CAUGHT AGAIN. PETER O’NEILL’S CRONIES TRY THE SAME STRATEGY TWICE TO STOP A UNIVERSITY STUDENT BOYCOTT:

by NIUGINI OUTLOOK

Every attempt made by Peter O’Neill’s briefcase carriers (which includes UPNG VC Albert Mellam) to stop the university boycotts at UPNG and Unitech have failed, and they’re getting desperate. They have tried all kinds of divide and conquer tactics.

Early on, they tried handing out alcohol and cash hoping to split off some provincial groups from the the rest and failing that, hoping to create campus violence (that would bring in the police).

More recently they have tried to separate the do-something students from the do-nothings, hoping to attract the do-nothings to go back to class, thus destroying the boycott.

Last Wednesday’s shooting of UPNG students managed to stop that tactic dead in its tracks, as the violence tended to make the students more unified.

What happened at Unitech yesterday only looked innocent to the ignorant. What could be described as just another ethnic fight is far more than that.

Once more, the O’Neill regime’s tactics have been laid bare by the fact that they used the same tactic twice.

SRC PRESIDENT LED VIOLENCE AT A UPNG FORUM: 2014

Some will recall that in July 2014, university students were up in arms. Again, the reason was Dictator O’Neill, specifically his signing of the letter authorizing payment of over K70 million to sleaze lawyer Paul Paraka over drinks at George’s Bar at the Airways Hotel. O’Neill of course resorted to his legal maneuvers, which included the sacking of Sam Koim.

UPNG first seemed to take the lead with a well intended demonstration at Unagi Oval (Peter O’Neill learnt from that not to allow any more demonstrations against him). In charge was SRC President Bobby Yupi, a Southern Highlander.

On the other side of the island, Unitech students, led by SRC President Eddie Nagual, held a large rally at Eriku Oval, in which a petition and ultimatum demanding the stepdown of Peter O’Neill within 48 hours was made public. It seemed that the universities were more or less in sequence. Mr Nagual was fresh out of Unitech’s victory and successful humiliation of Peter O’Neill in bringing back the Vice Chancellor, Dr Albert Schram after his illegal deportation to cover up high level corruption at Unitech by Chancellor Philip Stagg, Pro Chancellor Ralph Saulep, and recently departed former VC Misty Baloiloi.

The difference between UPNG and Unitech was that UPNG SRC suddenly seemed to get cold feet, which then dragged down the Unitech effort. UPNG SRC President Bobby Yupi seemed to move at half speed on everything, angering many UPNG students. There were many whispers that Peter O’Neill had bought off Yupi.

A forum was scheduled for 8 July 2014 at UPNG in response to growing student anger at Yupi’s apparent obstructionism (see full account athttp://www.pngblogs.com/…/a-personal-account-of-upng-tensio…). The Electoral Commission had already conducted a referendum on the boycott, but the results had not yet been released. News accounts indicate that Mr Yupi had been suspended as SRC President but he was present at a distance but within earshot with a few SHP colleagues.
The Forum discussions focused mainly on ‘Paraka Gate’ but then a speaker mentioned Bobby Yupi’s name.

Yupi and his small mob immediately responded in anger, and threatened physical violence at the speaker and those around him. After about 30 minutes, they retreated to outside the Forum area to a carpark, grabbed bush knives and some guns from one of the vehicles, and with war cries, went on attack to those at the Forum, scattering everyone. Then came a counterattack from students of all ethnic backgrounds, armed with sticks, stones and iron bars. Yupi and his group then fired several shots, fortunately hitting no one.

Moresby police then arrived, forming a barricade around the campus, then went after Yupi and his group, which resulted in general chaos from all sides and the firing of tear gas and several police shots.

Yupi had clearly broken the law and students expected him to be arrested. He was not. VC Albert Mellam did not terminate him from studies either. He ended up being totally unpunished for his actions.

It was clear that Bobby Yupi and his group of Southern Highlands students (not by any means including all SHP students) had planned this incursion and were just waiting for the right moment.

With that day of violence and the police incursion, the UPNG effort completely fell apart and Unitech’s efforts, lacking necessary backup from UPNG, also fell apart. The only justice that was achieved was the total smearing of Bobby Yupi’s reputation on the internet. Even today, it is easy to find the news of Yupi’s involvement and likely corruption in events related to the UPNG student protests. Presumably no honest organization would touch him were he to apply for a job with them. His reputation is destroyed, possibly permanently.

SRC PRESIDENT LED VIOLENCE AT A UNITECH FORUM: 2016

And now we see the tables turned, with UPNG and Unitech switching roles!

The violence that happened yesterday at the Unitech forum was a mirror image of what happened in 2014. Again, there was a forum that was peaceful. Again, a group of SHP students waited for the right moment when they could say they felt ‘insulted’. Again, hidden weapons were brought out.

It was all planned. Last Wednesday was the UPNG student shootout. At that time, we learnt that Unitech students blocked university entrances and set a vehicle ablaze in their outrage. Things settled down after that. There was no threat by Lae Police to enter the campus, and no other perceivable threat seemed on the horizon.

Yet the following day at around 1PM, a group of about 4 SHP students entered the Ramoi #18 store at Eriku shopping area and bought at least 20 bush knives. These were the very bush knives used in yesterday’s planned attack on the other students, for which the Engan students ended up taking the lead and heading the return aggression.

Like Bobby Yupi, Unitech SRC President David Kelma has been long suspected of being on the take, along with other SHP students, through some kinds of payoffs from SHP politicians, including Governor William Powi. Niugini Outlook revealed what had been reported to us by informants on the Unitech campus about specific obstructions of progress that David Kelma had imposed on the rest of the SRC. We challenged Kelma to show the bank statements of himself and the SHP students association if they had nothing to hide. Apparently they did have something to hide, as they have refused up to this day to prove their innocence.

However, bank statements alone won’t prove their innocence. Around 2 weeks ago, bundles of cash were delivered to SHP students and they proceeded to drink it up and as they got suitably drunk, began to talk out where the money had come from. We haven’t been able to determine the exact source, but it obviously is from some party wanting to influence SHP students only to create problems for the boycott or otherwise end it.
Yesterday, they paid for their alcohol with their act of violence. David Kelma, replicating Bobby Yupi, pulled out a gun during the ensuing fight but did not fire it.

ANOTHER O’NEILL ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE STUDENT BOYCOTTS

It is clear that O’Neill’s briefcase carriers are getting to the point of desperation. We assume that the purpose of yesterday’s planned attack by the SHP students on the Engans and others was to cause sufficient chaos that would bring in the police. Once the police were brought in, Unitech would transform from what has been a peaceful campus through nearly all of the boycott, to one in which the government could depose the Vice Chancellor under some pretense, and pressure the students to go back to class.

It didn’t work any more than the police brutality last week against UPNG students has worked. Now there seems no uncertainty that Unitech students are not going back to class at all this week.

What is remarkable is that the reports we have are that the Engan students have decided not to carry a grudge against the SHP students, but instead try to mend fences and push forward in unity to bring down Peter O’Neill as Prime Minister, even if it means the loss of the school year.

This really should be the end of the line for David Kelma, in that there is now ample evidence of his primitive behavior that he should be permanently terminated from studies at Unitech. This is long coming, his corruption has become far too obvious to ignore. Of course, Bobby Yupi was never arrested, much less prosecuted, much less convicted for leading his violent attack on basically unarmed innocent students. At least his reputation was permanently destroyed in the court of public opinion and remains etched onto internet pages to this day.

It is reported as of late last night from Unitech that Engan students will be demanding the resignation SRC President David Kelma, effective immediately. They should be demanding his arrest and imprisonment.

We at Niugini Outlook can at least assure the Unitech students that even if they don’t get justice for David Kelma’s sellout of the movement, David Kelma has also been tried in the court of public opinion on the internet and all the evidence of how he behaved during the boycott will remain accessible to all, anyplace in the world, for many, many years.

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