The Papua New Guineans go into slumber when it comes to Government's public policies. Albeit, the public policies may be unfavourable to their daily living yet they ignore the danger before them because the society is fragmented by cultural diversity. In the absent of collective people’s power, the students fills the missing gap bringing the nation's divided social spirit together to stand against the Papua New Guinea Government's public policies.
In 2001 the University of Papua New Guinea Student's led one of the historic protest against the Papua New Guinea government. The students’ power have mobilized people’s power and successfully drag the Highest Office of the Land- the Office of Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea to the street of Port Moresby. However, at the end, it cost students’ lives, many injuries and millions of kina property damage.
This is a kind of footnote to my own study-journey at the University of Papua New Guinea as a student leader. In 2001, student unrest wrote a new page in Papua New Guinea history.
Tragically there were three student deaths as a direct result of their opposing the government’s vigorous push towards privatising public assets into privately owned entities.
The World Bank and The International Monetary Fund (IMF) were instrumental in promoting the scheme, but our PNG Government would have to approve it. The privatisation concept was perhaps excellent in itself, if only there were one hundred percent accountability for tracking the funds, and transparency of all transactions. The government conspicuously failed to consult the public (the voters) or conduct a mass awareness campaign, which should involve students and other stakeholders. The information on the envisaged sale did not even reach the rural communities. Politically aware students represented the silent majority to fight against the government’s indifference to ordinary opinion. The student body mobilised more than twenty thousand people to be involved in the protest. Most of the students’ actions were based on emotional rather than rational responses. Many were performing academically poorly, and did not have a placing for academic year 2002.
Some students viewed Australia as part of, or allied to, the World Bank and the IMF. One student group stationed itself in front of the Australian High Commission. The protesting students viewed Australia, in one way or the other, as having direct influence on Papua New Guinea’s development. The gathering signalled a deep dissatisfaction, the chronic smoke that burn in many Papua New Guineans hearts.
The government decided to disperse the gathering and break up the protesters. The Morauta-led government was responsible for the killing of three students. The following brief account details the chronology of the protest that took place, and which brought about a lethal outcome and was significant as a modern historical event in Papua New Guinea.
On 18 June 2001: All the provincial students’ groups met in the forum area to discuss the privatisation legislation. The chief discussions were centred on the World Bank and IMF sponsored programs regarding privatisation, structural adjustment, and land reform.
June 19: The student body to an enormous extent boycotted classes, in order to carry out public awareness. All the provincial groups’ leaders led their members to the main settlement areas. Some went as far as fifteen mile; Southern Highlanders went to eight mile. The entire city was influenced by the students’ presentation.
June 20: In the afternoon students had an emergency vote by secret ballot. The result of the vote went in favour of continuing with an active protest. After learning that the result was in favour of protest, the students went that night into the settlement areas to gain support. They influenced the local people and next day Waigani Drive swelled with bigger numbers.
June 21: The students marched to the Waigani Drive government offices demanding that the head of government receive their petition. The huge crowd gathered to support the students’ demands. High-powered ministerial delegates were sent to receive the petition. They included the Enga Governor Peter Ipatas and Hon. Philemon Embel. But the students’ leader did not hand over the petition, saying that the demands still stood. However, they wanted the Head of Cabinet to accept the petition. They would not give their petition to ‘the tea boys or the cleaners’, referring to cabinet ministers. Public transport was halted. The primary and secondary schools closed. The students continued going out recruiting more support.
June 22: The crowd had by this time increased to well over ten thousand. Some estimated it at up to twenty thousand. No sign of the Prime Minister.
The students continued the night protest at Waigani Drive. The police blocked off Sir John Guise Drive at Waigani Drive and the roundabout outside the Somare foundation. They refrained from using force to remove the students. They were influenced by the students’ constructive campaign. Primary and secondary schools stayed closed. University students and members of the public had remained overnight on Waigani.
11.30am (June 22): As one of the student leaders, I took the microphone appealing to all students to return to class, since the Prime Minster had agreed to receive the petition sometime today. Our protest had served its immediate purpose. Many students did not want to return to class or disperse, and some even physically threatened me. If we had returned to class, three students would not have died. (In 2007, when I returned from home to work, I was met by Peter (student at the time of protest) from Jiwaka who saluted me and said: “What you did was the right thing but we went against you.” Many students made the decision on an emotional basis rather than a rational one, which
Peter confirmed.)
June 23: The protests carried on. The crowd still swelled. The sit-in protest continued for twenty four hours. Students had remained on the street overnight outside Government House ever since the protest started. The people were also with them in support of the students. The Prime Minister issued a statement distancing himself from the protest, claiming it was being led by intending 2002 election candidates and other politicians with vested interests, and for personal gain. This did not have any influence on the protest.
June 25: The students had strongly influenced the population. Police power in the capital was seen as being weak. The police officers were also fed up with the government because they could not see any tangible changes in rural PNG. Thus many of them supported the protest. The protest took a non-violent approach. But under the direction of the Prime
Minster the mobile squad from Mount Hagen was deployed to deal with the situation.
2pm (June 25): The Prime Minister agreed to receive the petition. The Student Representative Council President Augustine Mologes demanded that the Prime Minister respond within twenty-four hours, which was an unrealistic and irrational demand.
At 6pm, students were still stationed at Waigani Drive and defying the police order to disperse.
At approximately 10.50pm Mount Hagen based police who had been brought to the capital were given the order to clear the crowds, using force if necessary. Live ammunition was used. Many in the crowd were injured. Around midnight students arrived back at the campus and woke those in the dorm. Two government vehicles were burnt out. Roads were blocked.
Between 2.30am and 3.30am the Big Rooster building at Rainbow, Gerehu, was set on fire.
Between 3.30am and 6.00am, a heavy police presence was maintained at the University of Papua New Guinea main campus, along the roadside, and officers discharged many bullets freely into the campus.
Between 6.00am and 7.30am, police shot dead three unarmed students inside the campus, and one died at the hospital. Many others had severe injuries. The situation in Port Moresby became very tense. Limited movement was possible, and businesses and schools remained closed.
The students successfully mobilised people’s power to bring down the Prime Minster from his office to Waigani Street to receive the petition. However, the government did not support the students’ voice. In fact the privatisation bid was successfully implemented by the government, which Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation was bought off by Bank
South Pacific. A nation’s growth does not consist of successive changes of government.
It is the people who should change, and therefore people should be involved in all major changes. Government cannot push policy down people’s throats if they do not like it. The government must facilitate changes, and not force people to change. That will never work.24
Acknowledgments
The chronology of this event has been taken from The National Newspaper published on 27 June 2001 (page11) and written in my book titled Goal Achieved: Grade Six Dropout to University Graduate page 134-137. Anyone interested in this book can place their order through this blog website.
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