations. Melsol national general secretary Peti Lafanama told the crowd after Chan's back down: "This achievement set a new direction in PNG history. It will stand as a warning for any leader in the next 20 years."

Michael Tataki, an executive member of Melsol, told Green Left Weekly from Port Moresby that the people "stepped in" after Singirok's falling out with the PNG government. "The overriding issue for ordinary people is corruption" among the elite while the mass of people are getting poorer, he said. The PNG people were outraged that the government was prepared to pay killers to massacre its own citizens.

"The politicians and our leaders have taken the people for granted for so long, so we said enough is enough. That is the reason we took to the streets", Tataki explained. While the people were "crying tears of joy" when they heard Chan had stepped down, and it was definitely a victory for the people, "standing aside is not enough. Chan must resign." Melsol does not trust the new caretaker administration led by John Giheno, the mines minister in the Chan government who approved BHP's pollution of the Fly and Ok Tedi Rivers, to carry out an honest inquiry.

Tataki said Chan is threatening to sue Melsol leader Lafanama for defamation. He is also threatening to file a lawsuit against Melsol and denied government claims that Melsol conspired with Singirok to bring down Chan. "We did not plan anything. Singirok's action took us by surprise. Melsol's presence was due to our support for the people.

"As the crisis developed, we went to the university and talked to the students about the events and against corruption. We said the money should have been spent on the students and the poor not on arms and mercenaries. When we got the students on side, our members in the suburbs talked to community leaders and they came out too."

Tataki predicts that after the June general election few of PNG's 109 MPs will retain their seats. "People are saying they don't want recycled politicians any more, especially members of Chan's coalition." Melsol isn't planning to run in the election as a party, but individual members will be encouraged to stand.

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