Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has revealed how arms and ammunition used to conduct the 1987 military coup were secretly brought into Fiji on board a naval survey ship.

Speaking at the commissioning of a new research vessel for the Lands and Mineral Resources Ministry on Friday, Rabuka described the strategic measures taken to ensure the weapons reached Fiji undetected.

He recounted that during preparations for his coup against Dr Timoçi Bavadra’s Labour government of 1987, Fiji lacked sufficient arms and ammunition.

• READ MORE: The media and the coup leader: Sitiveni Rabuka — Pacific Journalism Review
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“I realised that we didn’t have enough weapons and ammunition in Fiji to do what I wanted to do. So I sent a very quick message to the captain who was there to pick up the ship and surprised him by asking that, get that ship commissioned in Singapore before you sail back to Fiji.”

Rabuka explained the decision, saying the commissioning had allowed the ship to fly a naval flag, ensuring it would avoid inspection at international ports.

He said the ship’s captain was instructed to load arms and ammunition en route which were successfully brought back to Fiji.

The Prime Minister said the measures were necessary at the time to achieve what needed to be done.

Rare glimpse of tactics
His remarks offered a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes tactics of 1987, highlighting the extent of planning and resourcefulness involved.

Rabuka’s comments were made during the launch of a state-of-the-art research vessel which will serve as a floating laboratory for marine geological studies and coastal surveys.

The vessel is equipped with advanced tools to map the ocean floor, study tectonic activity and support communities affected by climate change.

The Prime Minister said the new vessel marked a significant step in understanding Fiji’s marine ecosystem.

He also spoke about the importance of integrating scientific research with traditional knowledge to address critical issues such as climate change and sustainable resource management.

The PM said there was a need for informed planning to prevent disasters, referencing the recent earthquake in Vanuatu.

Rabuka said early geological surveys could have guided city planners and engineers in designing structures that mitigate damage from such events.

The new vessel is expected to provide critical insights into the ocean’s mysteries while contributing to Fiji’s resilience against climate-related challenges.

Fiji’s President celebrates birthday with military
Meanwhile, earlier today members of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) gathered at State House to celebrate the 71st birthday of Fiji’s President and Commander-in-Chief, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.

The celebration was led by the Commander of the Fiji Navy, Humphrey Tawake, with senior officers. It was marked by a march by officers and the RFMF band. adding a ceremonial and heartfelt touch to the happy occasion.

On behalf of the commander of the RFMF who is away on official leave, Commander Tawake extended birthday wishes to the Head of State.

President Lalabalavu praised the dedication of the RFMF in upholding law and order.

“The strength of our nation lies in our collective efforts, and since assuming office, I have witnessed the vital role you play in ensuring peace and stability,” he said.

The man being touted by the opposition as the next leader of Papua New Guinea says the first thing his administration would do is put more focus on law and order.

East Sepik governor Allan Bird is being put forward as the opposition’s candidate for prime minister with a vote on a motion of no confidence likely in the last week of May.

Bird is realistic about his chances but he said it is important to have such a vote.

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“I think the first thing we would do is just restructure the Budget and put more focus on things like law and order, bring that right to the top and deal with it quickly,” he said.

He spoke about what he aspires to do if he gets the chance.

Don Wiseman: Mr Bird, you had been delegated to look at the violence following the 2022 election, and it is clear that resolving this will be a huge problem.

AB: Not necessarily. It’s currently confined to the upper Highlands part of the country, but it is filtering down to Port Moresby and other places. I guess the reluctance to deal with the violence is that I’d say 90 percent of that violence stems from the aftermath of the elections.

From our own findings, we know that many leaders in that part of the world that run for elections actually use these warlords to help them get elected. And obviously, they’ve got like four years of downtime between elections, and this is how they spend their spare time. So, it’s hardly surprising.

I think our military and our police have the capability to deal with these criminal warlords and put them down. How shall I say it – with extreme prejudice. But you get a lot of interference in the command of the police and the Defence Force. I suspect that changes the operational orders once they get too close to dealing with these terrorists.

DW: Police have been given the power to use lethal force, but a lot of commentators would say the problems have more to do with the the lack of money, the lack of opportunity, the lack of education.

AB: The lack of education, opportunity, and things like that will play a small part. But again, as I said, I come from a province where we don’t have warlords running around heavily armed to the teeth. I mean, you have got to remember an AR-15, or a 4M, or anything like that. These things on the black market cost around 60,000 to 70,000 kina (NZ$20,000-25,000).

The ordinary Papua New Guinean cannot afford one of those things and guns are banned in public use — they’ve been banned for like 30 years. So how do these weapons get in? Just buying a bullet to operate one of these things is hard enough. So you got to ask yourself the question: how are illiterate people with perhaps no opportunity, able to come into possession of such weapons.

DW: The esteemed military leader Jerry Singarok compiled, at the request of the government about 15 years ago, a substantial report on what to do about the gun problem. But next to nothing of that has ever been implemented. Would you go back to something like that?

AB: Absolutely. I have a lot of respect for Major-General Singarok. I know him personally as well. We have had these discussions on occasions. You’ve got smart, capable people who have done a lot of work in areas such as this, and we just simply put them on the backburner and let them collect dust.

DW: The opposition hopes to have its notice for a motion of no confidence in the Marape government in Parliament on 28 or 29 May, when Parliament resumes. It was adjourned two weeks ago when the opposition tried to present their motion, with the government claiming it was laden with fake names, something the opposition has strenuously denied. Do you have the numbers?

AB: Obviously we’re talking with people inside the government because that’s where the numbers are. Hence, we’ve been encouraged to go ahead with the vote of no confidence. The chance of maybe being Prime Minister per se, is probably like 5 percent. So it could be someone else.

I say that because in Papua New Guinea, it’s really difficult for someone with my background and my sort of discipline and level of honesty to become prime minister. It’s happened a couple of times in the past, but it’s very rare.

DW: You’re too honest?

AB: I’m too honest. Yes.

DW: We’ve looked at the law and audit issue. What else needs fixing fast?

Well, we’ve got a youth bulge. We’ve got a huge population problem. We’ve got to start looking at practical ways in terms of how we can quickly expand opportunities to use your word. Whatever we’ve been doing for the last 10 years has not worked. We’ve got to try something new.

My proposal is actually really keeping with international management best practice. You go to any organisation this is what they do. I think New Zealand does it as well, and Australia does, which is you’ve got to push more funds and responsibilities closer to the coalface and that’s the provinces.

If I could do one thing that would change the trajectory of this country, it’s actually to push more resources away from the centralised government. We actually have a centralised system of government right now.

The Prime Minister [Marape] has so much control to the point where it’s up to him to authorise the building of a road in a particular place worth, say, 5 million kina. The national government is the federal government, if you like, is looking after projects that are as low as say, 2 to 3 million New Zealand dollars in value all the way up to projects that are $500 million in value.

So the question is: there’s got to be better separation of powers, better separation of responsibilities and, of course, clearly demarcated roles and responsibilities. Right now, we’re all competing for the same space. It’s highly inefficient with duplicating a lot of things and there’s a lot of wastage of resources. The way to do that is to decentralise.

DW: What concerns do you have about MPs having direct control over significant amounts of these funds that are meant to go to their electorates? Should they?

AB: Well, I don’t think any of us should have access to direct funding in that regard. However, this is the prevailing political culture that we live in. So again, coming back to my idea about ensuring that we get better funding at the sub-national levels is to strengthen the operational capability of the public servants there, so that once they start to perform, then hopefully over time, there’ll be less of a need to directly give funds to members of parliament because the system itself will start functioning.

We’ve killed the system over the last 20 or 30 years and so now the system is overly dependent on one individual which is wrong.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Faced with a rise in the number of criminals in Papua New Guinea who are now armed and shooting at the police, Police Commissioner David Manning says “all gloves are off”.

“We will not be practising any leniency and we will neutralise the criminals through any means — meaning they will be shot and killed,” he said.

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Last month in Northern province, a policeman was shot and killed by armed 16-year-olds who had access to firearms and were committing crimes in the province.

This week settlers who were allegedly evicted opened fire at police officers with a stray bullet wounding a female reporter.

The escalating law and order problems even got Prime Minister James Marape and former prime minister Peter O’Neill “yelling” and blaming each other over daily killings nationwide.

O’Neill challenged Marape to explain what the government’s plans were on tackling the escalating law and order situation nationwide.

Countering aggression
However, Manning said: “The RPNGC [Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary] is moving from what had been an overarching emphasis on crime prevention over recent decades to focus on responding to criminal activity and countering aggression head-on.

“Standing orders for police officers to neutralise violent offenders through the escalated and reasonable use of force are being reinforced across units.”

The RPNGC, with the support of the Marape government, is repositioning police personnel and assets to take a harder stand against violent offenders and domestic terrorists.”

“The ‘soft glove’ approach as the frontline policy has not worked, and now the gloves are off and the frontline is the confrontation and neutralisation of criminal activity at its roots,” Manning said.

Police officers were trained in the escalated use of force when confronting criminal activities — up to and including the use of lethal force — and they had sworn an oath to fulfil this duty, he added.

Empowering commands
Commissioner Manning said that an important component of this direction included further empowering provincial police commands to engage with provincial administrations to respond to local crime problems.

“Legislation is being developed that clearly articulates actions of domestic terrorism, and the changes in our police force counter-terrorism approach will be reflected in this policy development.

According to information received, the estimated number of firearms possessed by civilians stands at “tens of thousands”.

With the high number of the proliferation of firearms since 2022, the number of firearms has increased to an unknown figure.

Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.

Papua New Guinean police are investigating serious firearms offences allegedly involving five candidates contesting the election in the Highlands region.

The candidates in two different provinces are being investigated for the use of firearms at campaign rallies, for firing an unlicensed firearm, being in possession of a firearm and being in possession of a stolen vehicle.

The interest of police in the five candidates comes three weeks after the close of nomination in Southern and Western Highlands provinces.

• READ MORE: PNG police brand Mt Hagen airport sabotage as ‘act of terrorism’
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Police fear that without proper manpower support, polling and counting in the two provinces will be the bloodiest with the high number of firearms being used and allegedly gathered by supporters of candidates.

The investigation comes after a two-week firearms amnesty ended on May 19.

Police Commissioner David Manning has issued instructions for all police personnel to arrest and charge anyone found to be be “manufacturing homemade guns, illegal ownership and possession of firearms, illegal possession and use of firearms, illegal possession of prohibited firearms and ownership and [in] possession of machine guns”.

However, a police source said the talks on arrests of those in possession of firearms would not occur without proper support of police.

‘What can police do?’
“Candidates are known to support their supporters with firearms but what can police do?” the source said.

“They can only arrest those they catch, the buy-back scheme of firearms and the recent firearms amendment will not stop the influx of firearms into the country, especially the Highlands region.”

Police Minister William Onglo has said: “Candidates need to lead by example, when you as a candidate don’t lead by example you show your supporters that they can do what they want.

“That needs to end, you want to be a leader and you are putting your hand up, this means whatever happens with your supporters you as their candidate must tell them what they are doing is wrong and if need be report them,” he said.

SHP police commander Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen said that with the instruction from Commissioner Manning and the amendments to the Firearms Act, if the candidates were found to be supplying and supporting the use of firearms in this election they will be charged by the SHP Election taskforce team.

“We see supporters moving around the province brandishing weapons but they hide their firearms, but when it comes to confrontations, suddenly firearms are brought out,” PPC Yangen said.

A high level group of observers in the 2017 National General Election made several recommendations on security to be looked at prior to the 2022 Election. However, these changes have not been made.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea’s policemen and women around the country have been ordered to arrest and charge anyone in possession of illegal firearms — which carries life imprisonment under the amended law — from the May 19 deadline.

Police Commissioner David Manning, who is also the Registrar of Firearms, said that the directives were now being enforced.

Manning is urging all police officers around the country to enforce the law and implement the Firearms Amendment Act 2022 that was tabled and supported by all members of the 10th National Parliament recently.

• READ MORE: Other reports on the PNG elections

“I gave a two-week amnesty period for people to come forward and surrender their firearms to the nearest police station,” he said.

“I am now appealing to anyone who has any information about the existence of any such illegal firearms to please come forward and assist your police force to remove these individuals and firearms from our communities.”

Papua New Guinea faces a general election starting in late July and security is an issue.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

An inter-agency team working with Australian and American investigators has busted a drug laboratory operating in a Papua New Guinean hotel last week — but this could all be for nothing.

Papua New Guinea does not have the appropriate laws to prosecute offenders involved in such dangerous drugs, a senior police officer said.

The cache was seized in Sanctuary Hotel in the capital Port Moresby’s suburb Waigani.

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Head of the illicit and narcotic investigation team, Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Special Operations Donald Yamasombi, said PNG Police and PNG Customs had worked with the Australian Federal Police and United States Department of Homeland Security in an operation dubbed Saki Bomb.

The team tracked an illegal consignment from the United States onboard a cargo vessel all the way to PNG, resulting in the arrest last week of the hotel’s group operations manager Jamie Pang, 43.

Yamasombi said police had executed a search warrant on November 16 and raided the Sanctuary Hotel at Waigani and found a mini clandestine laboratory to produce methamphetamine, a highly dangerous recreational drug sometimes referred to as ice, or meth.

He said the clandestine laboratory was found inside a hotel room adjacent to Pang’s room.

High powered guns
Police also discovered and seized high powered guns and live ammunition of different calibres.

“History in the making for constabulary to see a laboratory where we got them in the process of producing meth,” Yamasombi said.

Pang was charged with four counts of possession of firearms without licences, five counts of possession of live ammunition and two counts of possession of firearm ­­– a total of 11 charges, for which he pleaded guilty last Friday at Boroko District Court.

“Unfortunately we cannot charge him with methamphetamine because there is no legislation,” Yamasombi said.

“For us it is a slap in the face though we have evidence and substances to prove this.

“But a good result of the operation is that he had pleaded guilty and we are now waiting to see court decision in court this week.”

He said investigations were continuing.

Marjorie Finkeo is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Many allegations have been levelled against Papua New Guinea’s disciplinary forces over the years, alleging that police and soldiers sell firearms.

However, Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) Commander Major-General Gilbert Toropo denies these claims, saying all firearms are inspected and are accounted for on a fortnightly basis.

He said that the military had a system in place to ensure accountability for weapons in the force.

• READ MORE: Other PNG military and security reports

With recent reports of the use of firearms in tribal fights across parts of the country, many have started to ask where they are getting the guns from.

General Toropo said such statements must be backed up with evidence.

“Today, people can get such military specification weapons anywhere through the borders,” he said.

“So these allegations have to be supported with evidence. It is unfair to make generalised statements which only undermine our efforts to make PNGDF a force that our people and governments can trust.

“It’s easy for people to make statements that only discredit the force [and] that are very hard to retract,” he said.

Attempts made to get comments from the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) were unsuccessful.

Unwritten rule
Back at Independence in 1975, there were already a few guns in the community, but as the former Provincial Secretary of Chimbu, Barungke Kaman, said some 40 years ago, there was an unwritten rule that they would not be used in tribal fights, where participants would stick with traditional weapons.

When asked about the consequences of those unwritten rules being dropped, Kaman responded at that time that “there would then be mayhem”.

Well those rules have long since been dropped, said Institute of National Affairs (INA) executive director Paul Barker.

Barker said tribal leaders today were hiring gunmen — or hitmen — often from outside their own clans, to target opponents, and the other side responded in the same way.

“We had the gun summit and task force, led by former commander Jerry Singirok and respected senior police officers, like John Toguata, but little action has ever been taken by government to follow up,” he said.

“This is partly because those that are involved in the gun trafficking and arming of groups, sometimes called warlords, are often closely linked to politics and politicians, helping deliver support and countering opponents, or law enforcement officials.”

According to the United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR) that backs action on guns regulation, Papua New Guinea has about 51,957 illegal and unlicensed firearms.

Tougher PNG gun laws
In 2018, to address the widespread use of firearms in crimes and in tribal fights, Parliament passed tougher gun laws that included penalties of up to K10,000 (NZ$4000) or five years’ jail for the use of unlicensed firearms or the misuse of licensed weapons, with the manufacturing of guns now attracting up to 10 years’ jail time.

But Barker said users and manufacturers of guns seemed to consider themselves astonishingly immune from arrest and prosecution by law enforcement.

Some operating within PNG’s cities have even been ready to be interviewed by international film crews and barely conceal their identities or whereabouts or activities, as though they consider themselves protected from police action.

Rebecca Kuku is a senior PNG Post-Courier journalist. She also reports for The Guardian’s Pacific Project.