Highroads past PNG Foreign Policy Making


Photo Credit: MESSER SMITH

by STELLA PAULUS

As we debate the reasons for the riot in Madang, let us not stray from the bigger picture of why it happened in the first place.

In order to do so we have to look at our history. 

Whilst Papua New Guinea was still 30 years into celebrating its freedom from the terrorism of colonialism, it was soon to learn that Australia was not going to let go of the reigns that easily.

December 2003, Australia forces PNG into agreeing for the installation of the Australian Government’s Enhanced Cooperation Program (ECP) in the country. If not the Australian Government would pull the plug on the annual aid payment through what is known as AUSAID.

The program enabled the direct control of PNG’s justice, economic and policing policies under which the Australian Federal Police (AFP) was introduced into the country. 

However, on May 13 2005, a Somare-backed court ruling found that the protection against the law enjoyed by most Australian Federal Police (AFP) agents in the country was not in accordance with the PNG Constitution, which resulted in Australia pulling back their forces.

Within the same year, angered by Australia’s efforts to control PNG through its policies, PNG introduced a new foreign policy known as the ‘Look North Policy’.

The look north policy promoted Asian investments in PNG. It was to be used as a leverage providing PNG with greater room for manoeuvering when dealing with Canberra.

However nicely put the foreign policy of that time might have been, its results are terrorizing.


Asian Invasion or the Asianisation of Madang

July 31, 1995 a Filipino-owned RD Group of Companies established itself within Madang on 860 hectares of customary land that was stolen by the Catholic Mission, passed onto the Madang Provincial Government and then sold to RD. Regardless of RD Tuna’s claim of having title over the 860 hectares, the surrounding Kananam and Rempi villages by heart strongly claim they still own that same piece of land. RD now owns RD Tuna Cannery, Rd Fishing and not to mention the 15 or so fleet of ships. It also owns other things like a Fish Mill – that’s the one that supplies animal feeds and also the one that dishes out the good-bad smell, a cow farm, a piggery, a coconut plantation and a rice-turned-greens farm.

RD also is overrunning the operations of Sali Tagau’s ‘Savalon Security’ with Filipino Ex-Military Richie Mabalod as Manager. Sali Tagau is only the PNG FACE of this security company, the real owner is RD Tuna. The Savalon Security is the only one that guards RD Cannery, RD Fishing, Vidar and Marine Park. So in a way it is more or less a self-sustaining company that provides its own security, catering services and food supplies. This clearly shows that they are using their own spin-off businesses and there will be none for landowners companies whether they are in security, catering or food supplying. One should ask – what benefits goes to the landowners?

Then in 2006, a Chinese state-owned mining company called China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) was awarded the $1.5 billion contract to develop Ramu Nickel and Cobalt Mine regardless of concerns by the people from Basamuk area where the company’s refinery plant is over pollution of their sea and marine life.
It now owns Kurumbukari Mine site, the Refinery at Basamuk and the 135km cheap, highly eroding slurry pipe in between and not to mention the high rise building in Madang known as the ‘glass house’. Ever since its first shipment in 2012, the company has failed to pay royalty payment to landowners whose land through which the pipe runs.

Furthermore, Asians own most of the stores and super markets in Madang. To name a few: Papindo the Indonesian Army money making branch in PNG which makes money to supply weapons that obviously kills more West Papuans then we could count in a day. Martin and Shirley Tsang or MST employs cheap labour from Nepal and whom the shop owner has the right to scream at. Furent, Furama, SNN, Okit, J&Z and sunshine pay their workers a lousy rate of K3.20 per hour.

We also have Asian bakeries to call into for our breakfast needs or the Asian Surpass Motors for our car needs. Asian Development Banks (ADB) is there for our money matters and we also import Asian cars because the best quality cars come from the Asians so PNG can’t stop importing cars from them. Asian Mining companies, Asian Logging companies like JANT. And we see it in the trend of Asians impregnating our sisters, mothers and daughters and yet we still cannot understand the reason for the recent riot in Madang? This is simply ridiculous . . . it is an INSULT, an outright violation of Human Rights and our National Goals and Directive Principles.

So I am sorry if this is not reason enough for an angry father, son, uncle or just a wantok to want the Asians gone. This is happening on our land, in our age in this current generation and to our people and by now we should take these people seriously.

It is also time the people whom we have mandated to open their eyes to the reality around them and change the shitty ‘LOOK NORTH/Foreign Policy to better suit our needs as Papua New Guineans and not to use this as a games parlor to maneuver for more grounds in the political arena . . .

A very clear picture of how serious we should take the Asianisation of Madang could be seen during the riot last week where all things and beings Asian had an emergency shut down for a day and a half.

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