Papua New Guinea police in Eastern Highlands are investigating a bomb threat that was sent via an email to the Goroka courthouse yesterday morning.

Goroka police station commander Chief Inspector Timothy Pomoso confirmed the incident and threat.

According to information received by the PNG Post-Courier, the email from someone by the name of “Adams Jailer” stated in the email that a “bomb will detonate at Goroka Court house today”.

• READ MORE: Other PNG crime reports

The email also said: “I am innocent, justice not served.”

The threat added: “You don’t believe me, try mock me and see”.

The email was signed off as “Kumul” — a bird of paradise in Tok Pisin.

Chief Inspector Pomoso said: “Someone sent a threatening email that there’s a bomb planted at the Goroka courthouse.”

“Police were deployed including our local task force and criminal investigation division units to clear the courthouse area by first removing everyone out.

“We are investigating,” he added.

More than a month ago, a bomb threat was also sent to another organisation which was attended to by police in Port Moresby.

A senior police officer said that a new trend of sending threats electronically was now occurring in Papua New Guinea.

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

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
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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.

Papua New Guinea’s former opposition leader Belden Namah says Prime Minister James Marape never answered in detail the questions he asked in Parliament this week about the Enga massacre

Namah, the Vanimo Green MP, said he was dissatisfied with the response Marape presented in Parliament yesterday as the death toll from the Wapenamanda killings rose to about 70.

“He never answered any one of my questions,” he said angrily.

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“I would have expected him to say, yes, we are putting together a special force from the police and the military to go in there and go after the warlords, go after the murderers.”

“We have funding allocated separately for that. We have the capacity, the policemen and women have enough uniforms, three sets of uniforms, they have allowance, these are the sort of preparedness I was looking for the PM to tell me when I was talking about combat readiness.

“We are sending the same old people, the soldiers and the police and they are fraternising with the tribal fighters, with the lot of people on the ground and not effecting any arrests.

“In fact, they are standing around with the warriors carrying their guns, soldiers and police carrying their guns, where are we heading?” he asked.

‘I wanted PM to go hard’
“I wanted the Prime Minister to come to the floor of Parliament and say my government is going to do this and do that, and go hard on these people.

“The death toll has gone up to 70, it’s not a small number, it’s hit news media everywhere in the world.

“It is not about this 70 only, it started in his electorate, in his province and I would have expected that he would put in place counter measures for this.

“He has not. Police have their own intelligence officers, military have their own intelligence, [and] the government has its own.

“They should be out there penetrating the tribal villages collecting information and then send in special forces — that’s what I mean by having the government ready to counter these kinds of activities.

“And if the force was in readiness, they would have put [it] forward.”

Namah said Marape’s response yesterday demonstrated that the government was not interested in sorting out the security issues in the Highlands-affected areas.

Police chief on notice
Prime Minister Marape told Parliament that Police Commissioner Davd Manning had been put on notice to ensure the country was secured.

Marape addressed the pressing issues of lawlessness raised during a parliamentary session this week, singling out that a plan to incorporate all suggestions by MPs –– including the Enga massacre and others.

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

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.

Northern Governor Gary Juffa has joined Papua New Guinea’s police chief and the Prime Minister in calling for Papua New Guineans to lay down arms and cease acts of local terrorism.

“I stand with the Commissioner of Police, David Manning, and Prime Minister James Marape to apply the full force of the law to quell all forms of local terrorism in PNG and, particularly, in Northern Province.

“I am particularly concerned as a few weeks ago my Oro Bay RPSC [rural police station commander] Sergeant Terry Giwaya was ruthlessly gunned down only a few kilometres away from his station,” Governor Juffa said.

• READ MORE: Other PNG crime reports

“I commend Commissioner Manning and his ACP Southern Clement Dalla for their swift action in responding to our plight, seeing through the proficient capture of the alleged thugs and the recovery of an alleged police firearm.

“The success of this operation is attributed also to the provincial police command, our local Northern police personnel,” Juffa said

“All gloves off” was not an order given lightly by any police commissioner or prime minister but with “our ignorance of the rule of law” and the disrespect to its enforcement machinery — the RPNGC — such an order was “timely and very necessary”.

Law and order priority
Juffa added that law and order in Northern Province would always be a priority on a par with health, infrastructure and education and had seen the Northern provincial government spending close to 1 million kina (about NZ$463,000) to date.

“Every citizen has a right to move freely without fear and to engage in commerce with the full covering of the laws of our country,” Juffa said.

“I stand with my prime minister and our police commissioner to clamp down on local terrorism and elements that fuel the atrocities.”

Governor Juffa indicated plans were afoot to take the body of Sergeant Giwaya back home, including an official programme scheduled to take place after the September 16 independence celebrations next weekend.

Republished with permission.

In what is described as a “significant relief”, seven Papua New Guinea teachers and their families were rescued from an attempted kidnapping in the remote Mt Bosavi region in Hela Province.

Hela Education Director Ronny Angu said the teachers and their families were rescued safely by the Hela Education Division from their attempted kidnappers.

He said the teachers are from the Wagalu primary school, the same primary school where 17 school girls were recently kidnapped, raped and held hostage for ransom.

• READ MORE: PNG gunmen ‘kidnapped, raped’ 17 schoolgirls before freeing them
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Angu said the teachers and their families have escaped from an organised kidnapping and potential harm by criminals after a successful rescue operation, executed with the help of key stakeholders that demonstrated “unwavering commitment and collaboration”.

He said the “heroic efforts” from Hela police and Moro police, the Hela Provincial government and the Hela Education Division, ensured that the teachers and their families were successfully relocated to safety.

“Their dedication and selflessness significantly contributed to the success of the rescue mission,” he said.

“To commemorate the safe return of the teachers and their families and for God’s guidance and protection, the Hela Education Division organised a welcome party. It was a moment of immense joy and relief, where experiences and challenges were openly discussed, and tears were shared.

Support for healing
“Hela Education Division is committed to providing the necessary support to the staff members to help them settle back into their respective homes.

“We aim to provide an opportunity to the teachers to reconnect with their families and begin the process of healing from the traumatic experiences they endured.

“The success of the rescue mission is a powerful testament to the unwavering commitment of the education division to serve the community and provide quality education in Hela Province.

“The division expressed sincere gratitude to those who supported and made the rescue operation successful, especially the Hela police, Moro police, Hela Provincial government, and Hela Education Division,” Angu said.

“This successful rescue operation is a significant relief to Hela Province. The safe return of the teachers and their families after such a perilous experience cannot be more relieving news.

“We wish all of them a speedy recovery from their ordeal.”

Jeffrey Elapa is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Seventeen Papua New Guinean schoolgirls who were kidnapped, raped and held hostage by armed men in Bosavi, Hela, last Wednesday were released yesterday.

The National’s source said they were released following a payment of 3300 kina (NZ$1500) and nine pigs as ransom to the gunmen.

“The females were released but they are traumatised. Some of them are just girls. It is the first time for them to be exposed to this kind of violence,” said the source.

• READ MORE: Armed gunmen kidnap 17 girls from remote PNG village – freed for ransom
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“Meanwhile, the teachers of Walagu Primary School are still on the run, with the school closed since then.

“A female teacher who was seven months pregnant was airlifted by police to Komo in a chopper yesterday.”

Another government worker said: “Last week 40 armed men from Komo to Bosavi had accused the villagers for reporting them to police in the last kidnap incident [in February].

“They went to Komo passing through Walagu village near Mt Sisa.

‘Kidnapped at gunpoint’
“At Walagu, they kidnapped the females at gunpoint saying the villagers had assisted security forces and reported them to have involved in the kidnap of the New Zealand research scientist a few months back.

“They were held hostage at Mt Sisa for three days until their release yesterday.

“We are appealing to the Hela government to stop the smuggling of guns in the province.

“We also appeal to the authorities to arrest the 40 men from Bosavi, as they have raped our children who are between the ages of 13 to 15 and yet they demand a ransom.

“People in authority should meet with all its 24 council wards in Komo-Hulia electorate and arrest youths who have homemade guns in their possessions.”

Police sources also confirmed that the group seemed to be the same one that was involved in the earlier kidnap and ransom in February when the captives included an Australian-based New Zealand academic.

Lack of action ‘serious error’
The lack of follow up action by police and the military was a “serious error of judgement and appears to have emboldened them to continue with this kind of activities an easy money making venture”,  a police source said.

Meanwhile, condemnation of the action and calls for serious government action came from the Member for Koroba-Lake Kopiage, William Bando; the Vanimo Green MP and Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Belden Namah; and the Lutheran Church Head, Dr Jack Urame.

Namah said last night that he was alarmed that the police hierarchy and the ministry had gone silent on a serious issue involving the lives of children.

Majeleen Yanei is a reporter with The National newspaper in Port Moresby. Republished with permission.

The successful restart of Papua New Guinea’s New Porgera Limited gold mine is currently at high risk due to the security crisis in the valley.

Twenty one people have died since March 6 as Porgera, Enga Province, has turned into a “killing field” amid tensions between two ethnic groups, the Nomali and Aiyala.

Barrick Gold chief executive and president Dr Mark Bristow responded to questions raised by the Post-Courier saying that “a safe and stable operating environment is critical for the restart of Porgera Mine.

• READ MORE: Other Porgera mine reports

“Therefore, we see a need for an immediate intervention to address the lawlessness in Porgera as the current conditions put in jeopardy the restart of mining operations.

“Safety is paramount at the Porgera mine site. Our primary concern is the welfare of our local employees who reside in Porgera and commute to and from the site.

“As with the rest of the community, we rely on the police and other law enforcement agencies to provide law and order.

“Our local employees are directly impacted [on] by the ongoing violence and the resulting closure of vital government services, including schools and hospitals.

Support for special police operation
“We support the community’s calls for a special police operation and sustainable security solutions to the many social issues that have grown since the mine was placed into care and maintenance, including tribal violence and murder, kidnapping, hijacking, vandalism, and the widespread proliferation of high-powered firearms.”

Losses from illegal mining and theft are estimated at K100 million (NZ$46 million) a year and K200 million (NZ$92 million) from Hides Tower Lines sabotage — not including sizeable PJV security costs and the substantial ongoing costs for constant repair of fences, buildings, vehicles and other equipment and infrastructure.

Speaking to the Post-Courier, Police Commissioner David Manning said that the focus of security personnel would be to secure the surrounding communities of the mine site.

Commissioner Manning also confirmed the deployment of an extra 100 Special Services Division (SSD) officers to assist in curbing the rise in crime and to help restore normality.

“We are ready to assist, and I have had briefings with the local leaders and we will be working closely with the district development authority (DDA) to ensure we have the support but also work together in bringing back peace to Porgera,” he said.

A security brief released on Wednesday has shown that the high number of killings are in the town area.

As of Wednesday, critical community services such as the BSP Bank, Paiam Hospital and local schools are closed again indefinitely.

Law and order crisis
The law and order crisis applies to the whole Porgera Valley and not just the mine site and its infrastructure — this also extends to other operational footprints (Hides Power Station, HTL Corridor, Riverine, and Highlands Highway).

Law and order is at the lowest point ever since the opening of the mine and this is  affecting the operation of the mine, landowners, and the communities.

A security update from the district has reported:

• Continued deterioration of security (law and order) in the Porgera valley;
• Firearms sightings and discharges within SML/LMP continue to increase;
• Multiple instances of armed holdups and theft from employees and contractors. Since January 2023 a number of supply trucks and passenger buses have been ambushed and looted between Laigam and Kairik Airport;
• Security incidents involving the kidnapping of women and children have increased,
• Effectiveness of MS and PNG Defence Force personnel on the ground is limited due to the absence of necessary resources and specific orders; and
• Tribal fighting throughout the valley and at Hides continues, with ongoing fatalities and widespread property destruction.

The Post-Courier understands that local police numbers are down, firearms are used regularly within the valley and intrusions into restricted areas continue with armed men entering the mine site.

It is alleged there is a lack of support from the district, province and the national government for more security forces at Porgera.

The lack of leadership and support from community leaders and landowners have seen criminal elements protected and served by the clan and communities.

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

A curfew has been imposed in part of Papua New Guinea and extra police have been moved in to quell unrest over the shooting dead of 16 prisoners.

The prisoners attempted to escape on Sunday by cutting open part of the fence at the Lakiemata prison in West New Britain province.

One inmate is in hospital and a further seven are on the run.

• READ MORE:  PNG corrections commissioner defends killings of 16 prison escapees
• Other PNG law and order reports

PNG media reports in the aftermath of the shooting say angry relatives and opportunists looted several stores with police shooting two men inside a local hardware shop in Kimbe town.

Police commander Chief Superintendent Peter Barkie has confirmed the arrival of Mobile Squad 18 to assist in easing tensions in the province.

Provincial Chairman for Law and Order John Rova said: “We are trying to address the issue and allow normal businesses to commence and operate and allow for outside communities to travel in to receive basic services.

“After the PEC meeting, we have agreed that a curfew will commence at 8pm and go until 5am every day and we will try to monitor the movement of residents because of law and order issues.”

Full investigation promised

The PNG Post-Courier reports Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr saying Corrections officers are mandated by law to ensure that the orders of the court are adhered to and that they are stopped.

But he said any death was regrettable, and he offered assurance that when seeking to prevent a prisoner from escaping, the last thing that anyone wanted was for loss of life to occur.

He promised a full investigation.

“There are several points that I think is important to I make,” he said.

“The first is that the men who escaped were in custody because of the crimes that they had committed.

“In Papua New Guinea, our criminal justice system is underpinned by the Criminal Code that mandates that when individuals commit certain crimes that they must serve time in prison.

“In this sense, those individuals in prison are re-paying their debt to society.

“The second point I would make is that our corrections system is focused on rehabilitation and preparing those detained for re-integration to society.

“It is a requirement that prisoners participate in rehabilitation and re-integration programmes before they can become eligible for release.

“Those that seek to escape custody before serving their term of imprisonment are demonstrating contempt for our laws.”

Some escapees on remand
However, Papua New Guinea’s Correctional Services Commissioner has confirmed that seven out of the 24 prisoners who tried to escape were not yet convicted of an offence.

Commissioner Stephen Pokanis said the ages of the prisoners who tried to escape was  between 22 and 40.

He said the court system was often slow, which meant someone could be on remand for years while they waited for their court session.

“Time spent in prison as a remandee sometimes goes up to even eight years. For them I do not know but I would think they would have been in prison for maybe two to three years or more,” he said.

RNZ Pacific is investigating reports that a number of the prisoners who were shot had already turned themselves into authorities.

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