AS A response to increasing ethnic clashes in major cities of PNG, some national MPs have suggested a few legislative changes that in some ways would infringe civil liberties that people enjoy.
Of concern is the recommendation for guided democracy to be adopted along with the communal registration act. One possible clause in the proposed communal registration act is that tribes would loose land title and ownership if they engage in tribal fights – a contemptuous and suspicious means of land acquisition by the State. Thus, political hegemony compounded by parochial interest common among ruling parties in government, will use the unrestricted authority to the disadvantage of others.
The act will surely heighten anarchic behaviour than its resolution.
To my knowledge, PNG is one of the five countries in which land is owned by the people, and that right should not be taken away easily just because they have engaged in tribal conflict.
If we are not cautious, guided democracy and in particular the communal registration act, will see the tyranny of the State exerting undue force over tribal and individual rights to life and existence.
Currently, people are still ignorant as to what will entail in a guided democracy, and the specific clauses of the communal registration act.
Indeed, opinions will be divided on this issue.
On the one hand, you will have people who want to see tougher laws, and will regard guided democracy as the way. These people are hardened legalists who wish to see justice executed without the involvement of love and humane concerns.
On the other hand, you will have people who view tougher penalties and meticulous controls by the State as an infringement to human rights and freedom. These people view guide and control as a matter of the internal forum, and any exterior restrictions are regarded as manipulative and inhumane.
Ironically, people enjoy civil liberties in a country branded as paradise, yet they create hell for each other.
They have in possession good laws that actually protect individual freedom and privilege, yet they are part and parcel of law and order situation deteriorating.
Proponents of guided democracy will infer that the freedom people enjoy is the very cause of all their predilections and to restrict that will solve problems.
However, a guided democracy, with good political will, will not help improve the law and order situation.
The decision for such legislative alternations is perhaps a desperate attempt in suggesting solutions to the ever increasing situation of social decay and lawlessness without giving much reflection.
For instance, the Gun Committee Report recommended a series of legal and policy directives regarding lawlessness, which were within the scope of the country’s jurisprudence. Strange enough, the report was never tabled in Parliament to the consternation of many people.
The MPs have been quiescent about it, including the then deputy prime minister Don Polye, who seems to be a proponent of guided democracy this time. The recommendation of the gun committee included a wide range of recommendations with the view of solving anarchic behaviour which were on the rise.
Will the proposed legislative alternation be any different?
Indeed, a disconcerting finding of the gun committee was that most of the purchase of guns and ammunition in the country was done by politicians and recommended that they be the first ones to dispose them or even be prosecuted for that matter.
More sinister is that most of the tribal warfare in the Highlands is election-related, and politicians should bear the blame for causing them.
Politicians use criminals to do their dirty jobs, and we need to get to the bottom of things, if we seriously want to solve the law and order pandemonium. Only through the admission of guilt and the resolve by MPs will people see immense reduction in law and order conundrums.
Before any tough laws are made for our people, the Leadership Code along with electoral laws should be reviewed to restrict any abuse of authority by renegade politicians, and the choice of who should lead people. Ironing out the loopholes in the Leadership Code and electoral requirements will see honest and accountable leaders guiding this country.
Our politicians use corrupt means to get into power and once in power, they use their position to enrich themselves. The frequent alterations to Acts of Parliament spring from selfish ambitions and from foreign interest. Scarcely one finds good laws given attention on the floor of Parliament that concerns the dignity, the decency, the protection and the welfare of citizens.
As citizens of Papua New Guinea, we need to seriously question those MPs the reason for trying to introduce tougher laws for the country.
At the outset, the basic proposition is that any tougher laws introduced into this country will never work, and for that matter any legal authoritarianism and centralisation of powers common in guided democracy.
Papua New Guinea has been infested with greed and corruption for too long, but unlike Fiji, there was never a military coup to take control of the State. There has been one attempt which failed miserably.
PNG is so divided by tribes and loyalties that any attempts at a military rule, or for that matter a dictatorship, is a remote possibility. So a strictly centralised control of authority will be counter-productive.
A guided democracy is actually an oddball for PNG. For instance, the law on capital punishment was never executed, and there are reasons for that. With the law on capital punishment in place, rape and murder cases never seem to decrease as the law never acted as a deterrent.
PNG has some tough laws, however, the enforcement of such laws failed because implementing agencies don’t seem to get their acts together.
The suggestion for guided democracy is indeed a defeat to the quality of leadership by those who propose it. They see no other way of problem-solving then by involving the process of legal authoritarianism. Only genuine leaders see problem-solving by involving people through dialogue and concession.
First we have people in Parliament who make very important decisions for the country, who in actual fact, possess no leadership qualities and skills, especially in the area of negotiation and offering good advice regarding people’s livelihood.
Second the electoral process is such a mess that political aspirants can usurp people’s mandate by contemptuous means.
The law allows people whose previous character had been dubious, some criminals, to assume public office without any qualms.
A guided democracy legislated by politicians lacking leadership qualities will become counter-productive.
In any society, there is social hierarchy and either the centre or the top of that social hierarchy are people who are leaders.
In some societies, they are usually regarded as the epitome of society because they carry with them the concerns and responsibilities of society. This phenomenon was exactly found among some of the big-men in traditional Melanesian societies. They never abused people and their authority was never used against people but for and with the people.
The problem with politicians today is that they lack leadership qualities. The frequent infringements of the Leadership Code are a direct demonstration of this lack, and there are many more people in public office who are really unbecoming of leaders.
Finally, the bottom line is that we need authentic leadership to solve the law and order problems, and not a guided democracy.