Port Moresby PNG, is burning - 10th Jan, worst ever civil uprising
 

The PNG government has as usual mishandled a delicate situation regarding salary and taxation.

Be careful if you are travelling to Port Moresby

Port Moresby is burning - Post Courier

​Chaos In PNG Capital Port Moresby As Unrest Erupts Over Pay Deduction Dispute - PNG Facts

What was once tropical paradise is no more.

Major buildings torched, fire brigade out numbered by opportunist and rascols. Total lack of respect and law and order.

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I fail to understand how this situation is more dysfunctional than an average day in POM. The absence of violent acts such as pillaging and rape, in fact, suggests that circumstances might be improving.

I'd love to break into tok pidgin but it's just to all sad. Either dey independent and dey can stand on their own two feet, or stop sending them australian aid ie make them an australian protectorate again.

oh wait we stuck between a rock and a hard place because if we stop sending them half a billion bucks, the chinese will just establish a full bore naval base right on our shores. F*ck you Gough Whitlam. You did some smart thing but this was one of the most stupid.

Well they wanted independence. Let them have it. No more help should come from Australia.

Some questions:

Isn't New Guinea marked on Chinese military maps as Spratly Island SOUTH EAST? They must be on the phone right now offering the 'Pacific Peacekeeping' forces.

Have the British Post Office programmers moved to Port Moresby to assist with their payroll software?

Did they? Or was it one of those executive decisions when Gough had his 2 person cabinet?

A dysfunctional country on our doorstep, China would love to help out with a few navy ships sitting in Moresby. And update the airfields too, and better park some military planes on them because they are running out of parking spots in China.

Oz has to keep handing out money to the corrupt PNG government to keep the Chinese at bay.

Memories
 

On arrival in Port Moresby on a Saturday afternoon in the early 80s when I was to start contract work with AWA working on Air Nuigini aircraft there was a riot between the Police and Army going on.

Don't know about that but it wouldn't surprise me.

However, I remember back when Douglas Airways was still in existance, one of our Pilots flew regularly into Jayapura (sp?) and told me that on one occasion he dropped into a store there that stocked an Atlas for Schoolkids. Purely out of curiousity he flipped through thepages.

He said that PNG was called 'East Irian' and that Australia was referred to as being "South Irian.':ooh:

Oddly enough, the next time he went there a few weeks later to attempt to buy one of those Atlas', they were no longer in stock!:hmm:

What an ignorant thing to say.

I’ve seen maps in Indonesia with Australia marked as “South Irian”.

Well there was that whole Bougainville Sandline affair. As in the PNG army wouldn't put up with the idiot PM bringin in some pommy mercenaries in. As in we hold our guns to your head and lock you up. That was interesting.

Another segment of PNG memories, was the Port Moresby University students rioting, and of course, like clockwork, the army comes in and starts spraying semi-autos all over the place. There was so many bullet holes in the student dorms etc eh. . The whole Uni looked liked a Mogadishu war zone the next day.

Hmm i don't this his Ausaid Julia Bishop thing working, maybe to let the Chinese be the new overlords.

The only reason the country does NOT descend into civil war is "tribalism"

A quick review of the political situation would suggest the incumbent prime minister suspended parliament a few months ago when a vote of no confidence was tabled. When this suspension expires shortly parliament will sit again, matters will be tabled re a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. He will then suspend parliament again ??

Rogue units of police and other public servants are rattling sabres; done a lot of damage to the country, infrastructure, investment programmes; the list goes on ...

You can have all the aggrieved parties sit down and talk but with over 800 different tribes there will never be unity in PNG.

Much has been said by the Aussie PM and PNG PM about co-operation in Policing. Australian police will go to PNG to assist with training, and working alongside each other to further foster a spirit of co-operation etc. I'm not so sure that foreign police officers, except possibly the Chinese, would live in PNG police accomodation which at best would be described as fairly rough. I cannot see Aussie police eating the same food, and trying to exist when the gap between PNG police pay and Aussie police pay are worlds apart. Yet the Aussie police will wear RPNGP uniforms and take instructions from the PNG Chief Commissioner. I don't see that working ??

Pray for PNG. Oh wait, that' won't work,
Bilong Yumi.

The term for what’s going on is “civil unrest” and isn’t uncommon, usually though on a smaller scale in the highlands.

PNG is rich in resources, strategically located close to Australia and ruled by the sort of corrupt politicians who would happily sell the country to the Chinese.

A failed state on Australia's doorstep.

It’s always interesting to read the keyboard warrior’s opinions and views when something goes pear shaped in PNG.

To be quite frank, the Australian media (as they always like to do) have pumped the propaganda machine up with misinformation and pure sh!t!

What interest have I got in PNG, firstly I’m an Australian taxpayer and pay way to much tax to the ATO - I’m sure it’s a bucket load more than most commentators here, ala the best part of 40K per FY, and I also pay tax in PNG as I fly in PNG.

I certainly do not like the behaviour that occurred on Wednesday in Port Moresby. PNG is an independent country and they deserve to be, and they are totally capable of doing so in my opinion, it’s certainly NOT a failed state.

We have seen similar events before that I won’t elaborate on, however two things that Papua New Guineans are passionate about - Rugby League and Politics and this will never change!

What’s the solution? Australia and other Country’s including China need to continue to support PNG, not only financially but also in trade, training and mentoring and I’m sure there are a lot of other things.

Just take a moment or two to reflect back on what PNG and it’s citizens sacrifice in World War 2 to keep the Japanese out of Australia.

I would have thought that needing to be supported both financially, and through training and mentoring is indicative of a State that has failed, or at the least yet to get up and running.
Tribalism is a problem when trying to form one big……..tribe. One big organised political community. The more tribes there are the harder it is to create a unified State. It doesn’t start getting better until the tribalism weakens and the unity develops.

This is the US State Department's advice regarding travel to PNG, most other countries give similar reports.

​​​​​​https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...vel%20Advisory.

PNG suffers major problems in virtually ever sector you can think of from law and order to health care to basic infrastructure. Yet there are vast natural resources, the profits from which could develop the country. Usual question of where the money actually goes.

PNG was a failed state a few years ago, just managed to climb out of it and now seems to be heading down again.

​​​​​​PNG?s Descent to a Fragile State ? Can it recover again? | PNG Economics

Was "condone" the word you were looking for?

If the US has no friends, only interests (Henry Kissinger), China certainly has no friends, only self interest. China doesn't do anything in PNG for PNG's benefit.

I spent three months flying in PNG, got to see Moresby, Mendi, Hagen, Wewak, Tabubil and a few bush strips. Moresby was the most evil place I’ve ever been in and I have been around a few third world countries including one with a civil war going on.

One night in Mt Hagen I asked the hotel receptionist for directions to the Heavy Lift compound, she looked at me like I was a bit stupid and told me not to go out at night. I took her advice and went back to my room.