Nightclubs promote evil, should be banned

THE call made by Attorney-General & Minister for Justice Dr Allan Marat to ban nightclubs in Papua New Guinea has stirred a hypercritical and cautious reaction by critics and nightclub owners in recently.
Accordingly, critics argued that nightclubs provide employment for the people of Papua New Guinea and therefore should remain.
Whilst everyone has a right to express his views, I would like to put the record straight in support of the call made by Dr Marat and perhaps further deliberate on why nightclubs should be banned.
Firstly, the counterclaim made by the National AIDS Council’s care and counselling manager David Passirem that nightclubs do not promote evil and that they are a source of employment for Papua New Guineans hold no ground for a strong debate on the issue.
The issue propagated by Dr Marat specifically touches on morality and this should be the point of argument.
For the sake of everyone, Dr Marat makes no apologies to anyone for his remarks. He maintains his stance that nightclubs promote evil and therefore, should be banned in Papua New Guinea.
Although this is not an official Government position, individual leaders like Dr Marat are at the forefront of change whether it is through political or whatever means it takes.
Often, such controversial steps are portrayed as eccentric or even unpopular, yet experience had shown that many of the changes, which had taken place over the last century in other nations, were accredited to the efforts of individuals who have demanded through positive action that their views instigate change in society.
We have, over the years tolerated nightclub industry in all forms, from strip shows and wet t-shirt competitions to other malicious activities.
These are forms of entertainment that if any serious research is done, it will show these to be the most threatening and addictive to our young people, particularly for young girls of our country, as well as the most undesirable forms of entertainment in existence.
We have seen an increase in go-go clubs and prostitution recently. All these must stop immediately.
It is Dr Marat’s firm belief that morality is the foundation for an affluent and prosperous nation.
Our way forward must involve us finding the rightful ways to address the social problems that confront us.
Papua New Guinea has acquired an unenviable reputation for the scale and gravity of its law and order problems. These problems are themselves part of a larger crises of moral breakdown in our society.
The moral breakdown of our society has caused a breakdown in family units and that has given rise to lawlessness, criminality, corruption, increase of HIV/AIDS and so forth.
The issue here is that nightclubs are contributing to moral breakdown in our society. This undoubtedly is a fact that no one can deny including the nightclub owners or any social counsellor like Passirem.
Visit any night clubs in Port Moresby and see for yourself.
Married men enjoying themselves with other women while their wives and children are suffering at home with no food and money.
Strip shows and wet t-shirt competitions are still going on. Aren’t these acts of evil?
Dr Marat was right to say that young girls are being used as sex slaves in nightclubs and hotels in major centres of this country.
These hotels and nightclubs are mostly owned and operated by a certain group of foreigners who do not have respect for our daughters and women. They manipulate and abuse them.
Our Melanesian culture places great respect for our young girls. This is not the case now. They are treated as sex objects.
As a national leader, Dr Marat wants to fight evil and any foreign practices that are brought into this country with an intention to destroy Melanesian and Christian family values.
He is therefore calling upon genuine Papua New Guineans to join in the fight.
Everyone, including churches, mothers and children must unite for this cause.
This is not a fight against flesh and blood but against forces of evil. We must take action now to save the future of our nation.
Over to you people of Papua New Guinea.

Camillus Vovore
First Secretary
Ministry of Justice & Attorney-General