The murders of unarmed civilians on the streets of Minneapolis, including the killing of the intensive-care nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti, would not come as a shock to Iraqis in Fallujah or Afghans in Helmand province.

They were terrorised by heavily armed American execution squads for decades.

It would not come as a shock to any of the students I teach in prison. Militarised police in poor urban neighborhoods kick down doors without warrants and kill with the same impunity and lack of accountability.

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What the rest of us are facing now, is what Aimé Césaire called “imperial boomerang”.

Empires, when they decay, employ the savage forms of control on those they subjugate abroad, or those demonized by the wider society in the name of law and order, on the homeland.

The tyranny Athens imposed on others, Thucydides noted, it finally, with the collapse of Athenian democracy, imposed on itself.

But before we became the victims of state terror, we were accomplices. Before we expressed moral outrage at the indiscriminate taking of innocent lives, we tolerated, and often celebrated, the same Gestapo tactics, as long as they were directed at those who lived in the nations we occupied or poor people of colour.

We sowed the wind, now we will reap the whirlwind. The machinery of terror, perfected on those we abandoned and betrayed, including the Palestinians in Gaza, is ready for us.

Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for 15 years for The New York Times, where he served as the Middle East bureau chief and Balkan bureau chief for the paper. He is the host of show “The Chris Hedges Report”. This commentary was first published on the Chris Hedges Substack page and is republished with permission.

• The Chris Hedges Report

SPECIAL REPORT: By Mariam Barghouti in Jenin for Drop Site News

On December 28, 21-year-old Palestinian journalist Shatha Sabbagh was standing on the stairs of her home on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp when she was shot and killed.

The bullets weren’t fired by Israeli troops but, according to eyewitnesses and forensic evidence, by Palestinian Authority security forces.

The Palestinian Authority has been conducting a large-scale military operation in Jenin since early December, dubbing it “Operation Homeland Protection”.

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A stronghold of Palestinian armed resistance in the occupied West Bank, the city of Jenin and the refugee camp within it have been repeatedly raided, bombed, and besieged by the Israeli military in an attempt to crush the Jenin Brigade — a politically diverse militant group of mostly third-generation refugees who believe armed resistance is key to liberating Palestinian lands from Israeli occupation and annexation.

Over the past 15 months, the Israeli military has killed at least 225 Palestinians in Jenin, making it the deadliest area in the West Bank.

The real aim, residents say, is to crush Palestinian armed resistance at the behest of Israel. Dubbed the “Wasps’ Nest” by Israeli officials, Jenin refugee camp has posed a constant threat to Israel’s settler colonial project.

But the current operation, which is being billed as a campaign to “restore law and order,” is the longest and most lethal assault by Palestinian security forces in recent memory. While the PA claims to be rooting out armed factions and individuals accused of being “Iranian-backed outlaws,” according to multiple residents and eyewitnesses, the operation is a suffocating siege, with indiscriminate violence, mass arrests, and collective punishment.

Sixteen Palestinians have been killed so far, with security forces setting up checkpoints around the city and refugee camp, cutting electricity to the area, and engaging in fierce gun battles. Among those killed are six members of the security forces and one resistance fighter, Yazeed Ja’aysa.

Yet the overwhelming majority of those killed have been civilians, including Sabbagh, and at least three children — Majd Zeidan, 16, Qasm Hajj, 14, and Mohammad Al-Amer, 13.

“It’s reached levels I have never seen before. Even journalists aren’t allowed to cover it,” M., 24, a local journalist and resident of Jenin, told Drop Site News on condition of anonymity for fear of being arrested or targeted by PA security forces.

Dozens of residents, including journalists, have been arrested from Jenin and across the West Bank by the PA in the past six weeks under the pretext of supporting the so-called Iranian-backed “outlaws.”

PA security forces spokesperson Brigadier-General Anwar Rajab has justified the assault as “in response to the supreme national interest of the Palestinian people, and within the framework of ongoing continued efforts to maintain security and civil peace, establish the rule of law, and eradicate sedition and chaos”.

‘Wasps’ Nest’ threat to Israel’s settler colonial project
But the real aim, residents say, is to crush Palestinian armed resistance at the behest of Israel. Dubbed the “Wasps’ Nest” by Israeli officials, Jenin refugee camp has posed a constant threat to Israel’s settler colonial project.

Just one week into the operation, on December 12, PA security forces shot and killed the first civilian, 19-year-old Ribhi Shalabi, and injured his 15-year-old brother in the head. Although the PA initially denied killing Shalabi and claimed he was targeting its security forces with IEDs, video captured by CCTV shows Ribhi being shot execution-style while riding his Vespa.

The PA later admitted to killing Shalabi, saying “the Palestinian National Authority bears full responsibility for his martyrdom, and announces that it is committed to dealing with the repercussions of the incident in a manner consistent with and in accordance with the law, ensuring justice and respect for rights”.

Just two days later, the PA began escalating their attack on Jenin. At approximately 5:00 am on December 14, the Palestinian Authority officially declared the large-scale operation, dubbing it “Himayat Watan” or “Homeland Protection.”

By 8:00 am, Jenin refugee camp was under siege and two more Palestinians had been killed, including prominent Palestinian resistance fighter Yazeed Ja’aisa, and 13-year-old Mohammad Al-Amer. At least two other children were injured with live ammunition.

The roads leading to Jenin are now riddled with Israeli checkpoints while the entrance to the city is surrounded by PA armoured vehicles and security forces brandishing assault rifles, their faces hidden behind black balaclavas.

Eerily reminiscent of past Israeli incursions, snipers fire continuously from within the PA security headquarters toward the refugee camp just to the west, sending the sound of live ammunition echoing through the city. The PA also imposed a curfew on the city of Jenin, warning residents that anyone moving in the streets would be shot.

PA counterterrorism units have also been stationed at the entrance to Jenin’s public hospital, while the National Guard blocked roads with armoured vehicles and personnel carriers, denying entry to journalists.

When I attempted to reach the hospital on December 14 with another journalist to gather information for Drop Site on the injuries sustained during the earlier firefight and follow up on the killing of Al-Amer, the 13-year-old, armed and masked PA security forces claimed the area was a closed security zone. When we attempted to carry out field interviews outside the camp instead, two armed men in civilian clothing who identified themselves as members of the mukhabarat — Palestinian General Intelligence — requested that we leave the area.

“If you stay here, you might get shot by the outlaws,” he warned. Yet, from where we stood between the hospital, the PA security headquarters, and Jenin refugee camp, the only bullets being fired were coming from the direction of the PA headquarters towards the camp.

PA security forces also appear to have been using one of the hospital wards as a makeshift detention center where detainees are being mistreated. While Brigadier-General Rajab, the PA’s spokesperson, denied this; several young men detained by the PA told Drop Site they were taken to the third floor of Jenin public hospital where they were interrogated and beaten.

“They kept asking me about the fighters,” said A., a 31-year-old medical service provider from Jenin refugee camp, who says he was held for hours, blindfolded, and denied legal representation.

“They kept beating me, cursing at me, asking me questions that I don’t have answers for.”

Fear of being arrested, abused again
Since his arbitrary detention, A. has not returned to work out of fear of being arrested and abused again.

According to residents, the PA also stationed snipers in the hospital, firing at the camp from inside the facility. During the past six weeks, according to interviews with several medics in Jenin, PA security forces shot at medics, burned two medical vehicles, beat paramedics, and detained medical workers throughout the siege.

“What exactly are they protecting?” Abu Yasir, 50, asks as he stands outside the hospital, waiting for any news of the security operation to end.

A father of three, Abu Yasir grew up in the Jenin refugee camp. “There are people being killed in the camp just for being there. They didn’t do anything,” he told Drop Site as he burst into tears.

By December 14, with Operation Homeland Protection entering its 10th day, families in the refugee camp had run out of food, the chronically ill needed life-saving medication, and with electricity and water punitively cut from the camp, families found themselves under siege and increasingly desperate.

Women and their children tried to protest in an attempt to break the PA-imposed blockade. They also wanted to challenge the PA’s claim of targeting outlaws. As the women gathered in the dark towards the edge of the camp, several men worked to fix an electricity box to restore power to the camp.

When the lights came on, cheers echoed in the camp — but barely 15 minutes later, PA forces shot at the box, plunging the area into darkness again.

Denying electricity for families
According to residents of the camp, over the course of 10 days, the PA shot at the electric power boxes more than a dozen times, denying families electricity just as temperatures began to plummet.

Elderly women confronted soldiers of the Special Administrative Tasks squad (SAT), a specialised branch of the PA security forces, SAT is trained by the Office of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) and is responsible for coordinating operations with the United States and Israel, including joint-operations and intelligence sharing.

“I yelled at them,” said Umm Salamah, 62. “They burst through the door, and at first, I thought they were Israelis’” she told Drop Site, pointing to the destroyed door. “I told them I have children in the house. But they forced their way in.

“I told them we already have the Israeli army constantly raiding us, and now you?”

Not only were homes raided, according to Umm Salameh, but PA security forces also fired at water tanks, effectively cutting water supplies to the camp. Jenin refugee camp had already been severely damaged in the last Israeli invasion, during which Israeli military and border-police bulldozed the city’s civilian infrastructure, turning streets into hills of rubble.

Operation Homeland Protection comes just three months following “Operation Summer Camps,” Israel’s large-scale military operation between August and October.

Under the pretext of targeting “Iran-backed terrorists,” Israeli forces destroyed large swathes of civilian infrastructure in the northern districts of the West Bank, namely Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and Tubas, and killed more than 150 Palestinians over three months, a fifth of whom were children.

Protest over ‘outlaws’ framing
Outside in the mud-filled streets, the group of women began to chant “Kateebeh!” (Brigade) in support of the Jenin Brigade, and in protest of the PA’s attempt to frame them as “outlaws” and a “threat to national security.”

Within minutes, the SAT unit responded with teargas and stun grenades fired directly at the crowd, which included journalists clearly marked with fluorescent PRESS insignia. While elderly women tripped and fell to the ground, children ran back towards the camp as PA security forces kept lobbing stun grenades at the fleeing crowd.

In an interview with Drop Site that evening, Brigadier-General Rajab affirmed that “this operation comes to achieve its goals which are the reclaiming of safety and security of Palestinians and reclaiming Jenin refugee camp from the outlaws that kidnapped it and spread corruption in it while threatening the lives of civilians.”

Days later, the PA had expanded its operations to Tulkarem, where clashes between resistance fighters and PA security forces erupted on December 19. This came just one day following an Israeli airstrike which killed three Palestinian fighters in Tulkarem refugee camp: Dusam Al-Oufi, Mohammad Al-Oufi, and Mohammad Rahayma.

On December 22, Saher Irheil, a Palestinian officer in the PA’s presidential guard was killed in Jenin, and two others injured.

According to official state media and statements by the PA, Lieutenant Irheil was killed by the “outlaws” of Jenin refugee camp. Brigadier-General Rajab claimed “this heinous crime will only increase [the PA’s] determination to pursue those outside the law and impose the rule of law, in order to preserve the security and safety of our people.”

By military order, speakers from mosques across the West Bank echoed in a public tribute to the fallen officer. The same was not done for those killed by the PA, including Shalabi, the 19-year-old whom the PA dubbed “a martyr of the nation” after being forced to admit they killed him.

That week, PA security forces escalated their attack on the Jenin refugee camp, using rocket-propelled grenades and firing indiscriminately at families sheltering in their own homes. PA security officers even posted photos and videos of themselves online, similar to those taken by Israeli soldiers while invading the camp in August and September.

On December 23, security forces shot and killed 16-year-old Majd Zeidan while he was returning to his home from a nearby corner store. The PA claimed Zeidan was an Iranian-backed saboteur.

Killed teenager had bag of chips
“They killed him, then said he was a 26-year-old Iranian-backed outlaw,” Zeidan’s mother, Yusra, told Drop Site. “Look,” she said while pulling her son’s ID card from her pocket. “My son was 16 years old, killed while returning from the store with a bag of chips.”

According to Yusra, not only was her son killed, but her brother who lives in Nablus, was arrested by the PA a few days later for holding a wake for his slain nephew.

“The Preventative Security are detaining my brother because he was mourning a mukhareb,” she said. The term “mukhareb” which roughly translates to “saboteur” is a term derived from the Israeli term “mekhablim” which is commonly used when arresting Palestinians.

A few days later, on December 28, Shatha Sabbagh, a young journalist, was shot and killed as she stood on the stairs of her home at the edges of the camp. Official PA statements claim that Sabbagh was killed by resistance fighters, not its security forces.

However, accounts by eyewitnesses and the victim’s family belie those claims.

According to testimonies from her family and residents, Sabbagh was killed while holding her 18-month-old nephew; her sister lives nearby, on Mahyoub Street in the refugee camp — the same area PA snipers were targeting. Initial autopsy findings shared with Drop Site show that the bullet that struck her came from the area in which PA snipers were positioned in the camp.

Known for her reliable reporting during both Israeli and PA raids on Jenin, local residents claim that PA loyalists had been inciting against Sabbagh for some time. Further inflaming tensions, Sabbagh’s killing underscored the risks faced by Palestinian journalists in documenting what the PA would rather conceal.

Soon afterward, Brigadier-General Rajab spoke about the killing of Sabbagh in a live interview with Al Jazeera. He turned off his camera and left the interview, however, as soon as Sabbagh’s mother was brought on air. Sabbagh’s mother, Umm Al-Mutasem, was next to her daughter when she was killed.

Two days after Sabbagh’s killing, the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate, which is closely affiliated with the PA, released a statement accusing Al Jazeera of incitement, bias and attempts to stir internal discord.

On January 5, the Magistrate Court of Ramallah announced a suspension of Al Jazeera’s broadcasting operations in the West Bank, citing a “failure to meet regulations.” This move followed Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera offices during Operation Summer Camps in September of last year.

100 Palestinians arrested in operation
The Preventative Security, an internal intelligence organisation led by the Minister of Interior, and part of the Palestinian Security Services, arrested more than a hundred Palestinians as part of Operation Homeland Protection, including five journalists in Nablus and Jenin. Palestinians were summoned and interrogated, at times tortured, and detained without legal representation.

The PA not only targeted residents of the camp, but also expanded its repressive campaign to target anyone that would sympathise with the camp or is suspected of having any solidarity with the armed resistance.

Amro Shami, 22, who was arrested by the PA from his home in Jenin on December 25 had markings of torture on his body during his court hearing in the Nablus Court the following day. Shami was reported to have bruising on his body and was unable to lift his arms in court.

Despite appeals by his lawyer, the court denied Amro release on bail. Amro’s lawyer was only able to visit 15 days later when he reported additional torture against Amro, including breaking his leg.

At the very end of December, as the operation stretched into its fifth week, journalists were able to enter the camp at their own risk. With water and electricity cut off, families huddled outside, burning wood and paper in old metal barrels to try and keep warm.

The camp reeked with uncollected trash piled in the alleyways due to the PA cutting all social services from the camp.

Inside the camp, armed resistance fighters patrolled the streets. After confirming our IDs as journalists they helped us move safely in the dark.

“In the beginning there were clashes between the Brigade and the PA, but we told them we are willing to collaborate with anything that does not harm the community,” H., a 26-year-old fighter with the brigade, told Drop Site. The young fighter was referring to the PA’s claims that they are targeting “outlaws”, in which the Jenin Brigade agreed to hand over anyone that is indeed breaking the law.

However, the PA seemed more interested in the resistance fighters.

Spokesmen of the Jenin Brigade have made several public statements informing the PA that as long as the operation was not targeting resistance efforts, they would fully comply and coordinate to ensure law and order.

‘We are with the law . . .  but which law?’
“We are with the law, we are not outside the law. We are with the enforcement of law, but which law? When an Israeli jeep comes into Jenin to kill me, where are you as law enforcement?”

Abu Issam, a spokesman for the Jenin Brigade told Drop Site: “As I speak right now, the PA armoured vehicles and jeeps are parked over our planted IEDs, and we are not detonating them,” he said.

A former member of the PA presidential guard, Abu Issam is no stranger to the PA’s repressive tactics to quell resistance.

“Our compass is clear, it’s against the occupation,” he said. “Come protect us from the Israeli settlers, and by all means here is my gun as a gift. Get them out of our lands, and execute me.

“We were surprised with the demands of the PA. They offered us three choices: to turn ourselves in along with our weapons, offering us jobs for amnesty; to leave the camp and allow the PA to take over; or to confront them.

“We have no choice but to confront,” he says, holding his M16 to his chest. “We want a dignified life, a free life, not a life of security coordination with our oppressors,” H. said.

By the second week of January, not only did the PA expand its security operations to Tulkarem and Tubas, but intensified its violence against Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp as well.

On January 3, PA snipers shot and killed 43-year-old Mahmoud Al-Jaqlamousi and his 14-year-son, Qasm, as they were gathering water. Two days later, PA security forces began burning homes of residents near the Ghubz quarter of the camp.

“Why burn it? I didn’t build this home in an hour, it was years of work, why burn it?” Issam Abu Ameira asks while standing in front of the charred walls of his home.

The operation, ostensibly intended to restore security and order, has instead brought devastation, raising troubling questions about governance and resistance in the West Bank.

“This is not solely the PA. This is also the United States and Israel’s attempt to crush resistance in the West Bank,” H. said. Like him, other fighters find the timing of the operation to be questionable.

“This is an organisation that negotiated with the occupation for more than 30 years, but can’t sit and talk with the Jenin refugee camp for 30 hours?” Abu Al-Nathmi, a spokesperson for the Jenin Brigade, said as he huddled inside the camp while fighters patrolled around us and live ammunition fired continuously in the area.

‘PA acting like group of gangs’
“The PA is acting like a group of gangs, each trying to prove their power and dominance at the expense of Jenin refugee camp,” Abu Al-Nathmi tells Drop Site. “Right now the PA is trying to prove itself to the United States to take over Gaza, but there was no position taken to defend Gaza.”

Last week, the PA requested an additional US$680 million from the US for security assistance. “What the PA is doing now is destroying the homeland, and breaking the law” Abu Al-Nathmi said.

While the PA continued its attack on Jenin refugee camp, the Israeli military waged military operations on the neighboring villages of Jenin, as well as Tubas and Tulkarem where 11 Palestinians were killed in the first week of January, three of whom were children.

In the 39 days since the PA launched Operation Homeland Protection, more than 40 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in the West Bank, including six children. Over that same time period, Israeli courts have issued confiscation orders for thousands of hectares of land belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank.

The PA is failing to provide protection to the Palestinian people against continuous settler expansion and amid an ongoing genocide in Gaza, residents of the Jenin refugee camp say.

“The PA is claiming they don’t want what happened to Gaza to happen here, but here we are dying a hundred times,” Abu Amjad, 50, told Drop Site. Huddled near a fire outside the rubble of his home, he cries “we are being humiliated, attacked, beaten, and told there’s nothing we can do about it. In this way, it’s better to die.”

Mariam Barghouti is a writer and a journalist based in the West Bank. She is a member of the Marie Colvin Journalist Network. This article was first published by Drop News.

People in Kanaky New Caledonia are disappointed that the riots last month are now being overshadowed by the Parliament elections and the Olympic Games.

New Caledonia High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said the European elections tomorrow will take place, despite some local municipalities indicating that they are experiencing difficulties.

He said additional security will be deployed for the elections, public broadcaster La Première TV reported.

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Local journalist Coralie Cochin said French media had stopped reporting on the territory.

“They used to do it maybe three weeks ago, but now [people in New Caledonia] feel abandoned because nobody talks about what is happening here anymore,” Cochin said.

She said it was because of the upcoming EU elections and Paris Olympics, but also because “the French government tried to overshadow the subject”.

“They really want to show a very positive image of [Emmanuel Macron’s] action in New Caledonia.”

People feeling angry, discouraged
Cochin said people were feeling angry, discouraged and tired from the riots that broke out on May 13.

“They told us that they feel abandoned by the French government, okay Paris sent a lot of policemen on the ground, but those policemen didn’t manage to restore security outside after almost four weeks of riots.”

Cochin said from her count almost 10 houses were burned but more were damaged, while authorities did not have a figure.

She said the people who had homes destroyed or damaged moved in with friends and family.

They are blaming both the government and rioters for what happened, Cochin said.

“Some of them told me they were really disappointed by the authorities because they are supposed to help and make people feel secure but instead of that they had to flee their home and were not helped to find a new home.”

Cochin said people were concerned of losing their homes going forward but were most concerned of losing their job.

“I would say more than 6000 people lost their job already,” she said.

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

Police in New Caledonia have a new weapon in their arsenal — state of the art armoured vehicles with machine guns, flown in from France to take control of the law and order situation following the violent unrest.

The state of emergency was lifted in the territory last Tuesday but a security force of more than 3000 could remain until after the Paris Olympics.

Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories Gérald Darmanin said via social media platform X that the vehicles, known as Centaur, can also fire tear gas.

• READ MORE: Other Kanaky New Caledonia protest reports

“These armoured vehicles will help the police put an end to all roadblocks and completely re-establish public order in the archipelago,” Darmanin said.

“In the event of more serious threats, such as a terrorist attack, which would involve the use of armed force, the Centaur may be equipped with a 7.62 remotely operated machine gun.”

He said the off-road vehicles can carry up to 10 people and fire tear gas from a turret to disperse violent individuals or keep them at bay.

A journalist on the ground, Coralie Cochin, told RNZ Pacific things are far from calm in the suburbs, despite official reports that law and order was being restored on the outskirts of Nouméa.

“The police fought with protesters who had just erected a roadblock and set fire to it in my street today,” Cochin said, who lives in the northern suburb of Dubea.

Macron can deploy thousands of troops and military arsenals. France will never silence Kanaky aspirations for freedom https://t.co/GJcXFCDvLY

— Jimmy Naouna (@JNaouna) June 3, 2024

“People fear for their houses. I have got friends who had to escape from their burning properties who have been left with nothing.”

She said people were divided over whether the Centaur will change anything.

“The Kanak people are afraid, they are wondering why the police have machine guns when all they have to fight with is stones,” Cochin said.

La seule solution qui nous sortira de l’ornière sera politique. On pourra envoyer tout le matériel dernier cri qu’on voudra, continuer de déployer l’armée sur le sol national comme s’il s’agissait d’une opération extérieure, le calme ne reviendra pas sans accord. #fatigue https://t.co/lLUXFAWqQK

— Charlotte Mannevy (@CMannevy) June 1, 2024

Others believe the Centaur is essential to crush roadblocks and protect property but attempts to eradicate them completely are so far proving futile.

“As soon as they are removed, pro-independence protesters put them back up again. It’s like a game of cat and mouse,” she said.

France has also decided to go ahead with the European elections in New Caledonia on Sunday, despite political tensions in the territory.

High Commissioner Louis Le France said in a statement that voting material had arrived and preparations were under way to transport it to polling stations.

Le France said a curfew would remain in place from 6pm to 6am until the day after the elections, as well as a ban on the sale of guns and alcohol.

He said Nouméa’s international airport would remain closed until further notice, while the situation was “normalised”.

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

Three Nouméa municipal policemen are now facing a prosecution after a disturbing video was posted in a Facebook neighbourhood watch group, allegedly implicating them in acts of severe violence against a Kanak man they had just arrested.

The municipal police officers are not part of the French security forces that have been sent to restore law and order, RNZ Pacific understands.

Initial investigations established that the violence took place on at 6th Kilometre, on the night of May 25-26, and that it “followed the arrest of several persons suspected of a theft attempt”, Nouméa Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas said in a statement yesterday.

• READ MORE: Footage of French forces officer kicking Kanak man in head surfaces online
• Other Kanaky New Caledonia reports

The incident was captured in a brief video, later posted on social networks, being shared hundreds of times and going viral.

“It is the management of municipal police themselves who have signalled this to us”, Dupas said.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had verified the authenticity of the short footage which depicted a “representative of the security forces striking a violent foot kick to the head of a person sitting on the ground after he was arrested”.

On the same video, the other two officers, all equipped with riot gear, are seen to be standing by, surrounding the victim.

Dupas said a formal inquiry was now underway against the three municipal police officers who were now facing charges of “violence from a person entrusted with public authority and failure to assist a person in peril”.

“This case will be treated with every expected severity, being related to presumed facts of illegitimate violence on the part of officers entrusted with a mission of administrative and judicial police”, the statement said.

It added that “this is the first case being treated for this type of act since the beginning of civil unrest in New Caledonia” and further stressed that law enforcement agencies deployed on the ground have displayed “professionalism” in the “difficult management of the law enforcement operations carried out”.

“The victim remains to be approached by investigators in order to undergo medical examination and assess his current health condition.”

The announcement was made as part of the French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc during his daily update on the situation.

“As a follow-up to the end of the state of emergency since Tuesday, 28 May, 2024, the ban on the platform TikTok has been lifted,” a statement said.

The ban was announced on May 15 in what was then described as an attempt to block contacts between rioting groups in the French Pacific territory.

It had since then been widely contested as a breach of human rights.

Doubts had also been expressed on how effective the measure could have been, with other platforms (such as Facebook, WhatsApp or Viber) remaining accessible and the fact that the ban on Tiktok could be easily dodged with VPN tools.

World Cup 1998 winner Karembeu ‘in mourning’
Earlier this week, former footballer and 1998 World Cup champion Christian Karembeu made a surprise revelation saying two members of his family had been shot dead during the riots.

Speaking to French radio Europe 1 on Monday, Karembeu said: “I have lost members of my family, that’s why I remained silent (until now), because I am in mourning.”

“Two members of my family have been shot with a bullet in the head. These are snipers. The word is strong but they have been assassinated and we hope investigations will be made on these murders”, the Kanak footballer said, adding the victims were his nephew and his niece.

Karembeu’s career involves 53 tests for the French national football team, one world cup victory (1998), playing for prestigious European clubs such as Nantes, Sampdoria, and Real Madrid (where he won two Champions League titles), Olympiakos, Servette, and Bastia.

He is now a strategic advisor and ambassador for Greek club Olympiakos.

Reacting to Karembeu’s announcements, Chief Prosecutor Dupas told public broadcaster NC la Première on Tuesday he believed Karembeu was referring to the two Kanak people who were killed earlier this month in Nouméa’s industrial zone of Ducos.

“I do not know what his family kinship relation is with those two victims who were assassinated in Ducos,” he said.

“But concerning these facts, an investigation is underway, it has gotten pretty far already, one (European) company manager has been arrested and remains in custody. The Justice is processing all the facts, crimes, committed.”

“We have, among the civilian victims, four persons of the Kanak community and it is a possibility that some of those could be related to Christian Karembeu”, he said.

Asked on a possibly higher number of fatalities, he stressed the death toll so far remained at seven.

“We have not received any other complaint regarding people shooting civilians”, he maintained, while encouraging members of the public who would be aware of other fatal incidents to come forward and contact his office.

“We arrived in our car, I saw the roadblock, I barely had time to reverse and go back and they started to shoot. About 10 times,” the unidentified witness said, showing two bullet holes on his car.

“I have lodged a complaint for murder attempt and now the investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Two other Kanaks said the following day, on May 16, while in the streets of their neighbourhood, they were shot at by balaclava-clad passengers of two driving by pick-up trucks.

“We started to run and that’s when we heard the first gunshots. My little brother managed to take shelter at a neighbour’s home, and I went on running with the 4WD behind me. When I arrived at my family’s home, I jumped into the garden and that’s when I heard a second gunshot”, he told La Première.

“We never thought this would happen to us”.

Dupas said another, wider investigation, was underway since May 17 in order to identify “those who are pulling the ropes and who led the “planning and committing of attacks that have hit New Caledonia”.

“This means anyone, whatever his/her level of implication, whether order-givers or just actors”.

Latest update
The state of emergency was lifted on Tuesday in New Caledonia following an announcement from French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in New Caledonia on a 17-hour visit last Thursday.

The end of the state of emergency was described by Macron as being part of the “commitments” he made while meeting representatives of New Caledonia’s pro-independence movement last week and to allow leaders to spread the message to people to lift roadblocks and barricades and “loosen the grip”.

However, a dusk-to-dawn (6pm to 6am) curfew remains in place, including a ban on public meetings, the sale of alcohol and the possession and transportation of firearms and ammunition, French High Commissioner Louis Le France said yesterday.

An estimated 3500 security forces (police, gendarmes and special riot squads) remain on the ground.

Taxis have announced they were now resuming service, but bus services remain closed because “too many roads remain impracticable”.

High Commissioner Le Franc said that since the unrest began on May 13, a total of 535 people had been arrested, 136 security forces (police and gendarmes) had been injured and the death toll remained at seven (including two gendarmes, four indigenous Kanaks and one person of European ascent).

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

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.

• LISTEN TO RNZ PACIFIC WAVES: Governor Bird on PNG’s future
• Other PNG law and order reports

“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.

Papua New Guinea’s image on the international stage took a battering yesterday when graphic images of dead bodies piled upon each other and displayed on roadsides in the restive Enga province went viral on social and mainstream media in the country and abroad.

More than 50 men were killed when two tribal enemies engaged in a brutal gun battle on Sunday morning from about 4am until 5pm in the afternoon at Birip 7mile village along the Highlands Highway between Wapenamanda and Wabag districts.

Local police said the ongoing guerilla warfare between the Saa Walep, Ambulyn tribes and their allies with Kaekin, Palinau and Sikin tribes have claimed hundreds of lives, devastation of land and properties and displacement of more than 20,000 people.

• READ MORE: Wapenamanda massacre: ‘Pregnant mothers fled for their lives’
• Wapenamanda massacre — 50 killed in PNG’s worst tribal fighting
• Other PNG tribal warfare reports

Graphic images and news of the killings spread swiftly through Australia and other parts of the region yesterday morning.

Police said very high-powered weapons, including military grade guns, were used in the killings, and that many more bodies were yet to be recovered.

While the massacre took place on Sunday morning, by 1pm yesterday, Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr said there were “46 hired gunman dead! 3 locals only!” and that
“This trend of hired gunmen is a build up of more then 15 plus years!”

Police Commissioner David Manning said: “The multiple deaths that occurred from a tribal clash in the vicinity of Wapenamanda, Enga Province, was a disgraceful act of barbarity.”

‘We label this domestic terrorism’
Prime Minister James Marape said: “We label this as almost domestic terrorism — you [are] terrorising the society, you disturb against a community, that’s terrorism.”

“As Prime Minister, I am deeply moved and I am very, very concerned, I am very, very angry, in between these many words that you could express in as far as communities not responding to the rule of law.”

He went on to say: “I just want to appeal to our people in Enga, especially the tribal warriors, there is no prize to be engaged in tribal fights.

“We have great concern for what is happening in Enga Province, to lose one life, let alone many lives does not evade our consciousness and our concern.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also responded to media queries, saying he was very concerned about the fresh spate of violence in Enga, a province that had seen considerable Australian and other investments.

Graphic news and images of the slaughter, which police said included women and
children, were shared widely on social and mainstream media all of Sunday evening and yesterday.

Senior policeman Samson Kua, who is in charge of the western end of the Highlands region, said high powered firearms such as self-loading rifles (SLR), M4 machine guns, AR 15, M16s, pump action shot guns and other weapons were used in the killings.

‘Hang their heads in shame’
“All leaders based outside of Wabag who are related to the conflicting tribes must now hang their heads in shame and assist police on the ground in Enga to stop the tribal fight once and for all,” Kua told the Post-Courier.

“There has been enough destruction to properties and establishment. Now it has claimed many lives.”

Kua said policemen could not go between the warring tribes when high-powered firearms are being used.

“[Sunday’s] mass killings nearly claimed the lives of some policemen and soldiers as well.

“In any tribal fights when there is massive use of high-powered firearms, there is no winner to the fight. Common sense must apply here, anyone who takes part know the outcome when he is involved. Let’s all try and work together to stop the tribal conflict.”

East Sepik Governor Allan Bird, who is the opposition’s candidate for prime minister in an impending vote of no-confidence on the government, was stinging in his criticism of the government’s lack of response and quick action.

“We regret the senseless violence that has resulted in families losing fathers, brothers and sons. We also regret the collateral damage that these situations cause with women and children being assaulted and abused,” he said.

‘Deplorable death tally’
“It is deplorable that the death tally of senseless violence continues to increase under their watch.

“We need results, not rhetoric. The country is experiencing serious law and order issues — it’s a war zone in some parts of the country.

“We need our law enforcement agencies to be ready, prepared, and willing to tackle these situations.

“The country needs strong action now. The government needs to restore law and order for our rural people urgently.”

But Marape defended his government saying: “Police have been looking into what has been happening in Enga, in terms of contact tracing, finding out who is responsible, I want to relate to our youths who are holding guns out there, people outside who are sponsoring, will not be there to answer to you.”

Gorethy Kenneth is a senior PNG Post-Courier article. Republished with permission.

A scene examination is continuing at a construction site in central Auckland after a fatal shooting there shocked the city yesterday morning.

The gunman, 24-year-old Matu Tangi Matua Reid, was on home detention but allowed to work at the construction site.

He died at the scene in a shoot-out with police after killing two civilians with a pump-action shotgun. Six others were wounded, including two police officers.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘A sad tinge’ – Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown
• ‘I don’t think that anyone benefits from politicians speculating in a vacuum of facts’ – Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick
• READ MORE:  ‘Deep sorrow’ – PM on Auckland shooting deaths, says no national security risk
• Three dead in Auckland CBD shooting, including gunman, police confirm
• Fatal Auckland shooting: How it unfolded

The horror unfolded on the opening day of the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup in Auckland and a minute’s silence for the shooting victims was held at the first game at Eden Park last night when New Zealand defeated Norway 1-0.

Police officers in high-vis vests have today re-entered the high-rise building on the corner of Queen and Quay streets and at least seven police cars are at the cordoned off site.

A man working on the repairs at nearby Queen’s Wharf told RNZ the rules had been tightened at their site and people entering were being checked.

A commuter said there appeared to be extra security at Britomart Station transit hub this morning but he felt safe.

“It was every emotion yesterday,” he said, but he thought the city had coped well in the aftermath of the ‘shock and horror’ of the morning’s events.”

Brown said he supported Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s decision to call for a rahui in the CBD area, and the FIFA fan zone on Quay Street had been closed.

Ngāti Whātua has said this morning that no rahui is in place.

“[The] fan zone was right hard up against the dreadful event and it just didn’t seem to be right to be having a night of celebration right next door to something that had been so horrible,” he said.

“Ngāti Whātua called for, and I supported, a rahui on the area down there so we shut the fan zone and people, with a sad tinge, did go to the game at Eden Park, but with respect.

“They had the one minute’s silence, which was part of our culture and the correct thing to do, and then there was a wonderful game afterwards so, I think … the city took it well.”

‘Good end to dreadful day’
Brown said he had spoken to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins after last night’s match between New Zealand and Norway and they had agreed it was “a very good end to a dreadful day”.

He said FIFA officials had been “very sympathetic” about the shooting.

“They were very understanding, they were very concerned about the impact on the tournament, but also deeply respectful of the losses of — almost innocence — of the people here in Auckland CBD, plus of course the dreadful loss of life from this shocking experience.”

While he had been one of the people raising concerns about ongoing crime issues such as ram raids in Auckland, Brown said he was not thinking about anything on the scale of what occurred yesterday.

“It’s something out of the ordinary and I think this is one random person … and we shouldn’t possibly extrapolate that across the district, but crime on the streets with the ram raids is something which has got to be dealt with.”

Brown had praise for both the police and members of the public regarding how they responded to the unfolding crisis on Thursday morning.

“The police were wonderful, they responded bravely and promptly,” he said.

“People behaved very well considering what an appalling thing had happened.”

Violence like this has no place in city, says Swarbrick
There would be a time for political debate and discussions about how to prevent incidents like yesterday’s shooting, Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick told Morning Report, but that time was not right now.

“I very, very strongly want the message to be here that this violence has absolutely no place in our city or in our country, and we utterly reject it,” she said.

Swarbrick said her thoughts were with the whānau and friends of those who had died as well as those who had been injured, emergency service staff, and the workers who had experienced the traumatic event.

She said questions had been put to police officials at a briefing she attended yesterday, including about how the shooter had obtained a gun without a licence and while he was on home detention.

Swarbrick expected those questions would be answered “in due course” but said it was important the facts were “crystal clear” first.

“I don’t think that anyone benefits from politicians speculating in a vacuum of facts.”

The briefing had made it “very clear that this was a tragic but isolated incident connected to the workplace and that there is no outstanding associated risk”, she said.

Asked whether she believed a broader inquiry was needed to look into the use of home detention, Swarbrick said a number of reports commissioned by successive governments had identified evidence-based policies to address what was a complex issue, but that evidence was often “politically unpalatable”.

The rhetoric and debate around law and order was often reduced to “soundbyte-solutions”, she said, “things that politicians know will not work and oftentimes are contrary to evidence”.

She said New Zealanders deserved evidence-based interventions when it came to tackling crime.

“It is really clear what we have to resource in terms of evidence-based policy but it is the crunchy and the hard stuff which looks meaningfully at prevention, it’s not this knee-jerk ‘tough-on-crime’ nonsense.”

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

Private security companies are currently holding Papua New Guinea together with the largest workforce of 29,445 and supporting the police in managing law and order issues.

There are only 6832 policemen and women serving the country currently, according to reports.

Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr told Parliament that the security industry in the country was one of the biggest supporters of law and order in helping to reduce crime by protecting life and property, including providing employment.

• READ MORE: Other PNG security reports

He said growth of the security industry had increased drastically after 16 years with a total number of licensed security companies recorded at 562, employing a total of 29,445 security guards.

Of these 562 companies, 15 were owned by foreigners.

This week the Royal PNG Constabulary announced that the constabulary would only get 560 best candidates from 13,039 applicants shortlisted out of 48,772 applications received from across the nation.

With the increase in law and order issues throughout the country and job scarcity currently faced, Minister Tsiamalili assured that the government was addressing this critically.

SIA established in 2006
The Security Industries Authority was established by the Security Protection Industries Act 2004 and it came into operation in 2006.

And by than it had registered 174 security companies that employed a total of 12,396 guards.

But after 16 years, as of December 2022, the total number of licensed security companies rose to 562 employing a total of 29,445 security guards.

“You will note that since 2006 till December 2022, the number of licensed security companies and the number of guards has been gradually increasing every year since 2006,” Minister Tsiamalili Jr said.

“The security industry is one of the industries in the law and justice sector that employs the largest workforce (29,445) and this security industry is supporting police and (managing) law and order issues in PNG.

“Security companies are supporting police help reduce crime by protecting life and property and also providing employment for many of our men and women, and more importantly supporting the economy, while police concentrate on investigating and arrest.”

Gorothy Kenneth is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Thirty people are reported to have been killed and many seriously injured in the worst tribal warfare on Kiriwina Island in Papua New Guinea’s Milne Bay Province yesterday.

The number of deaths will be the highest ever recorded during a tribal warfare on the island.

Douglas Tomuriesa, the member for Kiriwina-Goodenough and Deputy Opposition Leader,  confirmed that 30 people were dead and many were seriously injured.

• READ MORE: Other reports on PNG tribal fighting

He was organising an airline charter to transport police personnel from Alotau to fly in to the Kiriwina, known as the “island of love”, in the Trobriand group, to bring the situation under control.

The situation is reportedly tense and may escalate further due to the number of deaths.

A villager said a worse case scenario by this morning might be other villagers taking sides and joining the warfare.

According to him the district has only two police personnel, despite a number of fully furnished houses for police personnel on the island.

Firearms discharged
He also alleged that firearms were discharged in the fight resulting in the high number of casualties.

Confirming the fight in a WhatsApp message, Provincial Police Commander Peter Barkie  said: “Yes, received info daytime today about fighting on the island but police don’t have a boat, only dinghies, so we secured NMSA boat but logistics was slow and captain advised that, not safe to travel at night so police team will travel 5.00am at East Cape to Losuia.”

Commander Barkie also requested for reinforcements to be on standby and that a decision would be made when the police team arrives on the ground.

A concerned women leader, Joyce Grant, has appealed to Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili for urgent government intervention, describing the number of deaths as the highest ever recorded in the history of Kiriwina society.

Her WhatsApp message said: “Although I am not mandated leader, however as concerned leader of my community, it is with the saddest of hearts that I write to your high office to appeal and ask for urgent government intervention.”

According to Grant, the fight began at approximately 11am yesterday, Monday, 24 October 2022.

Three main villages of Wards 19 and 20 of Kiriwina LLG approached the district office at Losuia to express their anger over the consistent destruction of their gardens by known perpetrators of neighbouring villages.

Gardens ‘a focal point’
“Gardens in the villages are the focal point of community existence. Without a garden, you are not able to sustain your family’s livelihood,” she said.

“However, no government officials were on hand to mediate the matter, including non-presence of law-and-order committees as the police station is manned by limited police personnel only.

“The church elders were also present to assist to contain the situation but the neighbouring villages were also ready for confrontation, therefore the situation was not able to be contained.”

The issue had started almost two months ago, immediately after the 2022 national general elections, and involved a soccer match. That fight resulted with one death and several people seriously injured.

“A police mobile unit was sent to maintain peace however to date, no clear resolution was reached to mitigate the issue then,” Grant said.

“Please Minister, our people need the governments urgent intervention of Police presence on the ground for the sake of our people’s lives. People are dying and the question is ‘who is responsible?’

Tomuriesa appealed to both warring factions to lay down their arms.

He said that when police reinforcements arrive, they should be “honest with themselves” and assist police by identifying the original instigators to face the law.

Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea opposition leader Belden Namah has called on a member of Parliament, Lohia Boe Samuel, to resign over the accidental fatal shooting of a man.

In a statement yesterday, Namah weighed in on the restaurant shooting in Waigani which was allegedly an accident and involved Moresby Northwest MP Samuel, a lawyer.

“Accidental or intentional, the leader has been most irresponsible in producing a gun in a public place. Producing a gun and discharging or firing a gun in a public is illegal,” Namah said.

• READ MORE: Other reports on PNG’s gun culture

Namah called on Samuel to resign immediately as MP and face the full force of the law as a private citizen.

“The issue here is not that the discharge of the firearm was accidental. The far more important issue which resulted in the fatal shooting is the production of the firearm in a public place.

“That is illegal and Mr Samuel, as a senior lawyer, ought to have known that better,” he said.

Namah said there should be no cover up of this incident, and that Samuel should do the decent thing and resign immediately.

Police urged to lay charges
He also called on the police to do the right thing and bring him to account.

Namah also drew reference to another incident involving senior Pangu Party MP and Minister for Planning Rainbo Paita who was investigated for firing a high-powered firearm.

Namah said: “Following a so-called ‘high level investigation’ carried out by the Police Commissioner David Manning, Mr Paita was cleared.

“And now we have another of the Prime Minister James Marape’s inner circle of friends involved in a public display of a firearm which endangered the lives of all patrons and staff at a public place resulting in the death of a man.

“Mr Samuel and Mr Paita’s fascination with firearms is not just their own.

“It is indicative of a very dangerous and relaxed attitude by this government under Prime Minister James Marape’s leadership towards the whole issue of firearms, violence and law and order situation in the country,” he said.

Republished with permission.

The early morning action on Monday to cordon off the occupation of Parliament grounds and prevent it growing might go some way to restoring public confidence in the police, which has appeared to be eroding since the protests began a fortnight ago.

So far, police have pursued a de-escalation strategy, but there have been calls for firmer action.

The whole event has raised important questions about the relationship between the police and government, and about police independence and accountability.

• READ MORE: The occupation of NZ’s parliament grounds is a tactical challenge for police, but mass arrests are not an option
• Protesting during a pandemic: New Zealand’s balancing act between a long tradition of protests and covid rules
• LISTEN: ‘Of course I’m not happy with some of the antics’ – Red Stag chief executive Marty Verry
• Covid-19 update: 2846 community cases today, 143 people in hospital
• Other NZ covid outbreak reports

With local businesses unable to trade, and the neighbouring university closing its campus for eight weeks, the political consequences are potentially serious.

From the government’s perspective, there is a direct relationship between its own public support and public confidence in the police. The political and legal impasse between the rightful independence of the police and public accountability is not a simple issue to resolve.

Constabulary independence
The relationship between the government and the police has come a long way since government minister John Bryce — armed and on horseback — led the police invasion of Parihaka in 1881. Bryce decided who would be arrested and personally ordered the destruction of property.

Supporting the political objectives of the government of the day was a function of the police. But New Zealand was not a developed liberal democracy 140 years ago.

The Wellington protest is testing police independence and public tolerance – are there lessons from Canada’s crackdown?

By 2018, that relationship had evolved enough for the solicitor-general to advise the prime minister that “constabulary independence [had become] a core constitutional principle in New Zealand”.

As Police Commissioner Andrew Coster faces calls to resign over his handling of the protests, he says using force could come at a significant cost. https://t.co/CcHepTMRZN

— Stuff.co.nz Politics (@NZStuffPolitics) February 19, 2022

The solicitor-general explained the constitutional subtleties of the Policing Act thus:

The Police are an instrument of the Crown […] but in the two principal roles of detecting and preventing crime and keeping the Queen’s peace they act independently of the Crown and serve only the law.

This is reinforced in the oath police officers swear to perform their duties “without favour or affection, malice or ill-will”.

Who is accountable?
Constabulary independence means governments can’t control the police for political advantage. At the same time, police accountability to the public is as important as for any department of state.

Independence should not mean the police can do whatever they like.

However, the lines of accountability are complex. Constabulary independence means the ordinary process of accountability to Parliament through the relevant minister, and through Parliament to the people, does not fully apply to the police.

The police commissioner is accountable to the minister for “carrying out the functions and duties of the Police”, but explicitly not for “the enforcement of the law” and “the investigation and prosecution of offences”.

As well as “keeping the peace”, “maintaining public safety”, “law enforcement”, “crime prevention” and “national security”, the Policing Act requires “community support and reassurance”.

This might help explain why, for security and tactical reasons, the police won’t fully explain their tolerance of the occupation, beyond the police commissioner saying the public would not accept the inevitable violence and injury a harder line would entail.

Despite clear public concern, the police are not required to give further explanation of why they haven’t prosecuted people for intimidation and harassment, for threatening MPs, public servants and journalists, or for failing to remove illegally parked vehicles.

Canadian comparisons
The situation in Canada may be instructive. There, the police have seemingly abandoned a de-escalation strategy that had lasted three weeks, with the protest in Ottawa cleared in the last few days.

As in New Zealand, public tolerance was low. Rejecting a claim that the repeated sounding of 105-decibel truck horns was “part of the democratic process”, a Canadian judge said: “Tooting a horn is not an expression of any great thought.”

In both countries, the protests are being viewed less as expressions of political thought than as simple acts of public nuisance. The difference lies in the Canadian federal government invoking special powers under its Emergencies Act.

The first time it has been invoked since it was passed in 1988, the law allows the government to use “special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times” to respond to “threats to the security of Canada”.

Banks can freeze accounts being used to support the protest. Private citizens and businesses may be compelled to provide essential services to assist the state — tow trucks, for example.

Canadian journalist @mariekewalsh says the “softer approach” being used by NZ police against Parliament protesters didn’t work in Ottawa with the trucker protest. #NZQandA #nzpol https://t.co/9ZHyxqOJqI…

— Q+A (@NZQandA) February 19, 2022

Political calculation
Such significant constraints on freedom can be justified only if they are proportionate to the emergency. But on Friday, the Canadian Parliament was prevented from scrutinising the decision to declare an emergency because protesters had prevented access to the debating chambers.

Ironically, the debate began on Saturday when police cleared the obstruction (without needing emergency powers) — suggesting “freedom” is a wider concept than the one protesters claimed they were defending.

The ability of people to go to work, to study, shop, drive on a public road — and (as in Ottawa) the ability of Parliament to function — are democratic freedoms the protesters are curtailing.

Whether Wellington goes the way of Ottawa remains to be seen, but the New Zealand police commissioner says a state of emergency is among the “reasonable options” being considered to stop more protesters entering Parliament grounds.

For now, the political question is what happens if the evolution from protest to public nuisance to crisis of confidence in the police continues.

Given the constraints of constabulary independence, and the democratic need for accountability, what political responses are available to the government to ensure any crisis of confidence in the police does not become a crisis of confidence in the government itself?

For both police and government, there is much at stake in the de-escalation strategy.

Dr Dominic O’Sullivan, adjunct professor of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology and professor of political science at Charles Sturt University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

The recent horrific events in Hela Province have brought the role of the police force in Papua New Guinea into sharp focus.

Prime Minister James Marape is currently in Australia and has apparently discussed the issue with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

We can only hope that Morrison, if he responds positively, will take considered advice on the matter and not charge off on some ill-advised scheme involving direct Australian intervention.

READ MORE: PNG ‘merciless’ payback killings have changed everything, says Bryan Kramer

Probably the worst thing that Morrison can do is dither and fund some sort of too hard basket investigative consultancy, although I understand this has already been canvassed.

The situation in Hela and the way the police respond is essentially up to the Papua New Guinean government. What it needs from Australia right now is solid practical support in terms of funding and resources.

Police in “sorry state”
Papua New Guinea is well-aware that its police force is in a very sorry state and needs to be both considerably expanded and resourced.

James Marape may have various plans to change Papua New Guinea for the better but the most crucial change maker in his government is Police Minister Bryan Kramer.

As the minister responsible for law and order, he sits at the pivot point of any meaningful change process. If he performs well, and is supported by the Prime Minister, Papua New Guinea has a bright future.

Having a law abiding citizenry is an essential precursor for so many aspects of life in any nation.

Lawless society
Conversely, having a lawless society destroys national life and the opportunities available to it.

If Papua New Guinea was a law abiding nation it would have a vibrant and profitable tourism industry employing thousands of people.

If Papua New Guinea was a law abiding nation, violence against women and children would be considerably reduced.

At the moment most women and children have no recourse to justice if they are beaten and assaulted simply because the police resources are not there to deal with it.

Without fear of being brought to account Papua New Guinean men are free to exercise their most vile impulses.

If Papua New Guinea was a law abiding nation corruption could be brought down to manageable levels.

No fear of punishment
At the moment politicians, public servants and others engage in corrupt activities because they have no fear of being caught.

Citizens of a law abiding nation are much more inclined to report corrupt behaviour when they see it because they are much less likely to be the victims of reprisals.

If Papua New Guinea was a law abiding nation people would feel much safer in their day to day activities. They would be free to safely travel on the roads and venture out at night. Without the prospect of being robbed they would engage with each other freely in commerce.

If Papua New Guinea was a law abiding nation economic activity would flourish. More people would have jobs, especially those youths who are responsible for most of the petty crime. Drug and alcohol consumption would decline if people were gainfully employed.

How do we know all of these things?

Law abiding history
Because Papua New Guinea was once a law abiding nation.

If you don’t believe this, find an old grey lapun and ask them. They will tell you what it was like to leave their house unlocked, walk safely to the trade store, buy their goods and walk home without looking over their shoulder for potential thieves or assailants.

Bryan Kramer’s task is enormous. He will need more than the remainder of the government’s term in office to make sustainable inroads.

Not only has he got to rescue and rehabilitate a demoralised police force but he has to bring about cultural change.

He has to change the dog-eat-dog attitudes that currently exist and replace them with ones that respect not only the laws of the land but citizens respect for each other.

He can’t do it by himself and will need a lot of help. But he will be the pivot where change occurs.

I can’t think of anyone better to be that pivot.

• This article is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission from Keith Jackson’s blog PNG Attitude. 

The Solomon Islands police force is facing one of its biggest tests of legitimacy since the withdrawal of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) peace-keeping force.

As part of RAMSI’s mission to reduce ethnic violence in the Solomon Islands, guns were confiscated and destroyed across the country.

However, with new reported incidents of gun violence, the Solomon Islands government has taken a decision to rearm the police force.

This has caused mixed reactions from the public, and has generated debate whether this was the right decision.

In June, Prime Minister Manaseh Soqavare opened the new RSIPF National Response Department Building at Rove Police Headquarters containing the armoury. This was the first step in the limited rearmament process of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.

The facility will house pistols, shotguns, rifles and ammunitions to be used by three police operational units – the RSIP Police Response Team, Close Personal Protection Team and Internal Airport Police.

Many welcomed the government’s decision, saying that it was the right time to rearm the police force; however, some were still wary of the armoury’s opening – people who were mainly victims of the ethnic tensions.

Police criticised
In February, Nathan Ratu Nukufetau, a community elder from Vanikoro Island, Temotu province, criticised the police about the use of guns to make arrests on the island.

This was in relation to a land dispute incident over logging operations on Vanikoro Island in which several homes were destroyed.

He said that the police actions on the use of guns for the arrest were unprofessional and uncalled for.

“Police are professionals in their job and had been trained when to use excessive force and when not to use it,” he said.

“The incident of the use of guns certainly lost the trust and confidence of the community over the police.”

In his keynote address during the opening of the armoury, the prime minister assured the citizens of the country that there was no need to fear the police.

“I want to make it clear that the personnel who will be bearing arms have gone through a series of specialised and rigorous training, which requires them to use the arms only when the situation becomes critically necessary.

“These officers have trained and are disciplined to use these firearms for protection and for the sake of maintaining law and order in very critical situations, and only as a last resort,” he said.

Accountability rules
He also reiterated that RAMSI had also been heavily engaged with the RSIPF in finalising sets of accountability and governance rules and systems to ensure the arms are used responsibly.

“Let me assure the people of Solomon Islands, that these weapons are police weapons that are used by police forces worldwide.

“That the cabinet will only make a decision on the carriage and use when it is absolutely satisfied with necessary training, storage infrastructure, control systems and governance arrangements are in place.”

Dr Gordon Nanau, a senior Solomon Islands academic at USP, believes that there are two sides two this issue – people are critical about this move, and that the police should be modernised.

He said the debate on police rearmament was due to the past experience that Solomon Islanders had during the ethnic tensions.

“As we all know, during that time guns that were owned by the government were given and taken into the wrong hands,” he said.

People wary
“I think some people are quite wary about the how during the past, the government was not able to fully control the arms, and how it ended up in the hands of the two warring militant parties, because the purpose of arms is to protect the citizens, but in this case arms were used against the people.”

But he also said the police force in the Solomon Islands were also becoming more helpless due to the recent reports of criminals using firearms, which also endangered their lives when carrying out operations and arrests.

He said the proper checks and regulations must be strictly monitored. This would help develop trust in the police force by the public, and this was because a lot of people in the country were still questioning the professionalism of police officers.

Lowen Sei is a reporter with Wansolwara News at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.

President Duterte’s war on crime in the Philippines has spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiraling out of control and creating a nation without judges, without law, and without reason.

Do we really want to give the man with the gun the power to judge who are criminals and to kill them?

To decide who is bad and who is good, who deserves to live and who deserves to die?

We might as well disband our courts, dissolve the Department of Justice, and abolish Congress. For there really is no need for law when the barrel of the gun dispenses justice.

The bandwagon that the President has created is a bandwagon of hate – a mob mentality that not only condones but encourages the taking of lives “because they deserve it.”

Yes, drug pushers destroy lives. Yes, criminals behave like animals. But are those who kill them any better? And will the killing stop there?

Mob law
Our people have seen what a mob can do in the hands of a tyrant who knows no law but his own.

Lest we forget, the first person that Marcos executed was a drug pusher. But did he stop there? By the time he was ousted, he was responsible for killing thousands upon thousands of people whose only fault was their belief in justice, the rule of law, and human rights.

President Duterte, do not kill in my name. That is not your mandate, that is not what you were elected for.

Yes, go after the drug cartels and criminal syndicates, the corrupt, the criminals among us. But do it as an officer of the law you have sworn to uphold as a lawyer and a President.

Atty. Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno is national chairman, Free Legal Assistance Group
Trustee, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. This commentary was first published on the PCIJ blog.

• Drug suspects murdered in Filipino President Duterte’s war on crime