STUDENTS SAGA A NATIONAL THREAT– GANIM WABAG MP


by CYRIL GARE
Robert Ganim has called on the Government especially the police to treat the current anti-government campaigns in the country led by university students as a “threat to national security” and called for an independent inquiry into the whole saga. Mr. Ganim who is also Chairman of the Parliamentary Referral Committee on Education (PRCE), said the fact that the students have now taken their issue out of the campus and into the vulnerable public in the provinces was a serious issue of concern which authorities must not down play and undermine. Mr. Ganim was reacting to last Thursday’s riot in Wabag town which left many innocent public injured and thousands of kina in damages to properties.

He condemned the unauthorised public rally that led to the riot and called on the police to investigate and arrest those responsbile. Mr. Ganim said several people were injured from wild stone-throwing in town while several vehicles including PPC’s, Enga teachers college, Sopas nursing college and other innocent motorists on public road had their vehicles damaged. Wabag’s pride, the BSP bank building also suffered severe damages. The Wabag MP said he was on electoral rounds in the district when the incident occurred and was the first to talk to Enga acting Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Epenes Nilin and learnt that police did not authorise the rally.

The riot was sparked off after police tried to stop a public rally hosted by Enga students from the University of Technology. A second rally on Friday which was authorised by police was led by Enga students from the University of Papua New Guinea who ended it peacefully with copies of petitions intended for the six Enga MPs presented to Wabag police. Mr. Ganim acknowledged receipt of a petition from UPNG Enga students calling for him and other five (5) Enga MP’s to withdraw from the O’Neill led Government. The Wabag MP maintained that he remains an active member of the ruling PNC party. Mr. Ganim said the ruling PNC led Government has done a lot in just a short term in Government in almost all facets of service delivery.

Mr. Ganim said the petition was same as that presented to Prime Minister through NCD Governor, Powes Parkop at UPNG on May 19 except a new cover letter. He said the Prime Minister has sufficiently responded to all issues raised in the students’ petition even to the point of taking out full colour centre spread advertisements in the Post Courier, The National and Sunday Chronicle newspapers respectively for public consumption. He said Wabag district and Enga as a whole was benefitting from the O’Neill Dion Government like never before in impact projects such as the K500 million state-of-art hospital to be built at Irelya near Wabag town, the multi-million hydro-power project, and the K23 million integrated agro project at Sirunki – to name a few - initiated by the Enga provincial government with Grand Chief Sir Peter Ipatas at the helm. “I’d like our good students to see it in this context than being blinded by ulterior motives of puppet stringers who are only using students for their selfish political ends,” Ganim said.

A former provincial education advisor (Enga) himself, Mr. Ganim said he was proud to have contributed to laying the foundation for the success of Enga’s free education policy which today was the envy for many. He urged all Enga tertiary students to apply prudence and act responsibly in this trying times as education today was fast becoming a scarce commodity for the privileged.

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