Military mutiny over for now,

AN ATTEMPTED military coup led by a retired colonel in the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby, yesterday led to a tense standoff between forces loyal to Peter O'Neill and Michael Somare, who both claim to be prime minister.

By nightfall yesterday, Colonel Yaura Sasa and soldiers of the 1st Battalion, who had taken the Defence Force commander, Francis Agwi, hostage in the capital's main barracks, had released their captive. Mr O'Neill said he remained in control and Colonel Sasa had been ''dealt with''.

Earlier in the day, shots were fired, domestic flights were cancelled and road blocks were set up to contain what threatened to be a serious situation. The drama began when a group of soldiers - reported to number about 20 - stormed PNG's main Murray Barracks in the capital at 3am.
They placed Brigadier-General Agwi and two other unnamed officers under house arrest after they deemed them to be supporters of Mr O'Neill.

General Agwi had rejected Sir Michael's request to call out the army to back him during the two-week political crisis before Christmas. Colonel Sasa demanded yesterday that politicians resolve their differences by reinstating Sir Michael as prime minister within seven days

''My task is restoring the integrity and respect of the constitution and the judiciary,'' he said at a news conference. ''I am now calling on the head of state to immediately implement Sir Michael's post.''
Sir Michael claims a December 12 Supreme Court order reinstated him as the country's leader while Mr O'Neill maintains Sir Michael was disqualified as an MP after a prolonged absence from Parliament because of sickness.

Mr O'Neill told a media conference yesterday he remained in control of PNG's civil infrastructure, including the police and armed forces. He said Colonel Sasa had been ''dealt with'' but would not elaborate.
His deputy, Beldan Namah, a former defence force captain, earlier told the Herald Colonel Sasa would be arrested for treason after giving him a deadline of ''4.06pm'' - the official knock-off time for the civil service - to hand himself in to authorities.
He described Colonel Sasa's supporters as ''very, very junior ranks'' coerced by political opportunism.

''I want to say this to Somare: You have lost your mind. You have lost total control of yourself. You have lost your mind. You have lost sanity,'' he said.
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, issued a news release late yesterday urging ''the PNG Defence Force chain of command [be] restored''.

''The military has no place in PNG politics,'' she said. ''It is critical therefore that this situation be resolved peacefully as soon as possible.''
Port Moresby's Jackson airport was temporarily closed yesterday with Airlines PNG cancelling flights to Lae, Wewak and Kiunga ''due to security issues in Port Moresby'' and Air Niugini cancelling similar services. The move appeared to be aimed at preventing other dissident troops from joining the mutiny in the capital.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised Australians to limit travel around Port Moresby ''due to disturbances at Murray and Tarama Barracks''.
Yesterday's action is the second military mutiny in PNG after the Special Forces Unit illegally took control of the defence force operations centre at Murray Barracks on July 28, 1997.

SMH

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