A day before the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr in Quezon City, a shooting incident inside the Ateneo de Manila University claimed the lives of at least three individuals, including the former mayor of Lamitan, Basilan, Rose Furigay.

Furigay was supposed to attend the graduation of her daughter, Hannah, when she was shot about 3.30 pm yesterday. Furigay suffered gunshot wounds in her head and chest.

Graduation rites of the Ateneo Law School were cancelled by the university.

• READ MORE: Human rights wishes for Marcos’ first SONA: Where will he stand?
• Other reports on President Marcos

Aside from Furigay, her long-time aide, Victor George Capistrano was also shot and died on the scene.

Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala also died, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Brigadier-General Remus Medina said during his briefing on Sunday.

Hannah was also wounded in the incident and was immediately taken to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center. Medina said she was currently in stable condition.

Suspect Dr Chao Tiao Yumol was also wounded and suffered a gunshot wound. The police said they were still determining who shot the suspect.

The police recovered bullets and two guns — one with a silencer. Medina said Yumol used the gun with a silencer in killing the victims.

Yumol and his motive
Yumol, 38, is a general practitioner doctor and a native of Lamitan City. The police said the doctor had personal motives for killing Furigay.

“Initially, sa pagtatanong namin sa kanya, meron na silang long history ng away sa Lamitan, Basilan. So according to them, eh nagpapalitan na sila ng kaso. Itong si doktor naman ay laging nape-pressure sa pamilya ng Furigay. So lumalabas, personal ang away nila,” Medina said during his briefing.

(Initially, based on our interrogation of the suspect, they have a long history of conflict in Lamitan, Basilan. According to them, they filed cases against each other. The doctor was always pressured by the Furigay family. So it turned out that they had a personal conflict.)

Medina said Furigay filed 76 counts of cyber libel against Yumol, which temporarily prevented the suspect from practising medicine, according to the police. The suspect was detained for his libel cases, but was able to post bail, Medina added.

According to the QCPD director, Yumol also alleged that Furigay had a history of corruption:

“May ina-allege din si Doctor Yumol na katiwalian ng mayor. According to him, iyon po ang mga ina–allege niya, that is now subject for verification (Doctor Yumol is also alleging that the slain mayor was involved in corruption. According to him, that is what he is alleging, that is now subject for verification).”

The suspect was currently in the custody of the QCPD and undergoing custodial investigation.

No mention of human rights
Meanwhile, Rappler reports that was zero mention of human rights when Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr delivered his inaugural speech as president of the Philippines on June 30, and he went on to serve his first month in Malacañang without appointing anyone to the board vacancy of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

For his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, there is a mix of optimism and pessimism from the human rights community.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of international group Human Rights Watch, urged Marcos to seize the “chance to distance himself from the rampant rights violations and deep-seated impunity of the Rodrigo Duterte administration”.

“President Marcos has a golden opportunity to get the Philippines on the right track by setting out clear priorities and policies to improve human rights in the country,” Robertson said in a statement.

The progressive Filipino lawyer Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), in a forum that the human rights prospects under Marcos “quite candidly [do] not look good.”

Jairo Bolledo is a Rappler reporter. Republished with permission.

The New Zealand government is considering more action to crack down on violent gang behaviour but has dismissed the idea of a ban on wearing gang patches in public.

There have been a number of shootings and arson attacks in Auckland and Northland in recent weeks linked to escalating tensions between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report the government had asked police what other tools they wanted.

• LISTENING TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘We are moving as fast as we can’ – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

She said she expected to receive further advice soon.

She said changes had been made to widen the criteria for asset seizures and firearm prevention orders legislation was currently before select committee.

It was clear that the current outbreak of violence centred on escalating tensions between two gangs and the clear advice from experts was about the need “to come down hard on that behaviour”.

The police had taken such action with multiple arrests, multiple search warrants executed and 600 rounds of ammunition seized.

‘More tools needed?’
“We’ve asked them [police] to tell us in that environment are there more tools that you need,” she said.

The government had met them again last week and she was expecting more advice from them soon.

“We are moving as fast as we can where the police identify issues we can support them on.”

New policy would not go before cabinet later today — changes did not happen in a day or a week but the government was seeking to have the work expedited.

Asked if it would include increased stop and search powers and banning gang patches in public as suggested by opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon on Saturday, she said the police were in the best position to identify what would work best.

“This idea of gang patch bans — it’s been tried in other countries. It’s often a reactionary response you can see from politicians and when they’ve gone back and looked at whether it’s made a difference, review after review in different parts, for instance in Australia, has proved it hasn’t.

“Why don’t we put our energy into things that are going to make a difference.”

She invited National to bring forward other ideas on what would help solve violence from gangs.

“We will be engaging in the ones that the police tell us will make the biggest difference.”

Asked about changes affecting Māori in particular, she said any proposed legislation always went through a Bill of Rights process.

“But what we also always factor in are New Zealanders’ rights and their sense of safety and at present we see an escalation in tensions between gangs. Their behaviour includes examples of blatant lawlessness and that needs to be addressed.”

Reception from new Australian government pleasing
Ardern has hailed her visit to Sydney as a “reset” of a trans-Tasman relationship which had soured in recent years — primarily over Australia’s intransigent stance on its “501” deportation policy.

Following talks with new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, after which he said he had “listened” to New Zealand’s concern, Ardern said it was a significant improvement on any feedback she had received from Canberra previously.

She agreed Australia has stated its clear intention to continue to deport people which was exactly the same as New Zealand’s approach.

It was those “at the extreme end” of the spectrum who were in effect Australians with no connections to Aotearoa that the government was most concerned about being sent here, she said.

It had secured from Albanese a commitment to look at that aspect.

“We’ve not received a reception like that to these issues for a number of years.”

With a ministerial meeting due to be held in three weeks Ardern said she will be looking for signs of progress but it was too soon to expect a timeframe for action.

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

New Zealand’s Police Commissioner admits some tow companies are reluctant to help with the removal of vehicles near Parliament but says some towing will begin today.

The anti-mandate protest on Parliament’s grounds and neighbouring streets is entering its ninth day.

Commissioner Andrew Coster told RNZ Morning Report he expected to see some of those vehicles towed today although it was unclear how many tow truck operators would take part.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘Clearly this protest has crossed the line” – Police Commissioner Andrew Coster
• ‘The tone has been really anti-social and abusive’ – National leader Chris Luxon
• READ MORE: ‘Selfish, stupid’ covid protesters get short shrift in Wellington
• Trudeau invokes emergency powers in response to Canadian trucker protests
• France: Police fire tear gas to stop advance of ‘Freedom Convoy’
• Other NZ covid outbreak reports

The police action comes as the Ministry of Health reported 744 new community cases of covid-19 in New Zealand yesterday — a drop after consecutive record days that had seen omicron case numbers surge.

On Sunday, 981 new community cases of covid-19 were reported in the country.

A tow truck operator has told RNZ that the real reason the police have had difficulties getting towies to move vehicles was because many of them are sympathetic to the protesters’ cause.

Greg Cox, who owns Wellington’s Cox Heavy Salvage, said he has been contacted twice by police, and he has told them his vehicles are not available.

He said operators in the top half of the North Island are also refusing to help police.

Commissioner Coster agreed that there had been some reluctance by tow companies to be involved.

He said they had had some “constructive engagement” with operators and some may still be willing to play a part.

Some towies threatened
Some have said they have been threatened, while others say their vehicles are unavailable.

He said it was hard to gauge why the tow truck companies were reluctant and if they were sympathetic to the protesters.

“It’s hard for me to speak for what’s driving them but it’s clear that they are reluctant, and that’s very similar to the the treatment we saw overseas. Canada particularly has had a real problem with it.”

Police are in touch with the NZ Defence Force with a view to them helping with the removal operation.

“They have some capability, it won’t be the whole answer to the problem.”

Police have “some other tow capability” that they can draw on using some towing firms but he refused to discuss specifics.

“I expect you will see some tow activity today.”

Constructive dialogue
Constructive dialogue is also occurring with some of the protesters and he expects some of them will move their vehicles to a free parking area at Sky Stadium also.

“So that will be part of the answer.”

Police will hold on to the vehicles they remove and probably the courts will decide what happens in terms of them being returned to their owners.

“That’s the message to the protesters who are parked illegally — move your car to the stadium and we’ll not have any further interest in it.

“Leave it where it is and we will take it and we won’t be giving it back any time soon.”

Commissioner Coster is keen for a careful approach from police so they do not escalate the anger and resentment among protesters.

“It does call for patience. I know how frustrating the situation is for all concerned. It’s an unacceptable impact on people in the central city but we just have to work it through.”

Actions are unlawful
Commissioner Coster said while it was not the police’s aim to arrest the protesters, aspects of their actions were unlawful.

These included the extended blocking of the roads which was the biggest problem and extensive structures that have been erected on Parliament’s grounds.

Asked if Wellington police were caught out by the erection of tents at Parliament, where camping overnight is not allowed, Coster said the law around protest did not allow police many options early on to shut it down.

It was a balancing act, he said.

“Clearly this protest has crossed the line but the problem we have in the early stages is it might not have crossed the line but by then you have got a big problem on your hands.”

Morning Report invited protest organisers on to the programme to discuss their intentions for moving their vehicles but they said they were not yet ready to comment.

They have released a statement — issued on behalf of half a dozen groups including the so-called Voices for Freedom — which said they had been working with police on traffic management and were mindful of public safety and minimising disruption to those living and working in Wellington.

Towies are frightened – Wellington mayor
Wellington City Council has been engaging with towies who are under significant pressure, says mayor Andy Foster.

Some of them have been threatened over taking on the job of removing protesters’ vehicles and he was unaware of any who were sympathetic to the protesters.

“The feedback I’ve had, and I know they’ve been spoken to by our senior management, they are frightened.”

The towing of the vehicles was outside any contracts the council held with tow truck operators for vehicles parked illegally in the city.

Foster said it was unacceptable that the towies felt unsafe about accepting the work.

The mayor has visited the protest site several times and while most people seemed to be peaceful the site was “potentially intimidating”.

Offensive signs – nooses
Asked about offensive signs, such as pictures of nooses, Foster responded: “I think they would all do themselves a big favour if they stopped anybody behaving badly or they got rid of some of those signs.

“They would do everybody a favour. They would look more credible in the eyes of the public but those sorts of things will always let any movement down.”

Foster said he wanted people to be able to move freely around the streets without the fear of being threatened or abused.

“We want business to be back operating. We want all those the day before yesterday so as quickly as it can be done is good.

“But we’re working closely with police, supporting the police in the way they want.”

‘Impinging on others’ freedoms’ – Luxon
Protesters are calling for freedom but their actions are impacting on the freedom of others, opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon says.

He told Morning Report he was pleased there were plans to move protesters’ vehicles because of the inconvenience to residents trying to get to schools and work and emergency services needing to move freely around the city.

He did not want to comment on the reluctance of tow truck operators to get involved because they were sympathetic to the protesters’ cause.

He preferred to leave it to the police who he trusted would sort it out.

Luxon, like the government, had no intention of engaging with protesters because they had no defined leadership and they were difficult to deal with because their issues covered such a wide range.

“They range from white supremacists to separatists and everything in between,” he said.

“There’s a wide range of issues from what we can gather from signage and things that range from anti-authority to anti-vaccination to anti-mandates…

‘Really anti-social and abusive’
“It’s tough when you come here and want to protest about freedoms and you actually end up impinging on others’ freedoms and the tone has been really anti-social and abusive.”

Luxon said the protesters should follow the rule of law and be respectful of others.

They did not seem to be taking into consideration that as a result of the occupation small businesses in the area were suffering.

Regarding his call for a timeline on the vaccine mandate, he said as omicron became endemic in a community the effectiveness of vaccine passes and mandates diminishes.

He believed there needed to be a discussion on the criteria and triggers for when the timeline could be put in place for their removal.

“There’s lots of other countries in the world who fundamentally as they’ve gone through this have had to say how they step out of it as well.”

The country was “in for quite a ride over the coming weeks and months” as omicron became endemic which was the pattern overseas so there should be clarity on the criteria for removing restrictions.

He said National did not want to see hospitality and tourism businesses fall over after two years of the pandemic and called on the government to defer spending on light rail and health restructuring and instead support the hardest hit sectors.

In response to rightwing blogger Cameron Slater’s criticism that Luxon was “hiding behind [Prime Minister] Jacinda Ardern’s skirts” regarding the protest, he said he did not know Slater and the National Party had been clear about its views on the protest from the start.

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

After 39 years with the Fiji Police Force, Rusiate Tudravu has tendered his resignation having reached the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police upon his retirement.

The outgoing Deputy Commissioner Tudravu, who acted as the Commissioner of Police over a 12-month period, tendered his resignation to the Commissioner of Police Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho.

He acted as commissioner while Brigadier-General Qiliho was away on overseas studies in the United Kingdom.

Following the completion of the handing over of duties to the Brigadier-General Qiliho, Tudravu decided to tender his resignation.

Brigadier-General Qiliho thanked the outgoing deputy commissioner for his services and wished him well for his future.

The Fiji Police Force and the National Fire Authority are currently investigating two separate fires that broke out last night — at the Central Arcade in Ba and at Tappoos warehouse in Raiwai.

Police say the first report of fire was received at the Ba Police Station before 8pm and the second fire outbreak was reported at the Raiwaqa Police Station after 11pm.

“A security officer rang and notified police of a fire at the Ba Central Arcade whereby eight shops were destroyed,” a police spokesman said.

• READ MORE: Fire destroys 8 shops at Central Arcade in Ba – FijiVillage
• Fire destroys Tappoo group warehouse – FijiTV

“The fire is believed to have started on the second floor; however this is subject to investigations.”

Ba is a town near Lautoka, in western Viti Levu.

Fire breaks out at Ba Town market arcade; firefighters at the scene https://t.co/rY0mZhpHJE #FijiTimesNews #FijiTimesOnline #FijiNews

— The Fiji Times (@fijitimes) August 1, 2021

“NFA and police officers attended to the scene at the Tappoos warehouse, Carpenters St, Raiwai,” the police spokesman said.

Raiwai is a surburb of the capital Suva. The cause of fire is yet to be determined.

Fiji police will have sweeping powers to monitor communications and forcefully enter premises to place tracking devices under the proposed Police Bill 2020.

The draft legislation is now open for public submissions and will replace the Police Act 1965 once passed by Parliament.

Police will have the powers to secretly or forcefully enter any premises to place tracking devices, states the draft law.

• READ MORE: Draft Police Bill says police can search crime scene without warrant

They will need to obtain a warrant from a High Court judge and “specify the vehicle, craft, or conveyance of any kind or goods that may be tracked, specify the premises, vehicle, craft, or conveyance of any kind that may be entered pursuant to the warrant”, states the draft law.

Police can also secretly monitor and record “communications” of persons about to commit a crime or have committed a crime if the draft law is passed in its current form.

The law also allows police to recruit an “informer” who is described as “any person who, whether formally recruited by police or otherwise, provides information in relation to anything sought by police for any lawful purpose”.

Police officers will not be allowed to join a union, states the draft law and it will be unlawful for them to go on strike or to take any industrial action.

Fiji Village radio website reports that the draft bill proposes that a police officer or special constable would be able to search a crime scene and seize potential evidence without a warrant.

The proposed law says a police officer or special constable may search any person, animal, vehicle or vessel at the crime scene or in the immediate vicinity of such crime scene.

Any person who fails to comply with this could be sent to prison for up to five years.

Anish Chand is a Fiji Times reporter. This report is republished with permission.

The Security sector Reform Coalition says there are three problems which need to be addressed when the sole candidate for Indonesia’s next police chief, Commissioner General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, takes over the national leadership.

The coalition is made up of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Amnesty International Indonesia, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), the Setara Institute for Democracy, the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) and Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW).

“We are of the view that if these problems are not evaluated then it will be difficult to have democratic policing under the Listyo’s leadership”, said coalition representative and Kontras coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti in a media release last week.

• READ MORE: Indonesian human rights violations

The coalition highlighted a statement by Listyo who stated that the police would provide a sense of security to investors. This was revealed during a fit and proper test at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, January 20.

In relation to this statement, the Coalition believes that this has the potential for the national police to become a tool of the interests of capitalist or certain sections of the elite.

Yet, according to Law Number 2/2002 on the Indonesian Police, the police are an instrument of the state whose role is to maintain security and public order, uphold the law and protect, safeguard and serve the public.

“Moreover, we are concerned that this policy will increase the criminalisation or prosecution of environmental activists who often criticise and oppose corporations which damage the environment,” he said.

Call for police ‘neutrality’
The coalition is therefore asking Listyo to ensure that the police remain neutral in responding to the social, political and economic dynamics of society.

The coalition also criticised Listyo’s plan to reactivate the Swakarsa Civilian Security Force or Pam Swakarsa because it has the potential to violate human rights.

According to Maulidiyanti, there was no clarification on the issue of which organisation can be recruited as Pam Swakarsa or limits on the authority of the police to deploy Pam Swakarsa members.

Aside from the potential to violate human rights, the police could also give rise to violent incidents, horizontal conflicts and the misuse of power.

“[This must be avoided by] revoking Police Regulation Number 4/2020 on Swakarsa Security.” she said.

Incidents of police brutality
The coalition believes that continuing incidents of police brutality is because there has not been a thorough evaluation and the minimum levels of supervision and accountability. The other reason is the lack of firm punishments, in the form of ethical or criminal punishments.

Thus the coalition is asking Listyo to conduct an evaluation into the matter.

“Evaluate the excessive use of violence by firmly upholding the law and applying accountability for police officers who commit excessive violence in dealing with mass protest and improve the national police’s internal monitoring system,” said Maulidiyanti.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has selected Listyo as the sole candidate to replace Indonesian police chief General Idham Azis.

After taking part in the fit and proper test Wednesday, a DPR plenary session ratified a decision by the DPR’s Commission III to agree to Listyo’s appointment as the next national police chief.

Listyo will later be inaugurated at a ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta.

IndoLeft News notes:
Pam Swakarsa along with Islamic vigilante groups such as the now outlawed Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) were setup in 1998 by the police and military to counter student demonstrations ahead of the 1998 Special Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly, which was to hear the accountability speech of former President Suharto’s hand-picked successor President B.J. Habibie.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Koalisi Soroti 3 Pernyataan Komjen Listyo Sigit yang Perlu Dievaluasi”.

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Papuan New Guinea’s massive drug haul of more than 600kg of cocaine, seized after a mysterious plane crash by the alleged smugglers more than a week ago, has shaken authorities in both Australia and PNG.

The haul has been estimated at worth up to K200 million (A$80 million) at street value.

The collaborative operation has resulted in the arrests of at least six Australians – one in PNG – and four Papua New Guineans with investigations ongoing. Here are two reports fron the PNG daily newspapers:

READ MORE: Background to the massive PNG drug heist

By Marjorie Finkeo in Port Moresby
Four men allegedly involved in the attempted export of 28 bags of cocaine to Australia have been arrested at two locations in Port Moresby.

Two were arrested at Manu Autoport with A$40,000 (K100,000) cash and electrical items in their possession while the other two were apprehended at Sunset Lodge outside the city.

Police Commissioner David Manning said at a press conference yesterday the suspects were all PNG nationals.

A search conducted at Sanctuary Hotel at Waigani came up empty, Manning said.

He said a joint investigation was continuing and more charges were likely to be laid against the Australian pilot David Paul Cutmore who was charged under Immigration Act 1978 for illegally entering PNG and fined K3000 last Friday.

He said the investigation team was also looking at additional charges against Cutmore under the National Pandemic Act 2020. – PNG Post-Courier

Pacific Media Centre’s Southern Cross radio comment on the investigation yesterday.

By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby

The country’s biggest drug bust, involving more than 600kg of cocaine estimated to cost around K160 million, has been hailed as “great detective work” and the result of a two-year investigation by Australian and PNG police.

A team of police and Customs officers led by Deputy Police Commissioner Operations Donald Yamasombi found 28 black duffle bags containing “high-grade” cocaine wrapped in plastic, some Australian dollars and a flat-screen television near Papa-Lealea village, 30km outside Port Moresby last Friday.

It was near the makeshift airstrip where a Cessna 402C aircraft, which entered the country from Australia without clearance last Sunday, crashed when it tried to take off with its illegal cargo.

Police Commissioner David Manning said police knew “at the time it was a substantial amount of cocaine”.

“(There was an) organised gang involved in this and from what we knew, they were planning to have it removed from PNG via a black flight, a flight that was registered to fly into PNG airspace,” Manning said.

“We now know that the flight landed successfully (but) could not take off due to some mechanical fault.

‘Flight failed to take off’
“What ensued is the result of that flight (failing) to take off.

“The bags were left in an undisclosed location within the village.”

Australian Federal Police senior liaison officer Detective Superintendent Julian Bianco said what was achieved by both police forces was an “excellent result for law enforcement in the Pacific”.

“The seizure brings to a conclusion the long-time operation that has been overseen by the Royal PNG Constabulary and the AFP and Australian law enforcement,” Bianco said.

“Without the assistance of the PNG police and the great detective work, we certainly would not be standing here with this (illegal drugs).

“The aircraft travelled to PNG to collect drugs to take back to Australia.

“We are thankful to the PNG constabulary for stopping it from entering our shores.”

According to pictures obtained by The National, inside each of the black duffle bag was 1kg of cocaine wrapped and labelled 777.

Manning said the drug bust was the largest in the country’s history and the culmination of a two-year operation, and the result of “good detective work” by the Papua New Guinea and Australian police. – The National

Assistant Commissioner Lesa Gale of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) staged a press conference to announce the arrest of five members of an Australian drug syndicate connected to the recent drug bust in PNG.

This was a multi-agency operation that had been ongoing for two years, involving numerous Australian law enforcement agencies as well as members of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC).

She explained that they the joint agencies had been tracking the flight as it left Australia en route to PNG.

READ MORE: PNG’s biggest drug bust – the plane crash and half a tonne of cocaine

On the afternoon of the plane crash, AFP and PRNGC were on site carrying out joint investigations.

As the Minister responsible for Police I received a brief. As the matter related to an ongoing investigation in Australia, I was asked to keep the information confidential. This explains why I never issued a statement and allowed Commissioner of Police David Manning to take the lead in providing statements to the media.

The pilot, who initially fled the scene, later presented himself to Australian consular officials before being handed over to PNG Police and PNG Immigration officials.

At the time police had yet to obtain any direct evidence of drug smuggling. No witnesses had come forward and no drugs were found at the crash site.

Pilot entered PNG illegally
What was confirmed was that the pilot entered PNG illegally. In an effort to detain him while investigations were still ongoing he was charged for illegal entry, an offence under section 16(1) of Migration Act.

By law any person charged for an offence must be brought before a court of law as soon as reasonably possible after his arrest.

The first court hearing or appearance before the court is referred to as an arraignment – where the Magistrate will read out the charges to establish if the Accused understands what he has been charged with. The Magistrate will then ask if they plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.

If they plead not guilty, the Magistrate will adjourn the matter, allowing Police three months to complete their investigation to produce the file (sufficient evidence) to convince the court to commit the accused to stand trial. This is where the court will hear the evidence to establish whether the accused is guilty of the charges.

Where the accused pleads guilty there is no need for the court to hear the evidence and it need only make a decision on the appropriate penalty – based on what the law allows.

Before making a ruling on the penalty, the court will take into consideration the seriousness of the offence, whether a person cooperated with police, whether they pled guilty and whether it was a first time offence.

In such cases the court will typically be lenient and may only impose a fine and release them on good behavior instead of imprisonment.

Court practice
In this case, the pilot pled guilty to the charge of illegal entry, where the law allows a penalty of a fine not exceeding K5000 (NZ$2100) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

Consistent with this practice, the Magistrate issued a fine of K3000 (NZ$1300) and refused bail until the fine was paid.

The Immigration Act also provides that, when a person is illegally in the country, the Minister for Immigration may order that he/she be detained in custody until arrangements can be made for his removal from the country.

This is exactly what happened following the court ruling. The Minister ordered the pilot be detained at the Bomana Immigration Detention Centre.

I noted many posts and comments on social media outraged with the court’s ruling. However, the magistrate’s ruling was correct in law. The pilot could not be charged and detained for smuggling drugs because at the time there was no evidence of any drugs being smuggled.

Following the court’s ruling, and while the pilot was detained, police were able to seize 500kg of drugs, providing the evidence they needed to lay further charges against him.

It is important to note that under PNG law the maximum penalty for importing drugs is just two years. In Australia the maximum penalty is up to life imprisonment.

Reality about a dragging case
While I note the concerns of those who want the Australian pilot to be charged and sentenced in PNG, the reality is that once charged he would be entitled to bail, the case may drag on for some years, and if convicted the penalty would be no more than two years.

In contrast, once deported to Australia he would face charges on arrival, be denied bail and face a life sentence.

Right now the RPNGC and AFP are continuing investigations to apprehend those involved in the storage and shipment of drugs, including clearing of the makeshift runway.

While I note allegations have surfaced on social media that senior officers of RPNGC are involved, these allegations are being looked into and for obvious reasons I won’t comment on them.

For now, I would like to support the comments of the AFP in Australia in acknowledging the hard work done by the Commissioner of Police and the good officers who were involved in successfully seizing the drugs.

Below: surveillance picture of the pilot and the plane taken by Australian law enforcement officers before the plane departed Australia for PNG.

Minister Kramer wrote this commentary on his Facebook page to explain the process of investigation and the legal strategy involved.

Where does the responsibility of Tonga’s Police Commissioner lie?

Is it to the Police Minister and Cabinet? To the king and the Privy Council? Or should it be directly to the people?

Should the Commissioner be appointed by Cabinet, by the  monarch or by direct vote?

These questions were at the heart of the package of changes which the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva government failed to get through Parliament and which the current government has now dropped.

But is there a perfect system and would it ever be workable?

Police commissioners in Tonga are currently supplied and paid for by the New Zealand government. At times they have faced an uphill battle combatting corruption and trying to improve efficiency in the force.

In the past this has led to the extraordinary sight of the Police Minister openly attacking Police Commissioner Steven Caldwell and supporting dismissed officers.

As Kaniva News reported in March 2018, during the Pōhiva administration, Minister of Police Māteni Tapueluelu openly sided with a number of officers protesting about their treatment.

Many people would have seen this as an attack on the Commissioner’s independence and an attempt to impose political restraints on the role.

Police commissioners
In New Zealand, the Commissioner of Police is appointed for a five-year term by the Governor-General. The Commissioner is accountable to the Minister of Police for the administration of police services, but acts independently in carrying out law enforcement decisions.

In Australia, the appointment and responsibilities of the Police Commissioner in each state follow roughly the same pattern.

In Queensland, the Police Commissioner reports to the Minister for Police.

In New South Wales the police force is described as a servant of the Crown. While independent of government, the Police Commissioner is responsible to the minister.

In Victoria, the Chief Commissioner of Police is appointed by the Governor in Council (the Cabinet and the State Governor) for a five-year term.

In South Australia, the police force is headed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports directly to the Minister for Police.

In Western Australia, the State Government and Executive Council (the State Cabinet and the State Governor) appoints the Police Commissioner.

In the United Kingdom, the situation is even more complex.

There are 41 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales who are directly elected.

In London, the City of London Police are overseen by City of London Corporation. The mayor of London is responsible for the governance of the Metropolitan Police.

In Northern Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland is supervised by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

In Scotland, Police Scotland is overseen by the Scottish Police Services Authority.

The British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Police, which operate across the UK, have their own authorities.

In the United States, direct election of public office holders is common, often involving  positions that in other countries would be government appointments.

Separation of the powers
Behind the debate about the position of the Police Commissioner lies the doctrine of the separation of powers.

This holds that government consists of three branches, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and that all should function independently and without interference from the others.

The Austrian Parliament has declared: “History has time and again shown that unlimited power in the hands of one person or group in most cases means that others are suppressed or their powers curtailed. The separation of powers in a democracy is to prevent abuse of power and to safeguard freedom for all.”

In the New Zealand context, the legislature consists of Members of Parliament and the Governor-General. The role of the Legislature is to make laws and to scrutinise the Executive.

The Executive consists of ministers and government departments. The role of the xecutive is to decide policy, propose laws, which must be approved by Parliament and the Governor-General and administer the law.

The Judiciary consists of all judges. The role of the judiciary is to interpret and apply the law.

In order to prevent abuses of power and ensure each part acts as a check on the others, all three branches operate independently.

In Australia, the doctrine of separation of powers is reflected in the Constitution, which governs the Commonwealth.

This is intended to prevent the kind of dictatorship that occurs when all branches are controlled by a single authority, or the kind of corruption that can emerge from the opportunities that unchecked power brings.

After the democratic reforms that have occurred since 2010, it is unlikely that many voters would want to see too much power concentrated in one or a few hands.

The reforms have also generated a deep seated desire for accountability to the public from all levels of government.

The question for voters is how they want appointments like the Police Commissioner to be handled.

Should they be purely in the hands of the government, so appointees would be responsible to the public through the government.

Should they be made as they are now with king and Privy Council involved, a process the Pohiva government opposed?

Should figures like the Police Commissioner be directly elected by the public?

What do you think?
E-mail Kaniva News at kanivatonganz@gmail.com and we’ll share your views in a future story.

The PNG Defence Force has handed over three suspects for the killing of police Senior Inspector Andrew Tovere to the investigating police.

Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Jnr was accompanied by three officers to attend a muster parade at Port Moresby’s Murray Barracks yesterday.

The attendance was prompted by the invitation of the commanding officer in charge of Support Company purposely to address the troops.

READ MORE: Scott Waide: Look at the big picture, not just a breaking news lust

“I was given the opportunity to speak to our soldiers and after this parade we escorted the three suspects involved in late SIP Tovere’s murder [on May 8] to Boroko Police Station at around 10am.

“The three suspects were handed over by the PNGDF military police and are now being processed at Boroko Police Station,” he said in a statement.

Assistant Commissioner Wagambie said the three suspects would go through normal process of interview and charges will be laid against them.

“We will as much as possible get them to attend court today for mention to get their warrants to move them to Bomana CS.

“I have assured the military hierarchy and rank and file on parade that the security of the three soldiers is guaranteed.

“We have mobile squads stationed at Boroko Police Station to ensure their security is protected…

“I want to assure members of the PNGDF and residents of NCD [National Capital District] that police are on normal operations and we have taken control as of last Saturday after the incident…

“Both the murder and the subsequent confrontation at ATW is very unfortunate. Commissioner of Police will issue a separate statement in regards to this.”

Wagambie added that “normalcy” had returned to police activities as of Saturday evening and is calling on the police and PNGDF to remain calm as the process took its course.

Republished under a collaborative partnership with EMTV News.

Papua New Guinea’s new Police Minister Bryan Kramer, once the Opposition MP scourge of the former Peter O’Neill-led government, is continuing to use his social media outlets in an effort to “clean up” governance as a minister.

After ex-Police Commissioner Gary Baki staged a press conference at the Police Headquarters to announce he would be applying to the lawcourts for a restraining order against the National Executive Council (NEC) on its decision last Friday to revoke to sack him and appoint Francis Tokura instead, Kramer was quick to use social media to add some “transparency” around the controversy.

Baki issued a press statement titled: “Acting Commissioner Baki to seek restraining order against Government on appointments”.

But minister Kramer replied on his Facebook page that “with due respect to the former Commissioner, the title of his press statement is misleading on account he is no longer the Acting Commissioner.

“In fact he is no longer a member of the force and should not have staged a press conference at Police HQ in Police uniform,” Kramer said.

In his public statement, Baki read out his 8-page media release at a news briefing and Kramer respnded point by point:

Due process
Baki stated: “Why did the government not follow due process and appoint them as substantive Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners instead of in acting capacities?”

Kramer: “All appointments whether temporary or substantive shall be made by the Head of State, acting with and in accordance with the advise of the National Executive Council given after consultation with the Public Service Commission and any appropriate Permanent Parliament Committee, which in this case is the Permanent Parliament Appointments committee. It may take about two weeks to a month for due process to be observed so that substantive appointments can be made instead of acting.”

Baki: “So the Police Minister and the government is playing with the lives of careers of police officers.”

Kramer: “Am I playing politics with the lives of career police officers? Hardly, it is more a case of their career expired/retired by operation of law.”

Baki confirmed in his press statement that his contract had expired on May 7, 2019, while the contracts of Deputy Commissioners Jim Andrews and Raphael Huafolo had expired on July 4, 2019.

Section 91 of Police Act states Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners shall retire in accordance with the terms of their contracts. In this case all three contracts expired giving effect to the vacancies in office and need for urgent acting (three month) appointments.

Baki claimed that when his contract expired, he was reappointed Acting Commissioner on May 8, 2019, by the O’Neill-Abel government.

Process not followed
Kramer said that Baki had correctly stated that “all appointments whether temporary or substantive shall be made by the Head of State, acting with and in accordance with the advise of the National Executive Council given after consultation with the Public Service Commission and any appropriate Permanent Parliament Committee. This is provided for under Section 193 of Constitution.”

However, did Baki’s appointment as Acting Commissioner follow due process by being in accordance with Section 193 of the Constitution?

Kramer said the “short answer is no”.

In a meeting with Baki, following his appointment as Minister for Police, Kramer requested that he be provided documentation supporting his appointment. He explained he had submitted an application for re-appointment to the then Minister of Police Jetla Wong.

However, due to political impasse around the same period Wong had failed to submit his application before NEC.

• Police Minister Bryan Kramer’s full response
• More PNG stories

In their raids on media organisations, journalists and whistleblowers, the Australian Federal Police have shown themselves to be the tool of a secretive, ruthless and vindictive executive government.

Secretive because the extensive web of laws passed under the rubric of national security, on top of the secrecy provisions of the Commonwealth Crimes Act, gives the executive wide powers to classify as secret anything it wishes to hide.

As the former investigative reporter Ross Coulthart once memorably said, it could include the office Christmas card.

READ MORE: Why the raids on Australian media present a clear threat to democracy

Ruthless because the stories revealed by whistleblowers and reporters targeted by the AFP and other security agencies have offered accounts of cruelty, misconduct, dishonesty and slyness. These include:

• harm done to the mental health of asylum-seeker children on Manus Island and Nauru
• bugging the East Timor cabinet office as part of an attempt to cheat the Timorese out of their fair share of the Timor Sea oil reserves
• alleged breaches of the rules of engagement by Australian military personnel in Afghanistan
• proposals to intensify domestic spying on Australian citizens.

Real threat lacking
Vindictive because in the most recent two cases it has taken more than a year after publication for the AFP to take action, revealing how utterly lacking in any real threat to national security the leaks and publications were.

It follows that these raids are a naked attempt to take revenge on whistleblowers and intimidate the journalists who published their stories.

As for the AFP, while it is true they are acting in response to references from other government agencies, it raises questions about the way they exercise their vaunted operational independence.

What weight do they give to how real a threat to national security is posed by any particular leak? What weight do they give to the imperative that leakers be made an example of and journalists be intimidated?

Or do they just want to show the rest of the executive branch that they are on the team?

In addition to this question of AFP culture, many interrelated factors have brought Australia to this point – a clear and present danger to freedom of the press.

One is the catch-all nature of section 70 of the Commonwealth Crimes Act. This makes it an offence punishable by up to two years’ jail for a public servant or former public servant to make an unauthorised disclosure of any fact or document they come across in their role as a public servant.

70 national security laws
Another is the vast body of national security laws — about 70 of them at last count.

In the context of press freedom, one of the most oppressive is the so-called metadata law of 2015, which makes it relatively easy for the police and security forces to carry out electronic surveillance of communications between journalists and their sources.

Not only do these laws provide for the criminal prosecution of journalists, they also contain very limited public-interest defences. In many instances, they reverse the onus of proof, so the journalist has to prove a defence rather than the prosecution having to prove guilt.

A third factor is the Commonwealth’s weak whistleblower protection law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act. This offers no specific protection for a whistleblower who goes to the media, even after he or she has tried to get the wrongdoing corrected internally.

We are seeing this play out in the courts now with the prosecution of Tax Office whistleblower Richard Boyle.

Three government ministers — Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Attorney-General Christian Porter — have all batted away questions about the latest police raids, taking refuge in saying it is the law taking its course.

That is not the point. The point is that the politicians have constructed a repressive legal regime designed to protect the executive branch of government, impede accountability to the public and exert a chilling effect on the press.

Labor support
This is not a party-political argument. Labor has largely supported the creation of this regime, although to be fair it has forced through some amendments to give some protection to journalists.

A fourth factor is that Australia is alone among the “Five Eyes” countries that make up the West’s main intelligence network in having no constitutional protection for freedom of the press. The US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand all have this protection in some form.

Finally, laws that do exist in Australia to protect journalists’ sources offer no protection from police raids and electronic surveillance.

These laws – called “shield laws” because they are designed to shield the identity of confidential sources – apply only in court proceedings. They allow a journalist to claim a privilege against disclosing information that may identify a confidential source. The court then has to weigh up the consequences of forcing the journalist to identify the source.

If a source is identified by electronic surveillance or seizure of files or electronic devices, the journalist is powerless to keep any promise of confidentiality.

We are back to the days when communicating with confidential sources can be done safely only through snail mail or – after leaving mobile devices behind – in underground car parks.

• Denis Muller is senior research fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.
• Other Australian media raids stories
• Pacific Media Watch updates

By RNZ News

An Australian police raid on public broadcaster ABC risks having a chilling effect on freedom of the press, its editorial director says.

Police officers left the ABC’s Sydney headquarters more than eight hours after a raid began over allegations it had published classified material.

It related to a series of 2017 stories known as The Afghan Files about alleged misconduct by Australian troops in Afghanistan.

READ MORE: Why the raids on Australian media present a clear threat to democracy

ABC editorial director Craig McMurtrie told RNZ Morning Report the message the raids sent to sources and whistleblowers who wanted to reveal things in the public interest was concerning.

LISTEN: ‘Chilling effect on freedom of the press’ – Morning Report

“We’re concerned obviously about a chilling effect it has on freedom of the press,” he said.

The stories, by ABC investigative journalists Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, revealed allegations of unlawful killings by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and were based on hundreds of pages of secret Defence documents leaked to the ABC.

McMurtrie said the ABC believed it had acted lawfully and stood by its reporters.

And so it’s off into the night for the six AFP officers. For nine hours they’ve searched through ABC emails and documents. I think there’s a big question for the Australian public: is this what a free press looks like? Thank you all for your interest today. Regards, JL. pic.twitter.com/EXnXhyOPQQ

— John Lyons (@TheLyonsDen) June 5, 2019

‘Not cavalier’
“It’s not as though we’re cavalier about these things. We have exhaustive quality control and checking processes and we always strive to act in the public interest.

“It is our job as journalists to hold government authorities and agencies to account and that is why this is so important.”

Police officers leaving the ABC’s Sydney headquarters took with them two USB drives containing a small number of electronic files, which were sealed in plastic bags pending a review by ABC’s lawyers, the broadcaster reported.

AFP technicians password-protected the files and police will be unable to access them until the two-week period of review is over.

Police searched for article drafts, graphics, digital notes, visuals, raw television footage and all versions of scripts related to The Afghan Files stories. Thousands of items were found which matched search terms listed in the warrant.

ABC investigations editor John Lyons ended up live tweeting the raid and said it was a “bad, sad and dangerous day” for Australia.

Australian police raided the Canberra home of a News Corp journalist on Tuesday but said the raids were not linked.

Unauthorised leak
They alleged there had been an unauthorised leak of national security information in a story by Annika Smethurst in April 2018 which said the government was considering giving spy agencies greater surveillance powers.

News Corp, controlled by media baron Rupert Murdoch, called the raid “outrageous and heavy handed”, and “a dangerous act of intimidation”.

Police questioning of journalists is not new, but raids on two influential news organisations sparked warnings that national security was being used to justify curbs on whistleblowing and reporting that might embarrass the government.

• This article is published under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.
• More Australian media raids stories
• The Afghan Files

The Australian Federal Police has this week conducted two high-profile raids on journalists who have exposed government secrets and their sources.

On Tuesday, seven AFP officers spent several hours searching News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst’s Canberra home, her mobile phone and computer. The AFP linked the raid to “the alleged publishing of information classified as an official secret”.

This stemmed from Smethurst’s 2018 article, which contained images of a “top secret” memo and reported that senior government officials were considering moves to empower the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) to covertly monitor Australian citizens for the first time.

READ MORE: The Afghan Files – the special investigation by the ABC into allegations of atrocities by Australian special forces

Soon after, 2GB Radio Presenter Ben Fordham revealed he had been notified by the Department of Home Affairs that he was the subject of a similar investigation, aimed at identifying the source of classified information he had reported regarding intercepted boat arrivals.

And then on Wednesday, the AFP raided the ABC’s Sydney headquarters. This dramatic development was in connection with the 2017 “Afghan files” report based on “hundreds of pages of secret defence force documents leaked to the ABC”.

These documents revealed disturbing allegations of misconduct by Australian special forces.

Widespread reaction
The reaction to the raids was immediate and widespread.

The New York Times quoted News Corp’s description of the Smethurst raid as “a dangerous act of intimidation towards those committed to telling uncomfortable truths”. The Prime Minister was quick to distance his government from the AFP’s actions, while opposition leader Anthony Albanese condemned the raids.

But to those familiar with the ever-expanding field of Australian national security law, these developments were unlikely to surprise. In particular, enhanced data surveillance powers and a new suite of secrecy offences introduced in late 2018 had sparked widespread concern over the future of public interest journalism in Australia.

The crackdown of the past few days reveals that at least two of the core fears expressed by lawyers and the media industry were well-founded: first, the demise of source confidentiality and, secondly, a chilling effect on public interest journalism.

Source confidentiality
Upon finding out he was the subject of an investigation aimed at uncovering his sources of government information, Ben Fordham declared:

The chances of me revealing my sources is zero. Not today, not tomorrow, next week or next month. There is not a hope in hell of that happening.

Source confidentiality is one of journalists’ most central ethical principles. It is recognised by the United Nations and is vital to a functioning democracy and free, independent, robust and effective media.

One of the greatest threats to source confidentiality is Australia’s uniquely broad data surveillance framework. The 2015 metadata retention scheme requires that all metadata (that is, data about a device or communication but not, say, the communication itself) be retained for two years.

It may then be covertly accessed by a wide array of government agencies without a warrant. Some reports suggest that by late 2018, some 350,000 requests for access to metadata were being received by telecommunications service providers each year.

READ MORE: Data retention plan amended for journalists, but is it enough?

The government was not blind to the potential impact of this scheme on source confidentiality. For example, obtaining metadata relating to a journalist’s mobile phone could reveal where they go and who they contact and easily point to their sources.

This led to the introduction of the “Journalist Information Warrant” (JIW). This warrant is required if an agency wishes to access retained metadata for the direct purpose of identifying a professional journalist’s source.

So, access to a professional journalist’s metadata in order to identify a confidential source is permitted, provided the access has a particular criminal investigation or enforcement purpose and the agency can show it is in the public interest and therefore obtain a JIW.

This week’s raids suggest that either JIWs could not be obtained in relation to Smethurst, Fordham or the ABC Journalists, or the journalists’ metadata did not reveal their sources, or the AFP did not attempt to access their metadata.

Reasons unclear
Alternatively, if metadata had identified the journalists’ sources, it is less clear why these dramatic developments took place.

After 2015, journalists were advised to avoid using their mobile devices in source communications. They were also encouraged, wherever possible, to encrypt communications.

But in 2018, the government went some way to closing down this option when it introduced the complex and highly controversial Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018.

As well as expanding computer access and network access warrants, the Act provided a means for government agencies to co-opt those in the telecommunications industry to assist agencies with their investigations.

This could include covertly installing weaknesses and vulnerabilities in specific devices, circumventing passwords or allowing encrypted communications to be decrypted. A warrant would then be required to access the device and communication data.

It is impossible to know whether Australian journalists have been targeted under the Act or had weaknesses or spyware installed on their personal devices. This week’s raids suggest the AFP would be prepared to target journalists under this framework in order to identify journalists’ confidential sources.

However, this could only be done for some purposes, including in the investigation of a secrecy offence.

Secrecy offences
In June 2018, the government introduced a suite of new espionage, foreign interference and secrecy offences. This included an offence of current or former Commonwealth officers communicating information, obtained by virtue of their position, likely to cause harm to Australia’s interests. This offence is punishable by imprisonment for seven years. If the information is security classified or the person held a security classification, then they may have committed an “aggravated offence” and be subject to ten years’ imprisonment.

This week’s raids reveal just how common it is for public interest journalism to rely on secret material and government sources.

But the journalists themselves may also be facing criminal prosecution. The 2018 changes include a “general secrecy offence”, whereby it is an offence (punishable by imprisonment for five years) to communicate classified information obtained from a Commonwealth public servant.

Fordham’s radio broadcast about intercepted boat arrivals was, for example, a clear communication of classified information.

Again, journalists are offered some protection. If prosecuted, a journalist can seek to rely on the “journalism defence” by proving that they dealt with the information as a journalist, and that they reasonably believed the communication to be in the public interest.

The meaning of “public interest” is unclear and, in this context, untested. However, it will take into account the public interest in national security and government integrity secrecy concerns as well as openness and accountability.

Protecting media freedom
Australia has more national security laws than any other nation. It is also the only liberal democracy lacking a Charter of Human Rights that would protect media freedom through, for example, rights to free speech and privacy.

In this context, journalists are in a precarious position – particularly journalists engaged in public interest journalism. This journalism is vital to government accountability and a vibrant democracy, but has a tense relationship with Australia’s national interests as conceived by government.

National security law has severely undercut source confidentiality by increasing and easing data surveillance. National security laws have also criminalised a wide array of conduct related to the handling of sensitive government information, both by government officers and the general public.

And these laws are just a few parts of a much larger national security framework that includes: control orders, preventative detention orders, ASIO questioning and detention warrants, secret evidence, and offences of espionage, foreign interference, advocating or supporting terrorism, and more.

JIWs, and the inclusion of a journalism defence to the secrecy offence, recognise the importance of a free press. However, each of these protections relies on a public interest test. When government claims of national security and the integrity of classifications is weighed into this balance, it is difficult to see how other interests might provide an effective counterbalance.

One of the most disturbing outcomes is not prosecutions or even the raids themselves, but the chilling of public interest journalism. Sources are less likely to come forward, facing risk to themselves and a high likelihood of identification by government agencies. And journalists are less likely to run stories, knowing the risks posed to their sources and perhaps even to themselves.

Against this background, the calls for a Media Freedom Act, such as by the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, have gained significant traction. It may take this kind of bold statement to cut across the complexities of individual laws and both recognise and protect the basic freedom of the press and the future of public interest journalism in Australia.

• Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is senior lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.
• More Australian media raids stories

After the latest Australian federal police raid targeting the media – this time the Sydney headquarters of the national public broadcaster ABC – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned the Australian government about the grave threat it is now posing to investigative journalism and the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.

“In a scene that might be expected in an authoritarian country but not in a democracy, six federal officers entered the ABC building this morning and began examining computers, email accounts and data storage devices under a warrant authorizing them to ‘add, copy, delete or alter’ any content they find,” reports RSF on its website.

The warrant was reportedly issued in order to help them to identify the sources for an Afghan Files report broadcast on the ABC current affairs programme The 7.30 Report on 10 July 2017 about the alleged role of Australian special forces personnel in the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan.

READ MORE: RSF’s earlier report on the Australian raids

“Persecuting a media outlet in this way because of a report that was clearly in the public interest is intolerable,” said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.

“This kind of intimidation of reporters and their sources can have devastating consequences for journalistic freedom and independent news reporting.”

Bastard added: “We urge Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government to stop harassing investigative journalists, using national security as a pretext in connexion with subjects on which Australian citizens clearly have the right to be informed.”

The raid on ABC headquarters in Sydney came less than 24 hours after Tuesday’s equally shocking raid on the Canberra home of Annika Smethurst, the political editor of News Corp’s Sunday newspapers.

After the raid on Smethurst’s home, Ben Fordham, a presenter for the Sydney radio station 2GB, revealed that he was also being investigated by the department of home affairs in connection with a story broadcasted on Monday about six asylum-seeker boats heading for Australia.

Australia is ranked 21st out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index, after falling two places.

• The Pacific Media Centre’s Pacific Media Watch project works in collaboration with RSF.
• More Australian media raids stories

Two raids by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on journalists and media organisations within the last 24 hours represent a disturbing attempt to intimidate legitimate news journalism that is in the public interest, says the union for Australian journalists, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).

Yesterday’s raid on a News Corporation Australia journalist, and today’s raid on the public broadcaster ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and three of its journalists, suggest that no media organisation is immune from government attacks on press freedom.

“A second day of raids by the AFP sets a disturbing pattern of assaults on Australian press freedom. This is nothing short of an attack on the public’s right to know,” said MEAA media section president Marcus Strom in a statement.

READ MORE: ABC’s Sydney headquarters raided by Australian Federal Police over Afghan Files stories

WATCH: John Lyons of the ABC’s The Drum sums up the Australian Federal Police raid

“Police raiding journalists is becoming normalised and it has to stop.

“These raids are about intimidating journalists and media organisations because of their truth-telling.

“They are about more than hunting down whistleblowers that reveal what governments are secretly doing in our name, but also preventing the media from shining a light on the actions of government,” Strom said.

“It is equally clear that the spate of national security laws passed by the Parliament over the past six years have been designed not just to combat terrorism but to persecute and prosecute whistleblowers who seek to expose wrongdoing.

‘Poisonous laws’
“These laws seek to muzzle the media and criminalise legitimate journalism. They seek to punish those that tell Australians the truth.

“Yesterday’s raid was in response to a story published a year ago. Today’s raid comes after a story was published nearly two years ago.

“Suddenly, just days after a federal election, the Federal Police launches this attack on press freedom. It seems that when the truth embarrasses the government, the result is the Federal Police will come knocking at your door,” Strom said.

“MEAA demands to know who is responsible for ordering these coordinated raids, and why now. We call for the government and opposition to take collective responsibility for the legal framework they’ve created that is allowing for what appears to be politically motivated assault on press freedom,” Strom said.

“For years the Liberal and Labor parties have engaged in a high-stakes game of bluff which has seen the introduction of anti-democratic laws in the guise of national security legislation.

“It is time that the government and opposition had a common sense approach to defusing these poisonous laws that are effectively criminalising journalism. This attack on the truth must end.”

• The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) is the Australian union defending press freedoms and is a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
• More media freedom stories

Police in Solomon Islands remain on high alert after Wednesday’s riots which broke out across the capital Honiara shortly after Manasseh Sogavare was announced the country’s prime minister.

So far 50 people have been taken into custody in connection with the unrest which saw opportunists taking advantage of the chaos to continue to loot and destroy public and private property up until the early hours of Thursday morning.

The police commissioner Matthew Varley said the situation was now under control and he is urging residents of Honiara to go about their daily lives.

LISTEN: The full Koroi Hawkins interview with Police Commissioner Matthew Varley

Varley said he was disappointed in the individuals who decided to take part in the lawlessness and reassured the wider Solomon Islands community that police will be working around the clock to protect them and to keep the peace.

“Anyone who comes out tonight and continues with this sort of behaviour I say is being opportunistic, looking to cause trouble, looking to loot and steal and to get into a fight,” Commissioner Varley said.

“And police are trying to send a message out through chiefs and leaders in communities today that we don’t want to see a repeat of what occurred last night but at the same time we are taking precautions to make sure police officers are highly visible and ready to respond to anymore issues that might arise.”

This article is published under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

https://www.facebook.com/stefarmbruster/videos/295013258096365/
Stefan Armbruster of SBS News reports.

A Solomon Islands academic says the only body that can find a legitimate solution to his country’s current crisis is the National Parliament.

Senior politics lecturer at the Suva-based University of the South Pacific, Dr Gordon Nanau, said this following the unrest and rioting in Honiara yesterday by a large group of people angry over the outcome of the prime ministerial election in Honiara.

Manasseh Sogavare was voted into power at Parliament House for the fourth time yesterday after polling 34 votes, ahead of rival Matthew Wale whose 14 supporters boycotted the 50-seat Parliament.

READ MORE: 50 detained, 11 police injured during Solomon Islands riots

Angry mobs took to the streets yesterday afternoon, looting and causing damage to businesses, vehicles and both private and public properties, in protest against the election of Sogavare.

“The only body that can find a legitimate solution to the current situation is the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. If the Prime Minister decides to step down based on his own judgment or that of his colleagues in the House, it will be up to Parliament to determine the candidate with majority support to become prime minister,” Dr Nanau said.

“Again, the process for such a change must be through Parliament. Solomon Islanders must not allow lawlessness and criminal activities to dictate who becomes prime minister.

Convene Parliament
“Parliament must be allowed to convene soon and have a government formed to discuss the current situation.

“This also calls for the 14 MPs who walked out of Parliament to show leadership and allow parliamentary processes to be effected. This is the only way to find a legitimate solution to the current impasse.”

The Pacific Casino Hotel at Kukum, where Sogavare and his Democratic Coalition for Advancement stayed in the lead up to the election, was also looted and damaged by the angry mobs.

The burning and looting continued in the eastern part of the capital last night, which saw the Oceanic Marine Building at KGVI hit by a flare and the looting and rampage of a recently opened shopping complex.

Local police used tear gas to disperse crowds in China Town and again last night in East Honiara to control the crowds.

Reports also suggested that a few innocent people were tear gassed in their own homes as rioters randomly ran into their areas to get away from police.

Sogavare’s win caused an upset as people allegedly saw this as a continuation of the former government and took to the streets to call for a change in the government leadership. The protests after the announcement slowly developed into rioting and unrest, amidst heavy police presence.

USP students call for calm
Solomon Islands students at USP in Suva have called on fellow citizens in Honiara to stay calm and not to take the law into their own hands.

Solomon Islands final-year law student Eddie Babanisi, who is currently based at USP’s Laucala campus, said there were processes in place to address grievances relating to the election outcome.

“I call on the young people to stop what they are doing now. Please stand down and listen to the police and authorities’ call for calm,” he said.

“They have just elected respective leaders into Parliament and they should take this up with their leaders to take up through relevant channels, instead of staging riots.

“Whatever happened yesterday was a parliamentary procedure to choose our leaders and the public has no right over what the National Parliament has decided in electing the new prime minister.”

Bachelor of Commerce final-year student Sophie Kwaomae, who is also from Solomon Islands, said the protests and riots might not be staged just for political reasons.

“The reality is that these young people running around causing havoc don’t have anything better to do but to wait for opportunities to loot and damage the city,” she said.

“Majority of them seem to have horded from squatter settlements into town. The real reasons for this might not be political, but also social, such as unemployment and the poverty stricken conditions they live in every day, thus the motivation to stage such actions to vent their frustration. These are the very issues that the incoming government must prioritise.”

USP campus closes
In light of the unrest by recent political events, USP vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia said all USP campuses on Solomon Islands would be closed until further notice.

He said students and staff were urged to remain at home and adhere to security advisories issued by national authorities.

“Our prayers are with you all and the nation at this time, for a peaceful and safe outcome to these events,” he said.

The prime ministerial election continued yesterday morning despite a High Court injunction for the election to be postponed.

The postponement was proposed to make way for the full hearing of the validity of the nomination of Sogavare for prime ministership last Friday.

However, Governor-General Sir Frank Kabui exercised his constitutional powers to ensure the election ensued.

Talking to the crowd outside the National Parliament soon after his election, Prime Minister Sogavare said they were listening to what people were saying.

“I want to assure this nation that we are listening to what people are saying. We have heard from various squatters and various groups, who have made very important statements.

“These have not fallen on deaf ears. We will take them into consideration when we work on the government’s new policies.”

‘Rule of law’
In a short video released after the election, Matthew Wale, the Leader of the Grand Coalition whose 15 members abstained from voting yesterday and walked out during election proceedings, said the laws of the country must be upheld.

“While the Grand Coalition recognises the authority of the Governor-General to preside over the meeting, under the National Constitution of our country, the group felt that the decision of the High Court injunction orders directing the Governor-General to postpone the meeting of members that was convened at 9.30am, should have been adhered to,” he said in the clip.

“The Grand Coalition believes that our legal processes must be respected. We believe that the order and directions of the High Court were reasonable, given the significance of the submissions.

“The walkout, therefore, is for the sake of the rule of law. The Governor-General did not abide by the direction to differ the meeting, a direction of the High Court. No one is above the law including his excellency.”

Rosalie Nongebatu of the Solomon Islands is a final-year journalism student at USP’s Laucala campus. She is also editor of Wansolwara, the USP Journalism Programme’s student training print and online publications. This article is republished as part of USP and the Pacific Media Centre’s journalism education partnership.

RNZ Pacific reports that an uneasy calm has returned to the capital while Sogavare rejected accusations his past governments have “failed” Malaita over project implementation.

More reports, pictures on ABC Pacific Beat

Significant damage was caused at the Pacific Casino Hotel and many vehicles were also damaged.

These crowd marches were illegal and investigating police are expected to arrest more suspects.

Five Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) and four Correctional Services officers were injured and needed medical attention, the Star reports.

Commissioner Matthew Varley called on residents to stay home unless it was “extremely necessary” to avoid further trouble.

Police operation
“I have ordered a large police operation to conduct more high visibility patrols across Honiara tonight and police will stop anyone that is causing trouble around the city,” he said.

“People engaged in disorderly conduct will be searched and dealt with.

“I have also ordered a number of road blocks and checkpoints to be put in place to reduce traffic in the city.”

Commissioner Varley said: “This is necessary to ensure we maintain security across Honiara tonight. The RSIPF will not take any chances when it comes to public safety.

“If you are a law abiding citizen, then you have nothing to fear.

“Police are in control and we are continuing to respond to any incidents of disturbance around the city.

“But anyone who is planning to carry out any illegal activity can expect police to deal with you sternly.”

Swift action
The Police Response Team (PRT) officers and riot squad officers have been ordered to take swift action against anyone using violence.

“I urge all law abiding citizens to stay at home tonight and stay off the streets,” Commissioner Varley said.

“We need peace in our families, our communities and in our nation.”

Reports from RNZ Pacific and the Solomon Star.

Police in Solomon Islands called for calm today after rioting broke out in the capital of Honiara over the election of Manasseh Sogavare as the new prime minister.

Sogavare’s win – his fourth term as prime minister – represents a continuation of the last government and those protesting are purportedly people who had been wanting a change in government

Videos and pictures posted on social media show large crowds of mostly young men walking and running through the streets, yelling and throwing stones at buildings, and breaking in and damaging some private properties.

READ MORE: Protests erupt in Solomon Islands as Sogavare elected for fourth time

Police riot squads have been trying to disperse the more rowdy groups with tear gas.

One group caused substantial damage to the Pacific Casino Hotel complex at Kukum where Sogavare and the members of his Democratic Coalition for Advancement had been based

The situation in Honiara remains tense with most shops and businesses having closed.

Police said they would continue high visibility patrols throughout the night and are urging people to stay away from the city centre.

Meanwhile, Sogavare has been sworn in at Government House and is now officially the prime minister of Solomon Islands.

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

• Earlier story

https://www.facebook.com/dan.danzo.92/videos/2601340249894084/

Police Commissioner Mike Bush says police knew where the suspect from the Christchurch mosque attacks was going after the New Zealand shootings and intervened.

During a media conference today, Bush gave further details of the police response during the attacks that killed 50 people at Al Noor and Linwood mosques last Friday.

He said within five minutes and 39 seconds of being notified the first responders were armed and on the scene and ready to respond and within 10 minutes the armed offenders squad was on the scene.

WATCH RNZ VIDEO: Police Commissioner Mike Bush speaks to the media

“Within 21 minutes the person that is now in custody was arrested.”

Bush said the person was apprehended on the way to another target. He would not say what the target was.

“We strongly believe we stopped him on the way to a further attack, so lives were saved.

“We absolutely believe we know where he was going and we intervened along the way.”

2 assault rifles
He said during the arrest of the suspect, officers seized two assault rifles and at least one semi-automatic rifle.

Police had previously said the suspect was in custody at the justice precinct within 36 minutes, but Bush said the arrest at the roadside took only 21 minutes.

Speaking about identifying the victims’ bodies, Bush said it was an absolute priority to return the victims to their families.

As of at 11.30pm yesterday 21 of the victims had been formally identified, and by midday there would be a further six victims identified and made available to their families.

“By the end of today we should have completed the majority of those identifications. But I have to say that some of those victims will take a little longer.”

While the priority was the families, police also had other obligations, he said.

“The first one on behalf of the chief coroner and all of the coroners is to ensure absolute accuracy in that identification process,” Bush said.

Six coroners
“If we get it wrong, that’s unforgivable,” he said.

Six coroners including the chief coroner are on site. More than 100 specialists and experts including police, the Disaster Victim Identification unit, Defence Force pathologists and odonatologists were working on the identification with overseas assistance.

Bush said the other responsibility was the prosecution of the case.

“We must prove, for prosecution, the cause of death to the satisfaction of the coroner and the judge.

“You cannot convict for murder without that cause of death.”

The investigation was an international one, he said. The FBI were on the ground in New Zealand; Australian Federal Police, other Australian police and other jurisdictions overseas were being consulted.

The threat level remained at high.

Three other arrests
“If there was a specific threat, we would make sure we communicated that,” Bush said.

Along with the accused, there were three others arrested around the time of the attacks.

“There was a lone gentleman who appeared at one of the cordons. He wasn’t involved, he did have a firearm, so that’s been dealt with.

“There was another couple who turned up at a cordon – a male and a female.

“She has been released without charge. I do understand that the male in that vehicle has been charged with firearms offences.

“We do not believe that they are in any way related to the attacker or the attack.”

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

• Other mosque massacre stories

Indonesian police have apologised for wrapping a snake around an indigenous Papuan they suspected of theft, reports The Jakarta Post.

A video of the incident, which took place while the police were interrogating the suspect, has been circulating on social media.

The officers involved in the incident are currently being investigated for ethical violations, said police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa Kamal.

“We apologise for that incident,” he said in a statement on Friday quoted by kompas.com.

Jannus P. Siregar, who heads the Papua Police’s internal affairs division (Propam), said the officers were using the snake to intimidate the suspect so that he would confess to the crime.

The incident reportedly took place in Wamena, Jayawijaya.

Jayawijaya Police chief Adjutant Senior Commander Tonny Ananda Swadaya promised that his men would work professionally.

Netizen criticism
“We have taken action against the officers who did the misconduct. We are moving them to other places,” he said.

The video has sparked criticism from netizens.

Human rights lawyer Veronica Koman wrote on her Twitter account @VeronicaKoman that the suspect should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise and should not be tortured to force an admission to a crime, regardless of whether the charges leveled against him were true.

“Given the context of the persecution in Papua, this torture has features of racism,” she wrote.

Some locals, however, appeared to support the police’s actions.

Hengki Heselo, a leader in Jayawijaya regency, said the community supported the police’s stern measures to curb crime, including the use of snakes to threaten suspected criminals.

“We have felt the effects of recent police actions. The number of drunk people who carry machetes is decreasing,” he said quoted by kompas.com.

• More West Papua stories

As director of News for PNGFM, I am very disappointed at the manner at which two of my reporters – one male and one female – were assaulted by disciplinary officers while covering the storming of Parliament on Tuesday,  20 November 2018.

They were simply there to do their jobs and cover the proceedings of what was happening at National Parliament when they were accosted by a group of inflamed disciplinary officers, both police and correctional service officers.

Upon seeing the journalists – one officer called out “Em ol Reporter ya, ol laik kisim wanem kain story, paitim ol”. (“They are reporters, what kind of story are they here for, beat them up.”)

READ MORE: RSF condemns exclusion of PNG journalists

The female journalist was manhandled by a group of police officers who pulled at her shirt attempting to rip it:

“One of the police officers pulled out my camera from my bag and smashed it right in front of me. While I was trying to take in what was happening, another officer pulled my bag causing the leather handle of my bag to break. He then threw my bag on the ground, kicked it towards the other officers, they in turn kicked the bag back to him, emptying out all my belongings in my bag. Another officer picked up my phone and smashed it while others were shouting and yelling abusive languages.”

She was pushed back and forth during the commotion with just one elderly officer attempting to assist her and help her out to safety.

At the same time, the male reporter was separated from his colleague, then told to put his camera away and not film or take shots.

“During the struggle, I was attacked by a Correctional Service officer at first, which then led to police officers surrounding me and attacking me. During the incident, I was trying to see what was happening to my colleague, but kept getting punched until one Police Mobile Squad officer pulled me away to safety. I had my vest broken, my note book gone and the company camera destroyed by the officers.”

PNGFM has written a letter of complaint to Correctional Service Commissioner Stephen Pokanis and Police Commissioner Gary Baki calling for those involved to be penalized.

Such an attack is an attack on our media freedom when journalists should be protected and not be subjected to such attacks for merely doing their jobs.

Meanwhile, at separate media conferences on Thursday, November 22, both Commissioner Pokanis and Commissioner Baki were informed of the assault against our journalists and have given assurance they will investigate this matter thoroughly.

– Genesis Ketan, director of news, PNGFM

Scott Waide’s blog columns are frequently published by Asia Pacific Report with permission. He is also EMTV deputy news editor based in Lae.

EMTV News report on Police Commissioner Gary Baki speaking about the treatment of journalists.

Vanuatu’s Magistrates Court has remanded a Bangladeshi couple over what is alleged to be the biggest human trafficking and slavery case in Vanuatu and the region.

Sekdah Somon and Buxoo Nabilah Bibi – the owners of the “Mr Price” home and furniture store in Vanuatu – were arrested and charged with 12 counts of human trafficking.

Somon and Bibi are also facing 12 counts each of slavery, contrary to section 102 (a) and 11 additional counts of money laundering against section 11 (3) (a) of the Penal Code.
advertisement

The Vanuatu Daily Post was reliably informed that between September 21, 2018 and November 2018 Somon and Bibi allegedly brought in 12 people from Bangladesh illegally to find jobs in Vanuatu.

Reliable sources confirmed that complainants have filed complaints within the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and the proceedings commenced after the arrest of the accused in Port Vila.

They said 92 people had been allegedly illegally brought to Vanuatu by the couple and their cases are yet to be dealt with and brought before the court.

The Daily Post was also informed the couple were from Bangladesh but the husband had a Zimbabwe passport while his wife was using a Mauritius passport.

Other passports
The couple were denied bail in the Magistrates Court on Wednesday amid concerns the couple may have other passports in their possession that made them a possible flight risk as they are originally from one country but evidence indicated they are using passports from different countries.

The Magistrates Court said that any bail should be obtained at the higher court after considering the seriousness of the offending is of public importance.

The couple were rejected bail because they might interfere with the witnesses.

The victims were placed in various locations in Port Vila.

Sources confirmed while the case was still under investigation there might also be some breaches in Vanuatu immigration laws, labour laws and Vanuatu Financial Service Commission (VFSC) laws.

They said it was likely that more people would be charged depending on the findings of the investigation.

The Daily Post was told the couple allegedly arranged and facilitated their entry in Vanuatu using deception, denial of their freedom of movement, coercion or threat of violence exploited and placed them in servitude.

Bangladeshi workers
They said after the 12 Bangladeshi workers came to Vanuatu, the couple allegedly subjected them to slavery by engaging them in work under oppressive terms and conditions, under menace of penalty and without freedom to leave at any time.

There were allegations these workers were promised good money for jobs in Vanuatu but they have to pay them some money in return for the offer.

The sources said that some of them allegedly paid $US2000 to the couple, some paid $US3900, $US4000, $US5000, $US6000 and $US8000.

They said the couple were alleged to have directly and indirectly made arrangements that involved property that they knew or ought to have known to be proceeds of crime when they procured those amounts from the victims.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrew Napuat, has confirmed the arrest of the investor behind “Mr Price” in relation to alleged money laundering and human trafficking.

While the couple are known as owners of Mr Price, sources said the investigation was still underway to check whether or not the company had a link with the global Mr Price.

This is not the first time that Mr Price Asian Junction has been in the spotlight in Vanuatu as in June this year 21 work permits were revoked for workers brought in from overseas by the company.

Buzz 96FM interview
“We didn’t want to come out in the media to talk about the case because of the sensitivity of it,” Minister Napuat told Buzz 96FM’s Kizzy Kalsakau.

“But since people are already talking about, I felt that it’s good that we come out and provide initial clarifications.”

After the revocation of work permits, the investors appealed to the minister and the revocations were reversed but with conditions to employ ni-Vanuatu and for imported workers to do work they came to do.

The minister said the investigation would take a while.

He said appropriate authorities such as the Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority (VIPA) and Customs Department and Ministry of Finance that are responsible for business licenses will have to be consulted.

Napuat said those brought to work under Mr Price would be treated as witnesses in the case against the investor behind Mr Price.

He denied rumours that people were brought in from overseas in containers.

False information
Minister Napuat is appealing for members of the public not to spread false information about the issue.

Meanwhile, Acting CEO of Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority Kalpen Silas said due diligence was carried out before Mr Price’s application was forwarded to the VIPA board for approval.

However, Silas said one of the requirements under the VIPA Act was that any investor who breaks any Vanuatu law through provision of false information would be penalised.

He said VIPA was aware of investigations currently being carried out on Mr Price.

The case is expected to resume within two weeks.

Human trafficking has been defined as the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation.

The maximum penalty for this in Vanuatu as set out in section 102 (b) of the Penal Code Act [CAP 135] is 20 years behind bars.

This article is republished from the Vanuatu Daily Post with permission.

Hundreds of Papua New Guinea police have descended on Parliament Haus in the Port Moresby suburb of Waigani demanding payments they say they are owed for providing security at last weekend’s APEC leaders summit.

RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in PNG, Melvin Levongo, said multiple police vehicles with armed police were involved.

He said police were demanding to speak with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and APEC Minister Justin Tkatchencko about the extra allowances they were owed.

READ MORE: Reporters attacked as security forces move into Parliament Haus

Levongo said a policeman told him they were very angry at the government.

“You guys have got money to purchase Maserati cars but we are asking for our allowance, so that’s the situation currently at the moment,” he said.

Levongo said traffic had been halted in and around Parliament Haus, and that there was no military involvement in the protest.

Photographs are circulating on social media showing damage at Parliament Haus, including broken glass windows and doors for which PNG police are said to be responsible.

Opposition Madang MP Bryan Kramer’s Facebook page shows hallways and lobbies that have been trashed and an image of startled shadow ministers whose meeting was interrupted.

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Indonesian Regional Police in West Papua have handed over the documents of the case of a Polish tourist, Jakup Fabian Skrzypski, who was arrested recently with three Papuans and accused of “treason”, to the Jayawijaya District Attorney.

Skrzypski reportedly entered Indonesia on a tourist visa but was arrested on suspicion of working as a journalist illegally and having contact with an “insurgency” group, report news agencies.

The file was handed over to the District Attorney on November 2 and he is expected to face trial in Wamena along with three co-accused.

READ MORE: Police declare papers on accused tourist ready for trial

“So, the four suspects were handed over, two arrested in Wamena, including Skrzypski, and others arrested in Yalimo,” said Lintong Simanjuntak, Adjunct Police Commissionaire who is also the Chief of Violence and Crime Division of the Directorate of Crime Investigation of Papua Regional Police.

Skrzypski and three other people departed from Jayapura to Wamena and were immediately transferred to Jayawijaya District Attorney Office for re-examination.

The four now are detained by the Jayawijaya District Attorney.

Two of the defendants were sent to the House of Correction Class B Wamena, while the other two have been placed in police custody in Jayawijaya police headquarters.

Foreign Ministry help
Adjunct Commissionaire Simanjuntak, who accompanied the four defendants from Jayapura to Wamena, said that although Papua police would investigate this case of alleged treason, the trial would be conducted in Wamena – the place where the incident occurred.

Simanjuntak said that during the investigation, the police were assisted by the Foreign Ministry and had communicated with the Polish Ambassador in Jakarta, ensuring that all procedures had been completed appropriately.

The Chief of State’s Defence and Public Security of the Papua District Attorney Adrianus Irham Tamana said that the trial would be conducted before 20 days of detention had lapsed.

“The trial before 20 days of detention will be handed over to the court. Currently, they are still under our custody,” said Tamana.

But the public prosecutor’s team objected putting the detainees in the police headquarters jail as it was already overcrowded and this could effect access to the basic rights of the detainees in that overcrowded prison, said the detainees legal adviser Latifah Anum Siregar.

“Does this transfer create a problem of over capacity? What about their access and rights? Can these be fulfilled or not?” she asked.

Cell overflowing
Siregar said that during the detention by Papua regional police, the holding cell had already been overflowing, with 50 people occupying space for 25.

Also, the detainees needed to share the toilet for bathing and washing dishes.

“Security must be compared with humanitarian purpose. Don’tt apply security as the reason to ignore humanity.

“My clients have to get access to lawyers, religious leaders and this shouldn’t be restricted,” Siregar said.

She also said Skrzypski had rejected all allegations against him.

Islami Adisubrata is a journalist with Tabloid Jubi and this article has been translated into English and is republished with permission under a content sharing arrangement.

• Polish tourist’s case submitted to Attorney Office

Fiji political party leader Sitiveni Rabuka says he is not worried about being called in by police for questioning today.

Rabuka, leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), had been campaigning in the west of Fiji’s main island Viti Levu in the run up to next Wednesday’s election.

He told RNZ Pacific he got a call from the police last night.

“We were at dinner and I got a call from the Criminal Investigations Department,” he said.

“One of their officers called to say that I’m required to come in and be asked some questions in the CID headquarters. That is all.

“They didn’t tell me what about or to what the questions would be related.”

Rabuka said he would go to police headquarters after a rally in Nausori this afternoon.

Talkback radio
While he did not know the reason, he had heard it may be in relation to a talkback radio show in which he appeared with the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on Monday.

Rabuka is already facing a court judgement over alleged electoral offences this coming Monday, but he said he would not let that worry him.

“At this stage I’m still running. I don’t have a conviction against me. On Monday the judgment will come down from the High Court, with the Chief Justice ruling on the appeal by the [Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption],” he said.

“Until then, I’m still available.”

Rabuka said he still planned to appear on another talkback show with Bainimarama tomorrow, before a 48-hour campaign blackout comes into force.

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Police have violently broken up a peaceful action being held by the Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) in Ternate, North Maluku, this week.

Action coordinator Rudhy Pravda said the action by 22 protesters on Wednesday was to mark 56 years since the signing of the New York Agreement on August 15, 1962, enabling Indonesia to rule the former territory of Netherlands New Guinea

Pravda said the FRI-WP had followed legal guidelines by submitting a notification with Ternate district police (Polres) three days before the action.

Police responded however with a written rejection on the grounds that the action conflicted with the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

“We said that we would still hold the action no matter what the consequences. Given the situation we held the action but with the position that we would accept bear the risk from Ternate Polres,” Pravda said.

“Before the action was broken up, we held negotiations with police. Several FRI-PW members were interrogated by four plain-clothes intelligence officers while they were waiting for protesters to arrive.

“They tried to intimidate the protest leaders, saying that they were not allowed to hold an action and if they insisted on protesting they must be prepared to accept the risk.

‘You want to die?’
“They said, ‘if you want to die please go ahead’,” Pravda said.

Pravda said the information on plans to block and break up the rally was obtained from protesters attending an earlier rally at the same location. He said that they wanted to negotiate with police but were instead threatened and intimidated.

“Then before they had even unpacked campaign materials for the action, they were surrounded by plain-clothes intelligence officers and uniformed police who banned them from holding the protest, and denying them a chance to negotiate their legal rights.

“I was pushed and shoved and a female demonstrator was also pushed and shoved, and they tried to use violence. The female action coordinator was pulled and grabbed by intelligence officers.

“Although we were determined to continue with the action they outnumbered us so in the end we weren’t able to hold the action,” Pravda said.

Field coordinator Gamaria Mansur said that in addition to breaking up the action, police also confiscated and tore up protest materials such as banners, placards and propaganda.

She added that earlier there had been an argument between protesters and police.

Protesters intimidated
“Police intimidated protesters with threats, saying, ‘do you want to die?’ and calling us traitors and so on.

“I was also pulled and grabbed, then after I shouted I was finally let go”, she said.

When sought for confirmation on the incident, FRI-WP chairperson Surya Anta said he strongly condemned the violent actions by police in Ternate.

“We strongly condemn it. The police’s actions in prohibiting and breaking up the action violate Indonesia’s own laws and regulations on freedom of expression,” he said.

About submitting this report for publication, Ternate police chief Assistance Superintendent Azhari Juanda, who was contacted by Suara Papua through his official Facebook account, has yet to responded.

Background
Following the launch of the Trikora military operation which was aimed at harassing and forcing the Dutch out of Netherlands New Guinea in 1961-62 and under the threat that Indonesia would move from armed infiltrations to a large-scale military attack, US sponsored negotiations that led to the signing of the New York Agreement on August 15, 1962.

The Netherlands agreed to hand over administration of Western New Guinea to Indonesia pending a UN administered plebiscite.

Seven years later under the newly installed Suharto dictatorship, the treaty led to the so-call “Act of Free Choice” in 1969 in which 1025 hand-picked Papuans “voted” at gun-point for the territory remain part of Indonesia.

An abridged translation by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was “Polisi Bubarkan Aksi FRI-West Papua di Ternate”.

Indonesian police have revealed that police and military officers raided a Papuan student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya in Indonesia at the weekend because the students were allegedly planning to screen the documentary film Bloody Biak (Biak Berdarah).

Tambaksari Sectoral Police Chief Police Commander Prayitno claimed that security personnel went to the Papuan student dormitory in order to prevent an incident such as one that occurred in Malang earlier in the week from happening in Surabaya.

“[According] to information we received, they announced on social media that they would show the film Bloody Biak. So we went to the dormitory to anticipate this,” he said.

However, the planned screening of the film Bloody Biak on Friday was cancelled, and replaced by a screening of World Football Cup matches.

“If the discussion had still gone ahead. Apparently the film Bloody Biak [was to be screened] which tells the story of the massacre of Papuan people. I don’t know if this was true or not”, he said.

A joint operation by hundreds of TNI (Indonesian military), police and Public Order Agency officers (Satpol PP) raided the Papuan student dormitory located on Jl. Kalasan No. 10 Surabaya on Friday.

The dormitory is home to hundreds of students and Papuan alumni from various tertiary education institutions in Surabaya.

Security personnel sealed off the Papuan student dormitory because of suspicions that there would be “hidden activities”.

Inside the dormitory, they were to hold a discussion and wanted to screen the film Bloody Biak that evening.

Background
On July 6, 1998, scores of people in Biak Island’s main town were wounded, arrested or killed while staging a peaceful demonstration calling for independence from Indonesia.

Earlier last week on July 1, police violently closed down a discussion by West Papuan students at Brawijaya University in the East Java city of Malang marking the 47th anniversary of the proclamation of independence in 1971 by the Free West Papua Movement.

Police claimed that they closed own the discussion following complaints from local people.

Translated from the Suara.com story by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was “Film Biak Berdarah, Alasan Polisi Kepung Asrama Papua di Surabaya”.

Two Papua New Guinean police vehicles travelling from Hagen to Hela in the Highlands after servicing were fired on today in a Highlands attack, with one vehicle being seized and two policemen taken captive, report local media.

The Tari-based MS9 vehicles were shot at this morning at Tindom Hill, Semin village, reports the EMTV News Facebook page.

Loop PNG also reports the attack, saying it was carried out by “disgruntled Nipa locals”.

READ MORE: Mendi in chaos after renewed political violence erupts

But the news website also quoted regional police chief Gideon Kauke as saying the policemen were “rescued by another unit” while their weapons and vehicles had been removed.

Kauke said the police were “regrouping” and deciding on the next course of action.

EMTV News said the first vehicle, driven by the MS9 commander, escaped with a flat tyre. The second vehicle was driven by two other police officers and three assault rifles had been seized.

Hela police chief Martin Lakari had appealed to Southern Highlands people to release the officers and the state vehicles.

Deputy Police Commissioner Operations Jim Andrews confirmed police were holding talks with locals to negotiate the return of vehicles and weapons.

Loop PNG reported the tribesmen were upset over Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government decision on Friday to suspend the Southern Highlands provincial government following rioting in Mendi on Thursday.

Asia Pacific Report republishes EMTV News content with permission.

• More Mendi riot stories

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Papua New Guinea has been condemned for violent mob attacks on people accused of sorcery – especially women or girls, repeated assaults and robberies on refugees, failure to address police brutality and corruption in the latest country report by Human Rights Watch.

The New York-based rights watchdog flagged a Madang trial that began in March of 122 people accused of killing five men and two children suspected of witchcraft and serial attacks on women.

Almost 40 percent of the country’s 8 million people live in poverty, and the government is far too reliant on religious groups and non-government organisations to provide charitable services for the economic and social rights of citizens.

Among other key points of the chapter in its annual world report:

• The government has not taken sufficient steps to address gender inequality, violence, excessive use of force by police;
• Rates of family and sexual violence are among the highest in the world, and perpetrators are rarely prosecuted; and
• Papua New Guinea has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world.

‘Electoral violence’
Last August, Peter O’Neill was reelected as prime minister following an “election marred by widespread electoral irregularities and violence”, Human Rights Watch says.

“Soldiers and extra police were sent to the Highlands in response to fighting triggered by the election, where dozens of people, including police, had been killed in election-related violence.

“Refugees and asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island have suffered repeated violent attacks and robberies by locals, with inadequate hospital care on the island and no action by police.”

The watchdog says that more than three years after the 2013 Family Protection Act was adopted, Parliament in May finally passed regulations to implement the law, which criminalises domestic violence and allows victims to obtain protection orders.

However, police and prosecutors “rarely pursue investigations or criminal charges against people who commit family violence” — even in cases of attempted murder, serious injury, or repeated rape — and instead prefer to resolve such cases through mediation and/or payment of compensation.

Police often demand money (“for fuel”) from victims before acting, or simply ignore cases that occur in rural areas.

There is also a severe lack of services for people requiring assistance after having suffered family violence, such as safe houses, qualified counselors, case management, financial support, or legal aid, the report says.

Violent mobs
Violent mobs attacked individuals accused of sorcery or witchcraft, particularly women and girls.

In March, a trial involving 122 defendants began in Madang. The defendants were charged in connection with the killing of five men and two children suspected of sorcery in 2014, Human Rights Watch says.

The prosecution alleged that the men raided a village in search of sorcerers to kill, armed with “bush knives, bows and arrows, hunting spears, [and] home-made and factory-made shotguns.”

No further details were available at time of the watchdog’s report regarding the trial’s progress.

Papua New Guinea has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world. Just over 50 percent of women and girls give birth in a health facility or with the help of a skilled birth attendant.

Although the PNG government supports universal access to contraception, two out of three women still cannot access contraception due to geographic, cultural, and economic barriers.

Abortion remains illegal in PNG, except when the mother’s life is at risk.

Police abuse rampant
Police abuse remained rampant in Papua New Guinea, says Human Rights Watch.

In May, police detained and assaulted a doctor at a police roadblock on his way home in Port Moresby. The case triggered a public outcry, but no one had been charged for the offence at time of writing.

Few police are ever held to account for beating or torturing criminal suspects, but in December 2016, a mobile squad commander was charged with the murder of a street vendor, six months after the alleged offence occurred.

A court granted him bail in January 2017. In September, police charged a former police officer with the 2013 murder of two people in Central Province.

Despite the ombudsman and police announcing investigations into the 2016 police shooting of eight university students during a protest in Port Moresby, at time of writing no police had been charged or disciplined and neither body had issued a report.

About 770 male asylum seekers and refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and Iran, live on Manus Island.

Another 35 or so have signed settlement papers to remain in PNG, although only four of these are working and financially independent.

Temporary living
About 70 are temporarily living in Port Moresby. All were forcibly transferred to PNG by Australia since 2013, says Human Rights Watch.

Australia pays for their upkeep but refuses to resettle them, insisting refugees must settle in PNG or third countries, such as the United States.

Refugees and asylum seekers do not feel safe on Manus due to a spate of violent attacks by locals in the town of Lorengau.

Local youths attacked refugees and asylum seekers with bush knives, sticks, and rocks and robbed them of mobile phones and possessions.

Police failed to hold perpetrators to account.

In April, soldiers fired shots at the main regional processing center, injuring nine people including refugees and center staff.

Albert Schram was arrested earlier this month and charged with obtaining employment through false pretence.

Police allege he produced a fake PhD certificate at Unitech in 2012.

Dr Schram’s lawyer, Greg Manda, said his client had presented a certified copy but had lost his original certificate. He could only obtain another in person from the European University Institute in Florence.

‘Outrageous developments’

BRIEFING: Stephen Howes backgrounds the issue that has stunned educational circles in Papua New Guinea.

On Friday, Loop PNG reported that Dr Albert Schram, former Vice Chancellor of PNG Unitech, had been arrested earlier in the week in Port Moresby and charged with “false pretence”.

According to the news website, Dr Schram was “arrested over allegations he produced falsified and fraudulent documents relating to his PhD qualification, which he obtained on 24 November 1994 from the European University Institute”.

He has been released from jail on bail, his passport confiscated, unable to leave the country.

These developments are outrageous, damaging, and scary. There is absolutely no doubt that Schram has the PhD he says he has. The university’s own website has a detailed record of it, including the date of defence and the names of examiners. Moreover, the man has published a book from his thesis, with Cambridge University Press no less.

The PNG Secretary of Higher Education has intervened and vouched publicly for the authenticity of Schram’s doctorate.

In the face of all this, the claim of the police seems to be reduced to the allegation that Schram had earlier (presumably at the time of appointment, back in 2012) produced a “fraudulently manufactured PhD certificate.” But why would someone fake a certificate for a genuine PhD? It makes no sense. The entire thing is a beat up.

The Unitech Council has disassociated itself from the recent police action, and stated that the police are acting on a complaint by the “former Council,” the one that preceded Schram’s appointment.

Cleaning up corruption
Once appointed, Schram started cleaning up the corruption and mismanagement he found. Some members of that “former Council” responded by trying to dismiss him, including by making the same allegation of false pretence with which he is currently charged.

In the end they got him barred from the country in March 2013. Schram was in exile for over a year, until, after an inquiry, he was re-admitted and returned in triumph to Unitech in April 2014 (see accounts here and here).

The 2013 Sevua inquiry, set up to investigate Schram’s appointment, found evidence of massive prior corruption, and also found that the termination of Schram’s appointment was unlawful, and that the “fraudulent misrepresentation … allegations are unsubstantiated.”

Schram’s arrest, some five years later, is outrageous because it is so transparently unfounded, and against the rule of law. Given that the matter has already been investigated and dismissed, how did Schram’s enemies enlist the police, and get them to arrest him? The arrest sends a message that you had better be careful not to make powerful enemies in PNG or, even if you act entirely legally, you might be arrested on the flimsiest and most baseless of grounds.

The episode is damaging not only because of the chilling effect it will have on domestic critics and reformers, but also because it will scare away academics and other foreigners who might otherwise be attracted to work in PNG, and take on positions of responsibility.

It follows the ban on entering PNG imposed on prominent Australian academic and businessperson Ross Garnaut in 2013.

It is especially damaging in the year of APEC, when the whole world is watching PNG.

Quick operation
Finally the episode is scary because the operation was mounted so quickly. Clearly when Schram was vice-chancellor of Unitech, he was afforded some protection from the groundless claims of fraud now being levelled against him. But Schram is no longer VC. He is in the country on a tourist visa after visiting Australia en route to Italy, his home country, on Unitech-paid tickets. His passport was confiscated the day he landed, and his arrest followed a few days later.

I urge all who support the rule of law and good governance in PNG — including the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Federal Police — to speak out for Dr Albert Schram, and to urge the police to drop the scurrilous charges against him.

Note: Schram’s tenure at Unitech ended earlier this year after a falling out with the current Council. One of the disputed claims was that, according to the Council, Schram failed to provide his “verified credentials” to the University. According to Schram, he did.

In any case, this allegation is quite different from the current charge of “obtaining employment by false pretence.” More generally, the Council’s statement of disassociation is consistent with the broader view that Schram’s departure from Unitech in no way provides a basis for the arrest last week.

Dr Albert Schram was a visiting fellow at the Australian National University in December 2017, and in 2016 presented a lecture here.

Professor Stephen Howes is the director of the Development Policy Centre and a professor of Economics at the Crawford School, Australian National University. This article was first published on the ANU’s Devpolicy Blog.

By Lucy Kopana in Lae

Following a growing number of illegal settlements in Papua New Guinea’s second city of Lae, police have announced they will organise a stakeholders meeting next week to address the issue.

Many squatter settlements have been established on state land around the city and local residents have become concerned.

Lae police boss Commander Anthony Wagambie Jr said this would be treated as a law and order issue because the areas “become breeding grounds” for criminals.

He said many of the “perpetrators of petty crimes” live in these areas.

The port city of Lae is the capital of Morobe province and had a population of almost 150,000 at the 2011 census, but has expanded rapidly since.

Lucy Kopana is a reporter in the Lae bureau of EMTV News. This article is republished with permission.

Two people are dead and a Papua New Guinean policeman is in critical condition in hospital after being wounded in clashes yesterday near Madang town.

The policeman, a senior constable, was trying to negotiate with local people who were protesting when he was slashed on his head and neck.

Police at the scene said the group of mainly local people was angry over harassment they had suffered on Friday at the hands of relatives of a teacher who had been beheaded at Bau on the Lae-Madang Highway.

Police said the locals were angry because they were not connected to the teacher’s killing.

After the initial confrontation, the crowd left, then regrouped just after midday yesterday.

As police were called in, locals felled a tree and blocked off Gum Bridge.

They also damaged the town’s water supply equipment near the bridge, and burnt an unmarked vehicle used by police.

The five officers in the vehicle were left unharmed.

Award-winning journalist Scott Waide is the Lae bureau chief on EMTV News and began his career with EMTV in 1997 as a news and sports reporter and anchor.

In the ongoing saga of stopping illegal logging in Papua New Guinea’s Oro province, our facts reveal that the PNG Forest Authority is failing our people.

A network exists whereby a few corrupt public servants in both Oro and the PNG Forest Authority have helped facilitate fraud and theft of resources worth millions. This network exists in every province where there is illegal logging occurring.

In Oro we have identified those involved and they shall be dealt with.

Meanwhile, our investigations reveal that PNGFA is negligent in its efforts and has been facilitating the theft of our forest resources for decades, it is complicit in the transnational crimes being committed and those who process the paperwork are in fact accomplices.

Despite all the government rhetoric about stopping illegal logging such as the SABLs and being concerned about the environment, the truth is, that this government entity, designed and created for the purpose of protecting PNG interests – PNG resources –  is in fact failing miserably in its mandate and is assisting transnational criminal cartels steal our forest reources.

What is the point of an organisation we pay for with our taxes to serve transnational criminal cartels and sell us out?

Pretext and fraud
Every month, shipments worth millions leave our shores – forest resources obtained under pretext and fraud, leaving behind destroyed landscapes, polluted waterways, and miserable landowners who have either been fooled or contemptuously mistreated and intimidated by corrupt elements of the public service and police.

But we can stop it.

Yes, you and I.

If we know about it and do nothing, we too are complicit.

I am doing something about it. I need you to stand with me and demand that the PNGFA and its Chairman, David Dotaon,a and its minister, Douglas Tomuriesa, and its entire department act to stop these crimes against Papua New Guinea and our people and protect our forest resources.

How?

Immediately review all licences granted to logging and you will find:

• They are illegally granted via fraudulent processes and corrupt public servants;
• The so-called landowner companies don’t represent our landowners at all;
• All machinery is unregistered – it can all be impounded;
• All foreign workers are without permits – they can be immediately detained until deported with the cost being met by the company, and their companies fined and banned from doing business in Papua New Guinea ever again;
• Significant environmental damage to waterways and reefs and logging on gradients that are in contravention of the permit restrictions. Your sister agency, the conservation Environment Protection Authority, will at this stage be brought in to inspect the results, and fine and ban the company from any future agriculture or forest development projects.
• That tax evasion and transfer pricing mechanisms have allowed the company to evade paying for decades. At this stage, the IRC and Customs can be brought into carrying out these audits and raise assessments and commence recovery and prosecution action. They can use the double tax treaties to recoup any taxes due.
• Significant evidence of corruption involving many public servants and landowners. They can be referred to the police fraud squad for arrests and prosecution.
• Much of our resources have been stolen and, as this is a crime, the principals of these companies can be charged and prosecuted when you lay the complaint. You can also seize properties as proceeds of crime.

Engage army and police
You can engage the army and the police to shut down all such operations and seize and auction all machinery.

If they sue us, so what? They are running illegal operations of a transnational criminal nature and they will lose in court.

Finally, some of the proceeds can be used to compensate genuine landowners.

And if you can’t do this, ask me. I will do it. For free.

Just give me the resources and let me select a team of great, patriotic policemen, soldiers; Labour, Migration, IRC and Customs officers, state lawyers – and watch.

The mandate of this forests department besides protecting Papua New Guinea interests at all times is to develop clever innovative strategies to use our forest resources in a sustainable manner.

There are options whereby the vast forest resources that provide us such a rich life do not need to be destroyed. We don’t need to destroy our forests so that we can progress.

Sustainable alternatives
At a time when the world is facing a global warming disaster, we can do our bit by preserving our forests and finding alternative means of income using forest products in a sustainable manner.

Yet after 40 years, we have silently and meekly allowed pirates to raid our shores and accept a few measly kina in compensation.

For each shipment worth about K6 million (K2.6 million), we accept less then K100,000 (NZ$43,000). Where is the common sense in this? For each forest cut down, thousands of species of flora and fauna are devastated and some may never recover.

We are destroying our natural home so we can live in an unnatural home … in pursuit of money and material goods so we can be “happy” because someone who we thought was more educated and civilised told us so.

But we will never be happy in this endless pursuit of the unnatural, living in an unnatural world where unnatural leaders make unnatural decisions that cause us more misery – naturally. We are only chasing illusions of happiness.

Certainly if we continue to allow this, if we are thinking, intelligent patriots, as we so often like to tell one another, then we are truly failing ourselves, our nation and our future.

It can be done  – it just needs all of us to rise up and do it together.

Gary Juffa is an Opposition MP in the Papua New Guinean National Parliament and Governor of Oro (Northern) Province. This commentary was first published on his Facebook page.

• More PNG stories
  

A cabinet submission by the Police Minister to dismiss Police Commissioner Steve Caldwell has revealed concerns over an importation of prohibited weapons and large amounts of ammunition by Armed Forces and police after the King dissolved Parliament last year.

Two shipments of reloading machines, guns and ammunition – which arrived in Tonga before the November snap election – were seized by the Ministry of Customs and Police after an order by Police Minister Māteni Tapueluelu.

Tapueluelu said the reloading machines were prohibited in Tonga

These machines were made to assemble ammunition by re-using cases or shells that had previously been fired.

Only the Minister of Police had the power to authorise any importation of weapons to the country, he said.

Tapueluelu said he was concerned after he found out the request by the Armed Forces to allow them to import the firearms bypassed his office and was addressed to the Police Commissioner who, he said, had no power to approve it.

Tapueluelu said he was also concerned about the timing of the order of the weapons and the shipment’s arrival in Tonga after Parliament was dissolved.

Weapons order ‘too large’
He described the amount as “too large” compared to the population of Tonga and the Armed Forces.

He said he was worried that the police ordered ammunition while existing stocks met current requirements.

It is understood the claims byTapueluelu had concerned Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva while his government was in caretaker mode after the dissolution.

Lord Ma’afu was the Minister of His Majesty’s Armed Forces at the time the weapons were ordered and the shipments arrived in Tonga.

It is also understood this was one of the reasons why Pōhiva planned to remove Lord Ma’afu from the portfolio after his party won last year’s snap election.

But after a meeting with the King, Pōhiva re-appointed Lord Ma’afu as Minister of His Majesty’s Armed Forces.

It was not clear whether the Prime Minister informed the King about the importation of the weapons.

Lord Ma’afu resigned last week after the Minister of Police submitted his proposal to the Cabinet. Pohiva accepted his resignation.

The reason for Lord Ma’afu stepping down has not been made public.

Lord Ma’afu could not be reached for comment.

Deputy Commissioner Fa’aoa left Tonga
Documents seen by Kaniva News appear to show that Deputy Commissioner of Police ‘Unga Fa’aoa signed and approved a letter by Commander Sione Lino of His Majesty’s Armed Forces on October 2, 2017.

The letter sought the Police Commissioner’s approval to import firearms and ammunition including 100,000 rounds of 14085 ammunition, 300,000 rounds of 5.56 mm FIAI ball cartridges, 150,000 small pistol primers, three reloading machines and 38, 000 ADI 5.56.

Tapueluelu claimed Deputy Commissioner Fa’aoa had no power to approve the Armed Forces request.

The weapons were ordered from New Zealand from Ordnance Development Ltd, Castlecliff, Whanganui.

It is understood Fa’aoa left Tonga for the United States last year.

Move to dismiss Police Commissioner
The submission to dismiss Caldwell was submitted to cabinet on February 26, one day before Tapueluelu tendered his resignation, which Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva did not accept.

The Prime Minister said Tapueluelu wanted to resign because, he was frustrated and believed there was a lack of support for his submission from his cabinet colleagues.

Tapueluelu’s submission read: “Honourable Members of Cabinet are invited to consider and approve the recommendation to the Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel and to Privy Council the dismissal of Police Commissioner Stephen John Caldwell, under Section 13 (b) and (c), of the Tonga Police Act 2010.”

It said the purpose of this submission was to seek approval of the cabinet ministers to recommend to the Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel, to dismiss the Commissioner of Police.

Tapueluelu’s submission claimed Commissioner Caldwell had said the signing by Fa’aoa was likely the result of “human error”.

Tapueluelu said Fa’aoa was also a lawyer and he should have known better.

Tapueluelu said that on November 21, 2017, he advised Caldwell in writing of what he considered to be a serious breach of discipline by the Deputy Commissioner.

He said he told Caldwell Fa’aoa had approved the order without consulting or seeking the Minister’s approval for the importation of ammunition and reloading machines on October 4, 2017.

“Deputy Fa’aoa’s ignorance of the Laws of Tonga, is a serious breach of Discipline, as it is ruled that applications for importation of ammunitions, should and can only be approved by the Minister of Police…”, the minister’s submission to cabinet said..

Police order without permission
Tapueluelu said police also ordered ammunition from New Zealand around the same time without a permit.

“Usually I countersign orders from overseas, but not in this case,” said Tapueluelu.

“It was during the Christmas season that the Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashley Fua asked that I approve the importation of ammunition worth of $20,000 already ordered and in the warehouse in New Zealand.

“I asked for the current stock of ammunition in Tonga and was informed there were 10,800 rounds of ammunition in stock. I sought advice from the Head Operation of Tactical Response Unit, Sikulu Fakateli and was informed that stock was enough.

“Consequently my office saw no need to approve this order. They ordered prior to asking for approval hoping they can force my office to an approval without proper consideration of the circumstances.”

Tapueluelu alleged no disciplinary action had been taken against the Deputy Commissioner.

Asia Pacific Report has a republication arrangement with Kaniva News.

• More Tongan news

Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Trade, Commerce and Ni-Vanuatu Business Joe Natuman has pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing or interfering with the execution of a criminal process, contrary to section 79 (c) of the Penal Code [CAP 135].

Natuman was joined by the other defendant in the Criminal Case 188 of 2016, former Acting Police Commissioner, Aru Maralau, who also pleaded guilty to one count of complicity to obstruct or interfere with the execution of a criminal process contrary to sections 30 and 79 (c) of the Penal Code.

Natuman and Maralau entered guilty pleas yesterday morning ahead of the initial trial date which was set for March 15-16. The sentencing is scheduled for March 16.

In 2016, their case was committed to the Supreme Court by the Chief Magistrate, Felix Stevens after a Preliminary Inquiry confirmed they have a case to answer.

The charges were brought against the Deputy Prime Minister in 2014 when he was Prime Minister.

On September 19, 2014, Natuman, in his capacity as the Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for Vanuatu Police Force instructed the then Acting Commissioner of Police, Maralau, to stop a police investigation team from carrying out an investigation into a mutiny case involving senior police officers.

Following the mutiny saga, Maralau assisted in suspending the investigations.

Moana Carcasses, who was Opposition Leader in Parliament at the time, filed a complaint against Natuman and Maralau.

‘No case’ submission
During a “no case” submission in relation to this criminal case last December, the court heard that the initial motive behind the then Prime Minister’s actions and decision was made for the best interest of the Vanuatu Police Force, to unite the Force.

DPM Natuman is not the first Member of Parliament to plead guilty while occupying a ministerial portfolio. In 2015, then Finance Minister Willie Jimmy became the first Vanuatu MP since independence to plead guilty on two counts, one under the Leadership Code.

The Deputy Prime Minister will continue to hold the position of DPM and the portfolio of Tourism, Trade, Commerce and Ni-Vanuatu Business, following an agreement with the Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, after he pleaded guilty to the charges in court yesterday morning.

Natuman told the Daily Post yesterday afternoon that he would hold the offices until his sentencing on March 16.

“Depending on how heavy or light the sentence will be, it will then be up to the Prime Minister or even myself,” he said on his future.

The DPM added that he pleaded guilty in court on advice from his lawyers to a charge over an incident in which he acted in good faith, but did not realise it was against the law.

Section 3 (1) of the country’s Members of Parliament (Vacation of Seats) Act, which can be viewed on the PacLII website states: “If a member of Parliament is convicted of an offence and is sentenced by a court to imprisonment for a term of not less than 2 years, he shall forthwith cease to perform his functions as a member of Parliament and his seat shall become vacant at the expiration of 30 days thereafter: Provided that the Speaker, or in his absence, the Deputy Speaker, may at the request of the member from time to time extend that period for further periods of 30 days to enable the member to pursue any appeal in respect of his conviction, or sentence, so however that extensions of time exceeding in the aggregate 150 days shall not be granted without the approval of Parliament signified by resolution”.

Subsection (2) asserts: “If at any time before the member vacates his seat his conviction is set aside or a punishment other than imprisonment is substituted, his seat in Parliament shall not become vacant as provided by subsection (1), and he may again perform his functions as a member of Parliament”, followed by (3): “For the purpose of subsection (1) no account shall be taken of a sentence of imprisonment imposed as an alternative to or in default of the payment of a fine”.

Glenda Willie and Jonas Cullwick are journalists with the Vanuatu Daily Post.

Some Vanuatu police officers have raised dissatisfaction on the implementation of the Government Remuneration Tribunal (GRT) ruling taking effect today, claiming it might negatively impact on security in the country.

After receiving a letter from the Police Commissioner, Albert Nalpini this week, police officers (lower ranking officers who did not want their names revealed) said they had all entitlements – such as detective, driver, prosecutor and sergeant allowances – removed with an increase that did not make any difference in their wages.

The unhappy police officers said that in their letters from the Commissioner, he had said the GRT report made a major determination that covered sworn police officers (Determination 15 of 2017).

The result of Determination 15 would be an overall increase in salary of VPF members to reflect market rates and to recognise the complexities and unique nature of policing work, they were told.

The determination also required that job-related allowances (JRAs) and take-home entitlements be incorporated into salary and no longer paid as a separate entitlement.

The GRT determination established that any salary adjustment would be in accordance with performance guidelines and budget availability.

The review of the salary increments would occur every three years rather than annually as in the previous situation.

‘Take-home pay’
The police force allowances that GRT has decided to remove are job-related allowances and other “take-home pay entitlements” that are to be absorbed into the revised salary rates.

But some police officers said that according to the new structure, the job related allowances – including the detective allowance, drivers allowance, instructor allowance, musician allowance, prosecutors allowance, tradesmen’s allowance, traffic examiners allowance, and sergeant allowance – had been wiped out from their entitlements.

They said that the take-home pay entitlements that were also taken from them are child allowances and housing allowances.

They are concerned that some of them will be affected with the change, especially the lowest paid in the force.

They said the senior police officers would benefit from the new structure but it was “a disaster” for police constables and the lowest ranks within the VPF.

Some of the police said that they had “put their lives on the line” every day for citizens.

They said that they were risking their lives for civilians who they did not even know they were attending dangerous situations.

Drug, murder cases
They deal with drug cases and burglars, rapists and murderers.

They get assaulted by criminals in what was a hard and dangerous job.

When the Daily Post gauged the view of some members of the public in town for their view, they appealed for a significant increase on the police wages.

Meanwhile, Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat said he had reminded Commissioner Nalpini more than three times and Commander South, Jackson Noal, of any issue that may arise on the beginning of GRT pay that commences today.

The minister said he welcomed comments and anyone who was affected by the GRT, claiming if there was any dissatisfaction caused by that new structure then it was a top priority to deal with it.

He encouraged the unhappy police officers to talk to their superiors or to step into his office.

School teachers told the Daily Post yesterday that they were also affected.

They said that GRT was likely to affect teaching not only in Port Vila but Vanuatu as a whole.

The teachers said none of them were happy with this new structure that was only benefitting senior officers.

They appealed to the government to revisit or “hold” GRT pending a wider consultation.

Richard M. Nanua is a Vanuatu Daily Post journalist. Asia Pacific Report republishes VDP stories with permission.

• Other Vanuatu articles

Sixteen-year-old Ahed Tamimi was back in court last Thursday, with the judge ruling for the third time that her detention be extended – this time for another five days.

Over the past week and a half, Ahed has been shuffled between numerous Israeli prisons and police stations. She has been held in cold isolation cells with cameras pointed at her 24 hours a day.

READ MORE: Palestinian teen first to be killed by Israel in 2018

Repeatedly, without a parent or lawyer present, they have attempted to interrogate her. The reasoning for the judge’s rulings to extend her detention is that she “poses a risk” to the military and the Israeli government’s case against her.

Israel is right that Ahed Tamimi poses a risk. But it isn’t a risk to one of the most heavily armed and advanced militaries in the world or to the legal case being built against her.

The risk she poses is in her refusal to submit to the Israeli demand that Palestinians acquiesce to their own occupation.

Israeli logic is that Palestinians should cooperate with their own oppression. They should move quietly through the checkpoints, open their bags, not look their occupiers in the eye and not challenge or protest the theft of their lands, resources and freedoms.

Israeli logic is that if they don’t like it, they can leave. Actually, they would strongly prefer that Palestinians leave. The strategy is to make life so unbearable for Palestinians, that they leave willingly. This even has a name: “voluntary transfer.”

Regular resistance
Since Ahed was a young child, she and her family have engaged in active resistance to Israel’s occupation. From 2013 up until the present, they have staged regular demonstrations against the military and the nearby settlers who have taken over their lands and water spring.

The protests are met with tear gas, rubber bullets, skunk water and live ammunition.

In 2012, Ahed’s father was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In 2013, her uncle was killed by a tear gas canister shot to the head. In 2014, her mother was almost permanently disabled when she was shot in the leg with a .22 caliber bullet.

In 2015, a video of Ahed preventing her younger brother from being arrested went viral. Her cousins and her older brother have spent time in Israeli prisons.

On Friday, December 15, during a protest of President Trump’s announcement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Ahed’s 14-year-old cousin Mohammed Tamimi was shot in the face with a rubber bullet. He was taken to the hospital where he required surgery and a was placed in a medically induced coma.

A few hours later, when armed soldiers came to Ahed’s home demanding to enter, she pushed back. She slapped and kicked them, and screamed that they could not come in.

Shenila Khoja-Moolji wrote in Aljazeera about the stark contrast between the support Malala Yousafzai received after being shot in the head by the Taliban and the silence on Ahed’s case by feminist and political leaders.

Big difference
Granted, there is a big difference between being shot on the way to school and arrested after slapping a soldier.

Malala was invited to meet with President Barack Obama. She was championed by Senator Hillary Clinton and listed as one of the 100 most influential people in Time magazine.

In 2013 and 2014, Malala was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and in 2014, she won. In contrast, while Ahed’s story has received some coverage in the news, she has yet to find state actors or prominent influencers to champion her cause.

While the West seems mostly indifferent to Ahed’s plight, Israel is hell-bent on hating the girl.

Israeli Education Minister Neftali Bennett called for Ahed and her family to “spend the rest of their lives in prison.”

Minister of Defence Avigdor Liberman said she and her family should “get what they deserve,” and prominent Israeli journalist Ben Caspit said that Israel should “exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras”.

Caspit afterwards tried to backpedal his threat, saying his words had been taken out of context. But as the #MeToo movement has made clear, denying one’s intentions does not undo or excuse them.

Marginalised voices
As the #MeToo movement continues to build and uplift more marginalised voices, Ahed’s voice is not recognised when she could be regarded as a pillar in the movement.

Ahed is revoking her consent for Israel’s brutal occupation. She refuses to give her consent to Israeli forces that invade her family’s home in yet another vicious, meritless night raid. She confronts her aggressors and stands up to the violent system of power that keeps perpetuating this cycle of abuse against Palestinians.

In the same way survivors of sexual assault and rape are silenced, doubted and blamed for the crimes committed against them, Ahed is facing the same backlash from her aggressors.

Israel is working overtime to discredit her and erase her voice, with the hope that people will believe their fabrications over her truth. Now is the time for voices in the #MeToo to call for her release and help draw the parallels.

Shenila Khoja-Moolji explains the reasons for such lack of support for Ahed as being due to acceptance of state violence, Western society’s selective humanitarianism and the political, rather than individual nature of Ahed’s feminism.

These are all valid and important explanations. But support for Ahed is also a condemnation of the state of Israel. It is a condemnation of Israel’s military court system which allows children to be held in isolation and denied access to their parents during interrogation.

It is a condemnation of Israel’s settlement enterprise and continued presence on Palestinian land. To support Ahed is to rebuke Israel’s assertion that Palestinians must comply with their occupiers, that they must open the doors for the soldiers who enter their homes.

Internal power
Certainly their 16-year-old girls must not raise an arm to soldiers. It is one thing to support Malala for taking on the Taliban, but quite another to support Ahed as she takes on Israel’s strongest allies and the purported only democracy in the Middle East.

Not all feminist leaders are afraid to express support for Ahed. CodePink is hosting a petition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding Ahed’s release. We, along with others, like Jewish Voice for Peace, are asking Members of Congress to sign onto Representative Betty McCollum’s legislation to require that US aid to Israel not go to the abuse and detention of Palestinian children.

Ahed is a threat to Israel’s entire system of power. She is not only aware of her own internal power, she is completely unafraid of her aggressors.

This is the same bravery required for sexual assault survivors to tell their stories and hold their accusers responsible. It is the essence of the struggle for women’s rights and why feminism is so incompatible with militarism.

For Ahed to be successful in her fight for the liberation of her people, we first need her to be released from jail. To make this happen, we need all people who call themselves feminists and human rights advocates to say #FreeAhed.

• One Palestinian family’s devastating tale of Israeli military cruelty
• Singapore bans film featuring Palestinian teen – Pacific Media Watch
• More Palestine reports

Indonesia is beefing up its elite Detachment 88 (Densus 88) unit in light of increased threats from local and international terror networks, says National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian.

There will be additional 600 policemen assigned to the squad, bringing the total headcount to 1300, reports The Straits Times.

“We now have Isis, not only Al-Qaeda elements. We are also seeing those who, through the internet, got self-radicalised, learnt how to make bombs and made attack plans,” said General Tito at a media briefing in Jakarta.

“Therefore, the Detatchment 88 must be beefed up.”

General Tito, who was involved in various high-profile terrorist raids when he was a field officer with Detachment 88, said silent operations must be stepped up, meaning more preemptive strikes were needed.

This in turn required higher detection capability, he added.

Tasks within Detatchment 88 are divided into various operations: arrests and raids; investigation and cross examination; interrogation; wiretapping; and evidence handling.

Won praise, condemnation
The unit has won praise for the many raids it has made on militant networks in Indonesia, foiling attacks and arresting terrorist suspects.

However, it has also been heavily criticised for a repressive role in West Papua against indigenous self-determination and civil society groups.

In 2017, Detatchment 88 arrested 154 and killed 16 terrorists during raids, with 14 officers injured and four killed during the raids operations.

The unit made more than 150 arrests in 2016, disrupting terror plots, including the planned launch of rocket attacks on Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands from Batam island.

General Tito also unveiled plans to send more police officers for overseas studies, saying he was inspired by the late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in his bold move in preventing corruption.

The police force has, for the first time, received an allocation of 120 scholarship positions from the Finance Ministry to send its personnel abroad. This would mean a record number of officers studying overseas in coming years.

Waves of new faces
“We want to have big waves of new faces and a less corrupt culture,” said General Tito.

“When they return to Indonesia, they will have their own community who think the same way and who will be the agents of change. We want to replicate the Singapore concept. This is what Singapore did.”

He noted that when young policemen were sent to the United States, Britain and other countries with a less corrupt culture, they would be shaped accordingly.

The plan is to send 100 of the 300 fresh graduates from the police academy overseas as well as scores of other early-career policemen, he added.

• More Indonesian stories

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has condemned a brutal attack against journalist Saldi Hermanto in Timika, Papua, and called for a campaign of letter protests.

Hermanto was attacked by the police after he criticised on Facebook the police handling of security at an entertainment show he attended.

Although the Mimika police chief pledged to “properly settle” the case, the public and media should monitor and ensure that the case was not merely settled by the internal police mechanism, AHRC said in a statement.

“The perpetrators must be criminally prosecuted,” it said.

AHRC’s case narrative said that on Saturday, 11 November 2017, at 10:50 pm, journalist Saldi Hermanto and his child were enjoying an entertainment show in the night market of Timika Indah, Papua.

As the show was going on, suddenly there was chaos among the audience. Subsequently, Hermanto wrote on his Facebook wall criticising the police failure to secure the entertainment show and guarantee security for visitors.

Hermanto’s criticism angered the police officers, some of whom felt he had humiliated and offended the police institution.

Search for journalist
Some six to eight police officers of Mimika Police Office (Polres Mimika), then searched for Hermanto.

Finally, they found him in a small post where many journalists usually gather and send news to various media, located in front of the Mimika Traffic Police Unit of Mimika Police Office (Kantor Satuan Lalu Lintas Polres Mimika).

The police officers then brutally attacked Hermanto, they beat him repeatedly and brought him inside the integrated police post, the AHRC report said.

“The brutal attack caused serious injuries on Hermanto’s face and right rib, and Hermanto had difficulty breathing after the attack,” the report said.

On November 13, at 9 a.m. Timika journalists from the Association of Online Media (IWO) Timika and from the Association of Journalist Photo Indonesia (PFI) Timika organised a peaceful protest in front of the Mimika Police Office in Cendrawasih Street.

The protesters demanded that the chief of oolice of Mimika Police Office, Police Superintendent (AKBP) Viktor Dean Mackbon, “fairly and properly investigate” the brutal attack and violence against Saldi Hermanto, a journalist of Salam Papua and Okezone.

In responding to the protest, AKBP Dean Mackbon stated that nine of 13 police officers who had been examined, were detained for further investigation related to the attack.

Two investigations
In addition, AKBP Victor stated that the there would be two investigation processes, both internal and criminal prosecution. He also apologised to the journalists and promised to settle the case.

The AHRC notes that violence against journalists continues in Indonesia.

Another recent case occurred on 20 October 2017, when police brutally attacked Panji Bahari, a journalist of Banten Post in Banten province.

According to the Independence Journalist Alliance (AJI) Indonesia, in 2016 there were 78 cases of violence and attacks against journalists. This is a higher number compared to 2015, in which 40 cases of violence and attacks against journalists were recorded.

• More information
• More West Papua stories

Papua New Guinea’s National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop sought a court order to stop the burial of a journalist until a proper post-mortem has been conducted on her, reports The National.

Her burial was halted this morning after the last relative objecting to a post-mortem – her mother – agreed, reports Loop PNG.

Her body was taken back to the funeral parlour last night under instructions by investigating police homicide unit detectives and latest reports said the result of the post-mortem would be known tomorrow.

READ MORE: Funeral of Post-Courier journalist overshadowed by abuse allegations

Her paternal family had also sought a post-mortem, reports said.

Rosalyn Albaniel Evara, 41, was business editor of the PNG Post-Courier newspaper until she died on Sunday, October 15.

Her death has unleashed a wave of anger over violence against women in Papua New Guinea.

The front pages of Papua New Guinea’s two daily newspapers contrasted today with The National splashing Evara’s death on the front page while the late journalist’s own newspaper, the Post-Courier, featured a curtainraiser on the Kumuls for their Rugby League World Cup opener in Port Moresby next Saturday.

This sparked an ex-PNG Media Council president Alex Rheeney, who is also a former chief editor of the Post-Courier, to condemn his old newspaper on social media.

Writing in The Pacific Newsroom, Rheeney said in a bitter commentary directed at the Post-Courier:

“Halo, she was your employee and one of the best – if not the best – until the end. All employers have a duty of care to their employees and the Post-Courier continues to fail by not seeking justice for their business editor Rosalyn Albaniel Evara and giving editorial prominence to the issue from the date of her death.

“The newspaper failed to get to the bottom of the death of the esteemed journalist, and my former colleague, when she passed on … October 15, leaving that responsibility [to] close friends and family.

“In today’s edition you choose to belittle the memory of one of Papua New Guinea’s top journalist by running stories and pictures on her funeral service yesterday on Page 16, unlike The National which did well by giving the issue front page coverage.

“As a former chief editor of the newspaper, I am shocked and disgusted at the management’s failure to give editorial prominence to the issue and be proactive in relation to the death of Rosalyn and push for a full investigation into her shocking death, as a responsible employer.

“Where is the empathy to and for Papua New Guinean professionals who contribute to your annual profits?”

Current Post-Courier editor Todagia Kelola defended his newspaper’s decision to carry the report of the funeral well inside the newspaper, saying it was an issue of “the angle” for the news.

The newspaper had taken an editorial decision to focus on the funeral rather than the allegations around her death, he told Loop PNG.

In a separate statement, he claimed the funeral had been “hijacked” over the allegations.

The Minister for Youth, Religion and Community Development, Soroi Eoe, condemned Evara’s death and joined Parkop’s call on authorities to investigate the allegations.

“I condemn such death in the strongest terms based on the allegations of late Mrs Evara being a victim of gender based violence. Again the matter is serious and must be dealt with accordingly.”

Injury marks on body
At her funeral service at the Rev Sione Kami Memorial Church in Port Moresby yesterday, The National reports, her aunt, Mary Albaniel, showed to the crowd images of her body with injury marks on it.

“The images were shown on a screen inside the church,” the newspaper said.

“Mary Albaniel wore an orange t-shirt with the words: ‘No to violence against women’ on the back. She told the congregation that her niece had been a victim of violence.”

The National reported that the images showed that Evara had injuries to several parts of her body.

A death certificate from the Port Moresby General Hospital showed that Evara, 41, was rushed the hospital after she had collapsed that afternoon. She was reported to have been suffering from headaches the previous day.

Governor Parkop last night was working with police homicide unit at Boroko and the coroner to get a court order to stop her planned burial today at the 9-Mile Cemetery outside Port Moresby until a proper post-mortem was conducted to confirm the cause of her death.

‘Mere allegations’
Parkop, a strong advocate of ending violence against women, said he had called up the newspaper but was told that claims of violence instituted on her by someone close to her were “mere allegations”.

“I will follow up to find out the truth,” Parkop said.

“I am determined that there must be [a] prosecution if the allegation is true.”

Overseas media were yesterday also chasing up the story of her death.

A police homicide officer at the Boroko police station confirmed with The National last night that they were working on the case with Parkop.

Evara’s mother Ella Albaniel, a former principal of Lae School of Nursing, told The National that she was against the idea of a post-mortem although her daughter could have died from injuries, The National reported.

Evara completed Grade 12 at the Aiyura National High School in Eastern Highlands in 1993.

She spent two years at Divine World University where she graduated in 1995 with a Diploma in Communication Arts.

She worked with Word Publishing until about 2002 when she joined the Post-Courier.

Evara was based in Lae, Madang and Port Moresby.

• Pacific Media Watch report
• More PNG news stories

The 77 Chinese citizens deported from Fiji by uniformed Chinese police in August were sex workers, according to an investigative report by the Australia Broadcasting Corporation.

The ABC’s Background Briefing investigation by Hagar Cohen has reported an unnamed source challenging official claims that the deported individuals were involved in an online gambling fraud ring, reports Fiji Newswire.

According to the ABC investigative report, Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho declined to comment on the allegations.

The Office of the Prime Minister and the Chinese Embassy in Suva did not reply to the ABC’s requests.

The ABC reported that the deportees were “mainly young women brought to Fiji to service the Chinese diaspora,” and those locals close to their Nadi house said the inhabitants were primarily young women aged between 15 and 19.

One of those deportees was a young mother with a baby.

LISTEN: Fiji Silenced – China’s secret mission exposed on Sunday Extra: Background Briefing (Part 1)

In the two weeks before their removal, witnesses reported seeing Fijian police officers moving in and out of the compound — including movements that resembled a changing of the guard, and overnight shifts.

According to one local, who asked not to be identified, several of the women had attempted to escape but were chased and caught by local police.

• Chinese police grab 77 suspected fraudsters from Fiji
• Fiji police finally admit deportation, reveal little else

Indonesia’s National Police continue to dig deeper into the Saracen group, an online syndicate accused of creating and spreading hoax news and hate speech for money, including by investigating their funding over the past three years.

“We are still investigating Saracen. We are looking back about three or four years ago to investigate their funding,” said National Police spokesman Rikwanto reports The Jakarta Post quoting kompas.com.

The police have teamed up with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to investigate at least 14 bank accounts allegedly used in the Saracen campaign.

“We are still waiting for the results from the PPATK to see what has being going on with the bank accounts, including whether there were flows of funds,” Rikwanto added.

Police have named at least three suspects in the case, individuals who had allegedly acted as the group’s administrators since July and spread hate speech and hoaxes on social media.

The group is believed to have been involved in spreading hoaxes and hate speech against President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, among others.

National police chief General Tito Karnavian previously promised to solve the case and bring all the culprits before the law.

• More Indonesian stories

Reports about the shooting of an indigenous Papuan by police officers early this month in Deiyai district, Papua, have renewed focus on how human rights abuses by security officials in the region remain unaddressed by the government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Accounts of what triggered the incident differ, although most suggest it began when workers at a construction company refused to take a near-drowned villager to the hospital. The villager’s relatives and other local residents protested and a scuffle broke out. Police and military officials arrived and, according to an eyewitness, opened fire on the crowd without firing any warning shots. This left one man, Yulianus Pigai, dead, and 16 other Papuans wounded, including children.

Local police claimed Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel only used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. But a relative of one of the injured residents has posted photos on social media of real bullet casings, allegedly used by police.

Despite government pledges to change the approach to the region, violence against indigenous Papuans at the hands of security forces has continued unabated. Hundreds of thousands of military and police officials have been deployed to the region. The government justifies this security presence for three main reasons: The first is to secure so-called national assets, such as the massive Freeport McMoran mine. The second is to respond to the Free Papua Movement (OPM), and other small-scale organisations agitating for independence. The third is to prevent and address horizontal conflict between non-indigenous and indigenous Papuans, and among Papuan tribes.

The shooting has also highlighted the lack of policy coherence of the Jokowi administration. Since Jokowi took over from Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2014, the government has initiated several economic policies, including establishing massive infrastructure projects, and implementing a one-fuel price policy, which aim, among other things, to improve economic development in Papua.

On the political front, Jokowi granted clemency to five Papuan political prisoners in 2015. Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono recently reported Jokowi has been quietly releasing dozens more over the past year. In his first nearly three years in power, he has visited the two Papuan provinces far more often than his predecessors. Yet none of these efforts have had much of an impact on the central problem in Papua, which is one of human rights.

Jokowi does not appear to have any clear design for addressing violations of human rights in Papua, or across the country more broadly. About the same time as the shooting, for example, police officers dispersed a workshop convened by the Indonesian People’s Tribunal on the 1965 violence – a reminder of how quickly Jokowi’s plans for reconciliation for past human rights abuses have unravelled.

Lack of justice
Scholars argue ethno-nationalist protests can gather steam when the government is resistant to holding human rights violators – particularly state security officials – to account through the courts. This lack of justice results in deep trauma for victims’ families and increases public mistrust of the central government. This, in turn, enables political actors to mobilise the people to express aspirations for independence, as has happened in Papua.

There are two basic problems within the government approach to human rights in Papua. First, institutions and approaches are poorly coordinated. This is an old and unresolved problem that the Indonesian government has faced since it initiated structural reforms in the early 2000s. For years, government institutions, in particular, the Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Political, and Security Affairs, the Home Affairs Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian Military (TNI), have promoted different and sometimes inconsistent policies to deal with problems in Papua.

Luhut Panjaitan, former coordinating minister for legal, political, and security affairs, formed an integrated working group to find a solution to three of the most concerning human rights cases: the 2014 Paniai shootings, the 2001 Wamena incident, and the 2003 Wasior incident. However, when former General Wiranto succeeded Luhut in 2016, the team was dismissed, and there have been no follow-up activities to address these crucial issues. Wiranto recently claimed the shooting in Deiyai was not a human rights violation.

Further evidence of this inconsistent approach is Jokowi’s 2015 promise to lift restrictions on foreign journalists reporting from Papua. There have still not been any specific policies introduced to implement this directive. Any foreign journalist who wishes to go to Papua must still undertake a complicated application process and follow strict requirements, particularly from security-related agencies and, occasionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A comprehensive human rights policy – not an economic policy – should be the priority for resolving the issues in Papua. Economic policy has been the prescription favoured by every Indonesian president to address problems in Papua. They seem to believe aspirations for independence are simply a function of the poor quality of life of many indigenous Papuans, and improving welfare will lead to these demands fading.

In reality, the situation is far more complex. Papuans’ trust issues with the central government do not stem from poverty. Rather, they result from the insecurity of living with the threat of violence from the security officers who surround them, a massive presence that in itself contributes to trauma. In addition, the stagnation of internal reforms in the police and TNI which might make them better able to deal with low-level conflicts and protests in Papua without violence has made a bad situation worse.

Indigenous Papuans will continue to be killed as long as the central government lacks the political will or capacity to better coordinate national institutions and prioritise human rights issues in Papua.

Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi Wangge is a researcher at the Marthinus Academy in Jakarta. His current research focuses on democratisation in developing countries, particularly the role of crucial actors such as the military during democratic transition and consolidation. He has conducted fieldwork in West Papua on the role of Papuan youth in political and cultural identity during the special autonomy era. This article is republished by Asia Pacific Report with the author’s permission. 

• More West Papua stories

Duty called for two police officers and other members of Papua New Guinea’s Mt Hagen Mobile Squad 6 (MS 6) last weekend.

It took them out of the Tambul area in the Western Highlands province to provide security for the 2017 national election in neighbouring Enga province.

Obeying their call, constables Glenn Jimmy, Alex Kopa and team served in Enga until fate met them at the front gate of My Kids Inn, Sangurap residential area, last Saturday morning.

These officers started off the new day by preparing to tackle the usual struggles – included the heat, crowd control, monitoring the counting area, officials and unexpected events.

Little did they know that day would be a tragic one for the Mt Hagen Mobile Squad 6 and the Royal Constabulary of Papua New Guinea (RPNGC).

Walking out of their camp that morning, Constables Glen Jimmy and Alex Kopa – along with their colleague Constable Mathew Kassap – were hit by a hail of bullets from high-powered M16 rifles fired by Papua New Guineans who did not care about casualties.

The two gunmen were shot dead after MS6 members reacted quickly.

Two constables die
However, while being rushed to Wabag General Hospital Emergency Unit for initial treatment before being evacuated by helicopter to Port Moresby, Constables Jimmy and Kopa died. Constable Kasap was left fighting for his life in a hospital in Port Moresby.

The family of late Constable Glenn Jimmy are left only with the memories. Who was Glenn Jimmy and how should we remember him?

Glenn Jimmy, from the Tongai Tribe, Menspi Clan, a small village of Panjin, was the eldest of three siblings.

Jimmy, a Christian, was a person of good character to those who knew him – a leader and God-fearing man.

He was the TSCF president during his time at the Goroka Technical College (2013-2014) prior to joining the police and was an outstanding young man.

Constable Jimmy showed true patriotism in what he did when he made his final posting on Facebook:

“Being a cop it’s not a mistake, no matter what I will always be the servant to the public… if you asleep I’m awake thinking of your wealth for 2moro….and when you enjoying with your loved ones, I’m standing static guard to your properties (boxes) in any weather conditions…no matter how u criticizes us, I will still give the best to serve my citizens of the nation PNG until I leave…I’m 4 U PNG & die as PNG.”

Constable Jimmy’s testimony in the line of duty stands out and has been shared by many of his colleagues.

Jimmy leaves behind his two-year-old son, Simon, wife Hadassah – who is also four months pregnant – and his grieving parents and relatives.

New PNG government?
In Port Moresby last night, the People’s National Congress (PNC) party announced it had formed a coalition group with independent members of Parliament to form the new Papua New Guinea government.

In a joint statement released to the media, party leaders of the People’s Progress Party (PPP), United Resources Party (URP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People’s National Congress (PNC) said the incumbent Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s party now anticipated being called upon by the Governor-General to form government.

The statement said, “during the past five years, the government has delivered unprecedented growth through the delivery of clear, and targeted policies,” reports EMTV News.

“There have been programs and policies that could have been run with greater efficiency, and lessons have been learnt. The new government will increase its capability to meet the expectations of our people.”

The joint statement signatories were PNC leader Peter O’Neill, PPP leader Sir Julius Chan, URP leader William Duma, and SDP leader Powes Parkop.

This has been the strongest claim to numbers to date, following PNC’s latest declaration of Wake Goi and the potential declaration of Robert Atiyafa for the Henganofi seat, taking the total PNC declared members to 23 in the 111-member Parliament.

Elizah Palme studied chemistry at the University of Papua New Guinea and is current vice-president of Jiwaka Students and Graduates Association Inc.

• More PNG election stories
  

Cyber “provocation” — through social media — is one of the biggest challenges being faced by the Indonesia’s national police (Polri) at present, says Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

“We have to be ready to counter cyber provocation by forwarding various information that explains the actual event,” Kalla said in a public lecture given to participants of the Middle Leadership School (Sespimmen) of the national police at the Vice-Presidential Palace in Jakarta this week.

Pacific participants were present at the lecture.

He then cited an example of the provocation of extremist and radical groups, such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), that is spread among Indonesian youth through social media, persuading them to falsely carry out jihad, which is an act of fighting in the name of the religion, against the police.

Such acts are revealed through the bombing incident in the recent Jakartas Kampung Melayu area and the stabbing incident towards a police officer in the Police Headquarters.

“I have read that the bomb makers in Bandung were never taught to create explosives and that they had only learned it through the internet, Kalla said.

“Hence, there is no need for lessons these days, and all they have to do is to access the internet to easily create a bomb. If you do not master these kinds of technologies, then it would be challenging for you to tackle issues in rural areas.”

Security front guard
Kalla believes that the Polri, as the front guard in maintaining security and public order, will be the first party sought when problems occur in an area, especially with the rapid spread of information through social media and instant messaging groups.

“If you do not move as fast as this information does, then people’s reliance on the false information that circulates on the social media applications will grow bigger. Your challenges today are rather different compared to the ones faced by police officers 20 years ago,” he said.

Kalla expressed hope that the academy would also strengthen its curriculum on information technology to be taught to potential squad leaders at all levels.

One of the biggest challenges these days is speed, and it can only be countered by speed as well. Once you snooze and fail to verify information to the public, there are risks of conflict happening, and it happens in all parts of the world,” he said.

The public lecture, given by Kalla, about overcoming social conflict was attended by 246 participants of the Polris Leadership Programme.

The participants involve four foreigners, including two members of the Fiji police force, one from Singapore, and another one from the Timor-Leste police department.

Papua New Guinea’s general election has been rocked with many disruptions, the cancellation of the capital Port Moresby’s one-day polling, and the arrest of four senior election officers for carrying K185,000 (NZ$80,000) in cash and “suspicious” documents.

Electoral Commissioner Patalias Gamato vowed he would not resign in the face of a barrage of criticism, Loop PNG reports.

The National newspaper reports that the four were questioned but later released because police had to first obtain arrest warrants from the court.

National Capital District-Central police commander Assistant Commissioner Sylvester Kalaut was quoted by the newspaper as saying they have not been charged but may be re-arrested.

The drama began around dawn on Tuesday when election workers, who had been “camping” all night to prepare for the one-day polling in the three electorates in the National Capital District (NCD), decided to stage a protest strike because they had not been paid their “camping” allowance.

Commissioner Gamato, after consulting NCD Election Manager Terence Hetinu and police, deferred polling until tomorrow.

People who had arrived early at the various polling stations were told to return on Friday.

Cash for the workers
Then Hetinu, according to Gamato, who was bringing the cash to pay the workers, was brought in by police to brief them on the polling cancellation.

Officers became suspicious and arrested him when they found the large amount of cash in his vehicle.

In an unrelated event later, according to Kalaut, police officers arrested three other election officials in front of the Boroko Electoral Commission office allegedly trying to transport election-related materials in an official vehicle but without any official police escort.

“We have questioned and released them. We have to obtain a warrant of arrest to charge them for the relevant offences under the Criminal Code,” Kalaut said.

Kalaut said Hetinu would be questioned later on “correspondence” police allegedly found between him and a candidate.

Gamato said he would consider disciplinary action against Hetinu if he was found to be in contact with NCD candidates, The National reports.

On the cash Hetinu was carrying around, Gamato said: “We had made arrangements to organise payments for camping allowances. He was carrying that cash around when police picked him up.

3000 Port Moresby election workers
“Police also questioned me and I said I was aware of that.”

More than 3000 election workers had been engaged by the commission for polling and counting in Port Moresby.

Gamato agreed that it was “not normal” for someone to be carrying such a large amount of money around Port Moresby but “that cash was made available as soon as possible in the morning”.

Gamato said there was a system in place for election managers to pay election workers, based on the list of names provided.

• More PNG election stories
• PNG election official arrested hours after voting suspended in capital

A former Papua New Guinean police station commander, Chief Inspector Sakawar Kasieng, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for arson and four of his officers were convicted for raping a 17-year-old girl at her family home almost four years ago.

They were each sentenced in the National Court at Wewak to 20 years in prison.

Former Wewak police chief Kasieng, of Sibilanga Village, Sandaun Province, spent four months in custody prior to being sentenced yesterday. He will now spend six years and eight months in hard labour.

Robin Weibi of Tomonoum Village, Nuku, Sandaun Province, Timon Kangapu of Hirae Village, Kopiago, Southern Highlands Province, Stanley Moui Jombu of Passam, East Sepik Province, and Nigel Tianguma Harvey of Mikarew area, Bogia, Madang Province, were each sentenced to 20 years.

They also spent four months in custody. They will now spend 19 years and eight months in jail with hard labour.

They were found guilty and convicted for aggravated rape of the teenager in her room at Kwanumbo Village in the early hours of 7 December 2013.

The victim, who is now 21 years old, gave evidence in court during the trial with her mother and father.

Her father was serving a 40 years in jail sentence for murder when he and other prisoners escaped.

Dawn raid
On 7 December 2013, at least 15 policemen, led by Chief Inspector Kasieng, with the assistance of civilian informants, conducted a dawn raid on a hamlet at Kwanumbo Village, Boikin, East Sepik Province.

This was to capture a number of prison escapees, including the rape victim’s father.

The court heard that during the raid, two houses were torched, items were stolen and the escapees were apprehended and tied up. One escapee had his leg shot at after he had been restrained.

The four named policemen then entered the victim’s house and raped her. Her hands and legs were held onto the floor as each one took his turn to rape her.

When the victim’s mother complained to Chief Inspector Kasieng, she was told to shut up and on the police chief’s orders, she was assaulted and restrained by policemen.

On their arrest, Inspector Kasieng and the four policemen exercised their right to remain silent.

Justice George Manuhu handed down the sentence in Wewak yesterday after he heard a submissions on the sentence by the accused’s lawyer on Monday.

During submissions on Monday, each of the convicted prisoners of the state expressed remorse and willingness to pay compensation.

Failure to control
Former Chief Inspector Kasieng admitted his failure to control the operation, which resulted in the burning down of two houses, the shooting of Joel Pokip in the legs, and the sexual assault on the teenager.

“In any case, the four of you knew the law and you knew that sexually assaulting someone is against the law. So the four of you cannot place all the blame on Kasieng,” Justice Manuhu told them in court.

The court also noted that it was not Kasieng’s first time in court. He had previously been in court for assault and he had failed to pay court-ordered compensation.

“These reports do not help him at all,” the judge told him.

“Fortunately, the victim did not contract any sexual disease, she did not become pregnant, there is no evidence of any mental issues, and she did not suffer from any physical injuries. In relation to the burning down of the house, there was no evidence on the value of the house. These are the factors that are in your favour.

“Against you is that as policemen, you were charged with the responsibility to uphold the law and by virtue of that law, you have a duty to protect the citizens of this country.

‘Acted like criminals’
“But look at what you have done. You acted in contradiction to your duty and committed crimes against the people you were supposed to protect.

“You acted like criminals, all of you,” Justice Manuhu told them.

He said the warrant issued by the court did not authorise them to burn down houses and sexually assault the teenager.

“I don’t know what went through your heads in those two hours you were in the village. You have brought shame upon all of us as officers of the law.”

He said the undisciplined behaviour of policemen in Papua New Guinea was prevalent and destroying the country, and that people awere fed up with hearing about undisciplined policemen.