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WEDNESDAY it is, and we wish all our readers a most pleasant day.
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AT least two Parliamentarians have thunderously responded to the
suggestion that the present Parliament might be extended. The core of
their response appears to be that Papua New Guineans have the democratic
right to vote now and to make changes.
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THAT’S fine if law and order can be maintained or should we say created,
so that the people can actually register a vote without threats. The
point is that in certain areas of PNG, that desirable outcome seems less
likely to occur as the days pass.
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THE alternative scenario of violence, of widespread use of high-powered
weapons to cower ordinary people, of ballot box destruction, of the
intimidation of women voters and the wholesale buying of votes appears
certain to be the reality. What kind of Parliament will that produce?
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THE sporting fraternity will be overjoyed at the success of the Trukai
Fun Run auction last Thursday – a new record K375,250 was set. The money
will help fund the reportedly 500-strong team to be sent to the South
Pacific Games in Apia in August. Well done, all
concerned!
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AND yes – we follow that item with our usual plea to big business to
duplicate this major effort for the
contemporary arts of PNG, easily the most neglected sector of our
culture. While our athletes and
sportspersons can relax a little as the money flows in, our artists live
an often-desperate hand-to-mouth existence on the fringes of society.
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YET politicians and other leaders never cease to praise the works of our
painters, potters, writers and musicians, our sculptors and theatre
directors – the list is endless. Unfortunately, the minimum financial
underpinning needed by these talented people is rarely forthcoming.
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PERHAPS it’s time for our artists to band together and make an approach
to the incoming government; few nations these days do not have an active
Ministry of the Arts, responsible for funding and developing the whole
range of creative arts disciplines. In our case, with one of the richest
and most diverse cultural heritages on the planet, the absence of such a
ministry is a crime.
– Dee Nesenolis
 
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