PNGBLOGS

By JOE BEIG I have been following the asylum seekers’ processing plan since Somare government rushed the establishment of the center at Lombrum Maritime Base in Manus Province during the last Parliament. The plan was eventually formalized between the Australia and Papua New Guinea governments on Friday, 26th July 2013 in Brisbane, Australia. The PNG Prime Minister, Mr. Peter O’Neill returned home on Tuesday, 23rd July 2013 and proudly announced the significant signing of this agreement. He boasted and vigorously defended his government’s decision to accept Mr. Kevin Rudd’s plan to process asylum seekers at Manus processing center and possibly resettle the genuine asylum seekers there or elsewhere in PNG. He went on to state that because we are signatory to various international agreements, we are obliged to provide humanitarian assistance as well as assisting Australia because of our regional position to people of such status. He finally gave uncompromising position that PNG will stan

By JOE BEIG I have been following the asylum seekers’ processing plan since Somare government rushed the establishment of the center at Lombrum Maritime Base in Manus Province during the last Parliament. The plan was eventually formalized between the Australia and Papua New Guinea governments on Friday, 26th July 2013 in Brisbane, Australia. The PNG Prime Minister, Mr. Peter O’Neill returned home on Tuesday, 23rd July 2013 and proudly announced the significant signing of this agreement. He boasted and vigorously defended his government’s decision to accept Mr. Kevin Rudd’s plan to process asylum seekers at Manus processing center and possibly resettle the genuine asylum seekers there or elsewhere in PNG. He went on to state that because we are signatory to various international agreements, we are obliged to provide humanitarian assistance as well as assisting Australia because of our regional position to people of such status. He finally gave uncompromising position that PNG will

PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill has launched a scathing attack on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, accusing him of spreading ''nonsense'' and ''completely untrue'' claims over foreign aid linked to the asylum seeker deal. In an escalation of comments made via the PNG High Commission in Canberra on Wednesday, Mr O'Neill accused the opposition of misrepresenting him for political reasons. The criticism overshadowed the opposition's policy announcement expanding on its plans to turn back the asylum seeker boats. Mr Abbott said on Thursday that the policy - called ''Operation Sovereign Borders'' - would see better co-ordination of the nation's border security agencies and a three-star military commander reporting directly to the immigration minister. Within 100 days of the election a Coalition government would develop protocols for Operation Relex II, the name of the strategy to turn back the boats ''where it is safe to

PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill has launched a scathing attack on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, accusing him of spreading ''nonsense'' and ''completely untrue'' claims over foreign aid linked to the asylum seeker deal. In an escalation of comments made via the PNG High Commission in Canberra on Wednesday, Mr O'Neill accused the opposition of misrepresenting him for political reasons. The criticism overshadowed the opposition's policy announcement expanding on its plans to turn back the asylum seeker boats. Mr Abbott said on Thursday that the policy - called ''Operation Sovereign Borders'' - would see better co-ordination of the nation's border security agencies and a three-star military commander reporting directly to the immigration minister. Within 100 days of the election a Coalition government would develop protocols for Operation Relex II, the name of the strategy to turn back the boats ''where it i

By DR SUSAN MERRELL  And he sold our reputation, On the proceeds he will dine, In a land of golden plenty… Where just the dregs are mine.                         (With apologies to) Idris Davies The bilateral PNG solution to Australia's refugee problem is wrong on so many levels but I am going to address just one: …from the point of view of Papua New Guinea It is already well recognised that the agreement is a cynical and expensive exercise at vote grabbing by the desperate leader of an ailing Labor Party whose wresting of power from Julia Gillard at the eleventh hour requires him to pull a rabbit out of a hat. And does Rudd care about the consequences for anyone other than himself, first, - the Labor Party, second  - and Australia, third?  I doubt it. There are more people to consider: like the refugees (who have many people advocating, quite rightly, for them including the UN). Then there's PNG. Here we have a nation battling to achieve modernity: struggling with the concept

By  LUCAS KIAP It is very sad and emotional for me when people celebrate over a dead man, whom has families and relatives, and they will definitely be wept and cried over his dead body no matter what the society thinks of what kind of person he was. In this world no one is perfect in the eyes of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. All men have sinned and he is one of them, unfortunately, he is the most obvious scapegoat of all the misconception we have had about the laws of this country, and he has paid the price with his life. As long as the laws of this country are concerned, he has broken the laws of this country and the court needs to prove that and put him behind bars not to mentioned the risk he perceived to pose to the society and our law enforcers which eventually led to his death. He is already a dead man now and PNG as usual will soon get over with it. The question is – are we really satisfied of his death because the State has spent so many millions of kina hunting dow

By  LUCAS KIAP It is very sad and emotional for me when people celebrate over a dead man, whom has families and relatives, and they will definitely be wept and cried over his dead body no matter what the society thinks of what kind of person he was. In this world no one is perfect in the eyes of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. All men have sinned and he is one of them, unfortunately, he is the most obvious scapegoat of all the misconception we have had about the laws of this country, and he has paid the price with his life. As long as the laws of this country are concerned, he has broken the laws of this country and the court needs to prove that and put him behind bars not to mentioned the risk he perceived to pose to the society and our law enforcers which eventually led to his death. He is already a dead man now and PNG as usual will soon get over with it. The question is – are we really satisfied of his death because the State has spent so many millions of kina hunting

Papua New Guineans are warning the Federal Government that its new asylum seeker plan will create hostility and add to problems in the developing country. Local politicians have questioned how the plan will be financed, and say resettled refugees may face hostility from locals. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the plan to send asylum seekers to PNG fulfils Australia's "legal and compassionate obligations", but the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's own website details a litany of social problems in the country. It says anyone travelling to PNG should exercise a high degree of caution, warning of high levels of serious crime including violent assault and rape, as well of high rates of HIV/AIDS, endemic levels of cholera, and poor health facilities. PNG's former opposition leader Dame Carol Kidu says the country already has too many displaced people. "We have not heard the technical details being developed I'm sure by the bureaucrats of exactly how thi

Papua New Guineans are warning the Federal Government that its new asylum seeker plan will create hostility and add to problems in the developing country. Local politicians have questioned how the plan will be financed, and say resettled refugees may face hostility from locals. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the plan to send asylum seekers to PNG fulfils Australia's "legal and compassionate obligations", but the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's own website details a litany of social problems in the country. It says anyone travelling to PNG should exercise a high degree of caution, warning of high levels of serious crime including violent assault and rape, as well of high rates of HIV/AIDS, endemic levels of cholera, and poor health facilities. PNG's former opposition leader Dame Carol Kidu says the country already has too many displaced people. "We have not heard the technical details being developed I'm sure by the bureaucrats of exa