UPDATE ON KILLINGS IN TARI

By Bryan Kramer - Kramer Report

Yesterday, I returned from Tari Electorate, Hela Province following a one day trip to assess the situation, following the horrific killing of 23 women (2 of whom were pregnant) and 9 children in the worst pay back killing in our country's history.

In my capacity as Minister for Police, I represented Marape Steven government, to be on the ground, to firstly pay respect to those killed and secondly prepare and provide a brief to the Prime Minister, on circumstances behind the incident - what, who, when, how and why.

Tribal fights are not new in PNG and in recent years they have become more prevalent in the highlands region, one may argue they have been going on since the beginning of time.

However since that time the rules of engagement have always been that the elderly, women and children have been off limits.

So killing of innocent women and children in tribal conflicts are unheard of, so last week's merciless killings has changed everything where the immediate concern is that it will become the new trend.

I guess the question everyone is asking, is why did it happen, will it happen again and more importantly what is being done to prevent it from ever happening again?

First issue why it happened.

What people would not be aware of is that there were three separate killings in Tagali Local Level Government last week resulting in total of 29 people and children being murdered. These killing are related to a tribal conflict that has been on going for almost two decades (close to 20 years).

The conflict has been between two tribes, one headed by a man called Oi Kiru, who comes from Pajaka 2 village, and the opposing tribe, led by Libe Koi and his second in charge Ha'gu'ai, who comes from Yaganda village.

In June 2019, a key tribesman of Libe was killed, his name was Eganada, who lived in Munima village. Usually, when tribes go to war they will solicit the support of surrounding villages they are married into or provide protection to.

In this case, a key ally to Libe was Eaganda from Munima village, who is named after Libe's village. In June he was killed by his own cousin A'gun'ai (a known drug body) over an on-going dispute. It is alleged A'gun'ai killed Eganada and in fear of his life fled to Oi Kiru's village. As the saying goes the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

However, while in the protection of Oi' Kiru’s tribesman, we were told, A'gun'ai with a number of his own tribesman killed 6 of Oi Kiru's clansman including his mother.

They then returned to their village and threatened a nearby village, called Karita, into which A’gun’ai is married, insisting that Karita village pay them protection money or face a similar attack.

Last Sunday, Munima and Karita village got together to stage a peace ceremony offering ten pigs and K4,000 kina to A’gun’ai and his clansmen.

Unbeknownst to them Oi Kiru learning of his mother’s death raided a village near Munima called Peta, killing 3 women and 3 children - they were all shot to death using high powered rifles; pay back killing over the killing of Oi Kiru's mother, the first killing of an elderly mother.

Following the killing at Peta village, tribesman (youths) on Monday morning around 6am attacked Karita Village killing some 9 women and 7 children (two women were pregnant). They were killed after being attacked by a group of young men with machetes (bush knifes).

Why were women and children were attacked Karita village?

Well unable to pay back those responsible for killing in Peta, A’gun’ai being married into Karita Village and from time to time is known to seek refuge there, hence the attack on Karita.

So it appears the killing of women and children stemmed from killing of Oi Kiru's mother by those under the influence of drugs (marijuana). What followed was payback killing of 3 women and 3 children at Peta Village that triggered payback killing of 9 women and 7 children at Karita village.

On Tuesday, Members of Mobile squad as well as Defence Force were deployed to the area. Following the Governor of Hela Philip Undialu and my recent visit, the killings have stopped for now; reports indicate those involved have fled the province.

The Governor and I visited both Munima and Karita Village to get a first hand account of what happened and provide an assurance that the Marape Steven Government will hold those responsible accountable. I had intended to stay overnight at Karita Village, since that was the last village to have suffered such a major loss, however I was advised against it, as Munima Village would expect the same.

Despite my disappointment in not spending enough time in the villages, the fact that the Governor and I were on the ground, prompted the community leaders from Munima and Karita Village not continue to retaliate.

So what happens now?

Following consultation with Provincial Governor, Provincial Administrator and the Provincial Police Commander, including the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, David Manning, a platoon from the Defence Force and Police Mobile Squad will be stationed at Munima Primary School to provide around the clock security, to prevent any further escalation of violence.

High-level discussions on a strategic deployment action plan with the use of drone technology and satellite surveillance, will be used to track and apprehend those on the run. An intelligence unit will also be established to gather information from the community.

While a number of plans are being put into action to ensure peace prevails, to prevent such a devastating act of violence in our communities, it is important that for the long term that we find a different way of resolving conflict that rejects revenge but encourages resolution through dialogue.

I intend to return to the Province in a week's time to get an up-date.

picture taken at Karita village during our visit to the grave site of women and children.

Focus on PNG culture as writers’ petition moves to final stage

By KEITH JACKSON - PNG Attitude

PORT MORESBY - Two prominent Papua New Guineans have called for a cultural revival in Papua New Guinea at the same time as PNG’s writers put the finishing touches on a petition for prime minister James Marape.

“Papua New Guinea’s cultural heritage defines who we are,” said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Emil Tammur launching the National Cultural Commission’s corporate plan.

“Without culture and tradition we have no identity, no soul.

“If you look at some of the more successful economies of the world – Japan or China or Korea – behind the economic success story there lies a social and cultural background that is the heart and soul of that nation,” he said.

“Culture is what makes them different, what makes them proud and what gives them an identity.”

Similar words have been used by the authors of the literary manifesto that PNG writers intend to present to Mr Marape soon.

“A nation without a story is like a nation without a soul,” the manifesto says. “Without a home-grown literature the story of our great nation cannot be told.”

Well over 300 people have signed the petition which says, “We, the writers, and supporters of writers, of Papua New Guinea, believe our nation’s literature is something that needs to be encouraged and supported by everyone, but especially by the government.

“If our story is not told, future generations of Papua New Guineans will not be fully aware of where they come from, who they are and what made them.”

Mr Tammur said, “If you look at some of the more successful economies of the world – Japan or China or Korea – behind the economic success story there lies a social and cultural background that is ancient.

“That is the heart and soul of that nation. Culture is what makes them different, what makes them proud and what gives them an identity.

“When the oil and gas and minerals dry up, it is our cultures that can sustain us.”

“Our mandate is to keep the heart of this country beating,” said National Cultural Commission boss Steven Kilanda.

“Neglect across the years has brought many of our agencies and the cultural commission close to a massive heart attack.”

Both men called for concerted efforts across all sectors of government to bring back respect for Papua New Guinean ways.

The group organising PNG’s petition that wants greater support for a sustainable home-grown literature are now seeking a meeting with the prime minister.

Go to this link for more: https://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2019/07/focus-on-png-culture-as-writers-petition-moves-to-final-stage.html

Australia should help end tribal violence in PNG

MITCHELL THOMAS | Organisation for World Peace | Edited

HOUSTON, USA - The remote highlands regions of Papua New Guinea has recently been the subject of international attention in the wake of a brutal massacre.

The remote village of Karida saw an outbreak of tribal violence last week as part of ongoing conflicts in some of the country’s most remote provinces.

While tribal conflict and warfare have historically been an issue for PNG, the rate and escalation of violence has increased in recent years.

This is due in a large part to the provision of high-powered weapons that has led to a marked change in the way conflict has unfolded.

In traditional fighting, there would usually be few deaths. But this new supercharged violence kills many more, including civilians and children. This has also a limiting effects on the provision of aid and medical relief, as it is harder to access remote areas without placing international aid workers in danger.

PNG prime minister James Marape, in whose electorate the events took place, has called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

As recently as 2013, PNG reinstated the death penalty and since then 16 people have been placed on death row but no sentences have been carried out. The international community widely condemns the use of the death penalty.

With modern armaments escalating conflicts, the PNG government needs to review its approach to ensuring violence like this is brought to an end.

Marape has voiced concerns that the country’s police force and security apparatus are in need of reinforcement and must be adequately funded and resourced to handle events like these.

The country hosted the 2018 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that provided an opportunity for PNG to put its case to the international community but it was characterised by great power games between the USA and China. Since then, the violence has gotten worse.

The international community, in particular Australia, should look to assist the new prime minister in his attempt to alleviate tribal violence, preferably without imposing the death penalty.

Australian aid remains constant and at a high level and Australia should help the PNG government in this area in its role as a respected middle power.

An initial measure may be to deploy peacekeeping forces, federal police and aid workers from Australia in a similar way Australia was involved in East Timor and the Solomon Islands in the early 2000s.

Go to this link for more: https://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2019/07/australia-should-help-end-tribal-violence-in-png.html

Minister calls out PNG police mutiny

Posted on The Weekend Australia

Papua New Guinea’s new reformist police minister has warned of a plot by officers to detain and possibly kill him, as a battle for control of the nation’s much-maligned police force turned ugly.

Days after firing the country’s powerful police commissioner, Bryan Kramer claimed he had received intelligence reports about a plot by “high ranking ­officers” to have him arrested and charged.

In an unusual Facebook post on Monday, Mr Kramer admitted that Papua New Guineans — who suffer under endemic crime and corruption — “fear and resent the police force”. The opposition-activist-turned-minister also said his efforts to stamp out politically connected corruption and modernise the force could spell his death.

“I have no question of doubt I will eventually get killed for what I do. It goes without saying when you get in the way of those stealing billions in public funds, they will do whatever it takes to get rid of you.”

Mr Kramer was a surprise appointment when new Prime Minister James Marape announced his government last month. On Friday, he made his first significant move and announced Police Commissioner Gari Baki had been told “to stop work” as the country’s top cop.

Mr Baki — who is linked to former prime minister Peter O’Neill — has since resisted his removal from office, taking the issue to the courts.

Australian National University analysts Sinclair Dinnen and Grant Walton described the scale of the challenge to reform the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in a recent paper.

“PNG’s police force is massively understaffed, poorly resourced, ill-disciplined and heavily factionalised,” they said.

Last year, after Papua New Guinea hosted a major Asia-­Pacific summit, hundreds of police officers stormed parliament — smashing windows, trashing furniture and demanding unpaid allowances.

As well as organisational problems, the force has to contend with tribal wars, deadly attacks on people accused of witchcraft and violent roving street gangs known as “raskols”.

Mistrust in the police is rife and many rich Papua New Guineans turn to private security firms before the police.

Stories of police brutality are common. Last October, four policemen in New Britain were sentenced to a total of 47 years in jail over the death of 20-year-old Wesley Kenny. “These police officers came to our home, acting on a tip-off,” Kenny’s father said. “But instead of asking properly, they began to kick and punch him repeatedly until he died.”

Last week in the same province, three other officers were sentenced to 20-year-to-life imprisonment for shooting dead a passerby while drunk and on duty. Violent gangs, widespread theft and rape have made Port Moresby one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with few residents willing to venture out after dark.

Go to this link for more:https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/minister-calls-out-png-police-mutiny/news-story/c132a9ce846a3f955ec7948466f4dd49

Papua New Guinea massacre: 18 dead in horror village attack - ‘We are coming for killers!’

By Joel Day- Express UK

AS MANY as 18 people, including women and children, have been brutally massacred following a tribal feud in a remote village in Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister James Marape said the news was “one of the saddest days of my life”, and promised to hunt down the killers. Philip Undialu, governor of Hela Province in the central highlands where the attack took place on Monday, said: “It’s a very sad story.” Images shared on Facebook showed the victims of the attack, including several children, wrapped in cloth and laid on palm leaves by the side of the road. The cause of the killings is not yet known but is part of a long-running conflict that has been active for years.

The people targeted in this attack had offered shelter to victims of a similar bout of violence several weeks ago, according to Mr Undialu.

Mr Undialu said: “It was a retaliation of a previous attack. It was a very sudden attack.”

He added: “Both attacks were made in an innocent community where people were not expecting it and all of us are in a state of shock."

Mr Marape said he was “coming for” the killers. (Image: GETTY)

The fresh attacks bring the death toll up to 24 people.

Mr Marape said he was “coming for” the killers.

In a Facebook post, he said: “In memory of the innocent who continue to die at the hands of gun-toting criminals, your time is up.

“Before I had someone else to report to now I have no one else to report to but the innocent you kill.

The disputes are often over land allocation and the distribution of resource wealth (Image: GETTY)

"I am not afraid to use the strongest measures in law on you. I am coming for you."

Mr Marape, who became leader in May, blamed a lack of police on the ground as a major problem in a region that has struggled with violence for years.

Papua New Guineas’s highland regions are very remote with communities based around tribal customs rather than central government.

The disputes are often over land allocation and the distribution of resource wealth.

ExxonMobil was forced to halt construction on a natural gas pipeline last year because of unrest.

Go to this link for more: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1151891/papua-new-guinea-massacre-latest-news-Prime-Minister-James-Marape-Philip-Undialu

Fighting zone declared in Tagali LLG after massacre, long term solution needed

By Scott Waide - My Land, My Country

On Wednesday, some of the bodies of 18 women and children were buried by the roadside in Karida Number One village.  They were the latest innocent victims of a 20-year tribal war driven by local warlords in the Tagali Local level government area. Karida Number One was not directly involved in the fighting that initially left seven people dead in neighboring Munima village.

But they were accused of harboring an in-law involved in the attack. And the women and children paid the price.

For the older generation of the Hela, the killing of women and children has broken the traditional protocols of tribal fighting.

“This, I have never seen this in my life. This is new,”   Chief Hokoko Minape said in Tok Pisin. Chief Hokoko is a household name in the Tagali LLG.

Chief Hokoko Minape

Hokoko Minape has  been councillor for as long as anyone can remember.  Then, expressing himself poetically through his grief he said:  “The women and the children are like my mothers. I died with them. They are close to my heart. I died of grief. I am already dead.”

Muks Maia, the local church pastor, lives on a nearby hill in Karida village. He ran to the site when he saw the fire from the burning houses.  He was too late to do anything.

“When I got there, I saw the women and children. They had been cut up like animals. There were no men. The total number of those killed is 18.”

Beside the smoldering remains of a hut, one of the men said the women who died were the anchors in the community. Their lives firmly rooted in the village. They cared for the land and the animals, while the men traveled in between Tari, Port Moresby and Mt. Hagen. It has been difficult to mourn for them, with the people unable to settle into their normal lives.

The hut where the worst of the attacks happened, still stands. A whole family, including two pregnant women and their unborn children also died in the attack. On Wednesday, the Hela  Provincial  Government declared the Tagali Local Level government area a fighting zone.

The Police and the Defence force numbers are stretched with only 40 police personnel and one PNGDF platoon. The only thing giving them some sense of security are the army and police patrols that have been going into the village since the raid.

Like Chief Homoka Minape, police and provincial authorities say the killing of women and children is unprecedented.

Three months into office, the Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector  Teddy Augwi, is facing his first major crisis. He says dialogue remains key in finding a solution and bringing the warring parties together.

Today (12/07/19), Police Minister, Bryan Kramer, and Hela Govenror, Phillip Undialu, went  to Karida village. Kramer has called for the immediate surrender of the killers. He has also called on the leaders to not retaliate.

He says the government will be looking at long term solutions based upon his recommendations to cabinet.

—————————————

PS.  It was difficult seeing the huts where the women were killed.  In case they become forgotten statistics, here are the names:

1. Keapu Etape (woman)

2. Kirume Nakapi (pregnant woman)

3. Arawali towako (elderly woman)

4. Tukupili minape (woman) 

5. Harime Hari (pregnant woman)

6. Tugu Apale (woman)

7. Kay Haralu (woman)

8. Hangai Hamono (woman)

9. Aipe andrew (boy, 8)

10. Mangape anduru (boy, 7)

11. Kep andrew (boy, 6)

12. Michael andrew (boy, 3)

11. Warame andrew (woman)

13. Chenain pichape (girl, 13)

14. Girume hos (girl, 6)

15. Tapali hotape (woman)

16. Andrew Kalu (man) 

17. Unborn baby

18. Unborn baby

Go to this link for more: https://mylandmycountry.wordpress.com/2019/07/12/fighting-zone-declared-in-tagali-llg-after-massacre-long-term-solution-needed/

WATCH OUT FOR 14 YEAR OLD RISING STAR

Posted by Skerah PNG

You could be mistaken that this is a a photo (taken by M Baru) is of a young girl posing with a medal in hand – a medal possibly won by her mum, dad, elder brother or sister at the Pacific Games currently underway in Samoa.  But not so.  This is Idau Vagi – showing off her Silver medal won in the 40kg category under the Oceania competition at the Pacific Games.

Vagi is among a handful of lifters released from the weightlifting factory in Hanuabada to take on the Pacific.  And make no mistake, PNG’s prospects of dominating the competition in the next decade is still intact with promising performances like Vagi’s.

At just 14 , Vagi is the youngest member of the PNG contingent currently in Samoa.

Her looks are deceiving indeed.  Innocent looking face coupled with a body frame fit for following mum and dad around the shopping mall, Vagi instead is following heavy weights and medals around the Pacific.

Inspired by watching her heroes Toua, Toua Udia, Morea Baru and powerhouse Steven Kari, the young 14 year took up weightlifting at 12 years of age.  There are many young girls and boys just like Vagi who dream about making it big y following the footsteps of their village heroes!

The young kekeni is a Grade 4 student at Hagara Primary School.  From 8am to 2pm she’s busy lifting papers and pencils.  When the clock strikes 4pm, she’s busy at the Hanuabada Weightlifting Gym lifting weights almost double her own weight.

Vagi Idau with former PNG cricketer Mahuru Dai. Both are from Kwaradubuna Clan in Hanuabada

One person who probably isn’t as surprised  as many of us are is the owner of the Hanuabada Weightlifting Gym, Douglas Mea.

Douglas Mea is synonymous with success and the master coach behind PNG’s powerful weightlifting duo in Dika Toua and Steven Kukuna Kari.  If there is ever anyone deserving of Knighthood in sport, Mea should have been Knighted long gone.  The lack of resources and  support, the consistency in his achievements and the fact that he keeps on pumping out a champion after champion one wonders what more can this man do to be officially recognized as champion himself.

Be that as it may, that little hump hasn’t prevented Mea a single bit and young lifters like Idau Vagi is testament to that.

Vagi is the daughter of proud parents Vagi Tau and Nou Reva from the Kwaradubuna Clan of Hanuabada – a clan also renown for producing national cricketers in the likes of Rarua Dikana and Mahuru Dai and in rugby league, Kumuls (late) Dikana Boge and brother Philip.

For a young girl, she has quite a hectic schedule with school and training taking much of the time.  Aside from this, she says she likes to spend her free time “telling stories with her friends“.

And what’s your favorite food, we ask.  Surprisingly, it’s SNAX biscuits – the food the PNG Athletics team are trying to keep away from!

And what is this kekeni’s ambitions?  What does the future hold for her with this promising performances?

Vagi has her sights on training hard to compete in as many Pacific Games as she can and the ultimate – participating in the Olympics.  It’s a big call but a positive one indeed to see someone still small dream big – dreams much much bigger than her very own Hanuabada Village.

Go to this link for more: https://skerah.com/sports/watch-out-for-14-year-old-rising-star/