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Fears major gas project could spark social unrest

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 IRIN NEWS   There are fears that a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) could lead to social unrest: Just one year into the four-year construction phase of the project there are some ominous signs, observers say. Outside the capital Port Moresby near the LNG plant site, young men employed by Esso Highlands (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil), the company running the project, guzzle their earnings, disrupting Sunday church with rowdy drunkenness, while in a nearby village, five people were recently killed in a land dispute, according to an independent social and environmental compliance monitoring report . “While there’s potential for positive access to resources for funds for development, there’s also the potential to exacerbate conflict as we have seen in the past in Bougainville and in other countries that have a natural resource boom,” said Jock Paul, a humanitarian affairs officer with the UN Office for the Coordination of Human

Fears major gas project could spark social unrest

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 IRIN NEWS   There are fears that a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) could lead to social unrest: Just one year into the four-year construction phase of the project there are some ominous signs, observers say. Outside the capital Port Moresby near the LNG plant site, young men employed by Esso Highlands (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil), the company running the project, guzzle their earnings, disrupting Sunday church with rowdy drunkenness, while in a nearby village, five people were recently killed in a land dispute, according to an independent social and environmental compliance monitoring report . “While there’s potential for positive access to resources for funds for development, there’s also the potential to exacerbate conflict as we have seen in the past in Bougainville and in other countries that have a natural resource boom,” said Jock Paul, a humanitarian affairs officer with the UN Office for the Coordination of H

DISTRICT SUPPORT OR MP SUPPORT?

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DISTRICT SUPPORT OR MP SUPPORT?

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Serious Abuses at Barrick's Pogera Gold Mine

Human Rights Watch Private security personnel employed at a gold mine in Papua New Guinea have been implicated in alleged gang rapes and other violent abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Porgera mine has produced billions of dollars of gold in its twenty years of operation, and is operated and 95 percent owned by Barrick Gold, a Canadian company that is the world's largest gold producer. The 94-page report, " Gold's Costly Dividend: Human Rights Impacts of Papua New Guinea's Porgera Gold Mine ," identifies systemic failures on the part of Toronto-based Barrick Gold that kept the company from recognizing the risk of abuses, and responding to allegations that abuses had occurred. The report examines the impact of Canada's failure to regulate the overseas activities of its companies and also calls on Barrick to address environmental and health concerns around the mine with greater transparency. "We interviewed women who described

Serious Abuses at Barrick's Pogera Gold Mine

Human Rights Watch Private security personnel employed at a gold mine in Papua New Guinea have been implicated in alleged gang rapes and other violent abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Porgera mine has produced billions of dollars of gold in its twenty years of operation, and is operated and 95 percent owned by Barrick Gold, a Canadian company that is the world's largest gold producer. The 94-page report, " Gold's Costly Dividend: Human Rights Impacts of Papua New Guinea's Porgera Gold Mine ," identifies systemic failures on the part of Toronto-based Barrick Gold that kept the company from recognizing the risk of abuses, and responding to allegations that abuses had occurred. The report examines the impact of Canada's failure to regulate the overseas activities of its companies and also calls on Barrick to address environmental and health concerns around the mine with greater transparency. "We interviewed women who descr

Paralysis in the Land of the Sukudunumi God

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By MONDAY TANARI Last week, the people of Tunisia in Africa rose against their dictator, running him and his family out of the country and looting the great wealth they left behind. In Europe, thousands of Albanians took to the streets, fed up with the status quo. And in Egypt, there have been massive protests against President Hosni Mubarak. These movements are only the latest in a long string that have toppled many unjust governments. In recent years, people power revolutions have occurred in the Philippines as well as in next door Indonesia. They can pop up everywhere. But not today in PNG. Why not? Some say that it’s because Michael Somare is no dictator and thus, not that bad. While in a strict legal sense that may be true, Somare and his NA mob have managed the same ballot stuffing and vote stealing that dictators often use to stay in power. On top of that Somare uses his top deputy dog, Jeffrey Nape, to manipulate Parliamentary rules with contempt, thus preventing vot

Paralysis in the Land of the Sukudunumi God

Image
By MONDAY TANARI Last week, the people of Tunisia in Africa rose against their dictator, running him and his family out of the country and looting the great wealth they left behind. In Europe, thousands of Albanians took to the streets, fed up with the status quo. And in Egypt, there have been massive protests against President Hosni Mubarak. These movements are only the latest in a long string that have toppled many unjust governments. In recent years, people power revolutions have occurred in the Philippines as well as in next door Indonesia. They can pop up everywhere. But not today in PNG. Why not? Some say that it’s because Michael Somare is no dictator and thus, not that bad. While in a strict legal sense that may be true, Somare and his NA mob have managed the same ballot stuffing and vote stealing that dictators often use to stay in power. On top of that Somare uses his top deputy dog, Jeffrey Nape, to manipulate Parliamentary rules with contempt, thus preventing

Police accused of hiding evidence in rape case

GEESCHE JACOBSEN Sydney Morning Herald OFFICERS from the Australian Federal Police allegedly stole and concealed documents that could have helped a former pilot and businessman fight allegations he had raped a 14-year-old girl in PNG. Fred Martens, a millionaire working in Papua New Guinea, served more than 2½ years in prison after being convicted under Australian child sex tourism laws. But after his family found some of the missing documents he earned a rare second appeal in November 2009 and had his conviction quashed. In two multimillion-dollar compensation claims Mr Martens, 62, is now suing the Australian and PNG governments, and members of the AFP and PNG police, over their alleged misconduct. The claims allege his false prosecution led to the failure of his businesses and the loss of PNG assets - including 11 boats, six planes and dozens of construction and earth-moving vehicles. This is the latest in a series of embarrassing cases involving the AFP, which last month settled a