Angabanga women seek help

By JULIA DAIA BORE
WOMEN living along the Angabanga River have petitioned the Government to look into their plight caused by the alleged pollution of the river.
Fifty Mekeo women arrived in Port Moresby on Tuesday to present the petition to the Government.
They also made two demands – that all 50 villages along the river be supplied with water tanks and that the Government and the Tolukuma gold mine compensate the 40,000 villagers for the contamination of the river and damage to the environment.
They threatened to take “drastic action” if their demands were not met.
“I am calling on Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare to look into this issue before going into election,” Philo Lala, president of the Inawi Council of Women, who spoke on behalf of the group of women, said.
“We know the river system from which we have fished and washed in for generations is now polluted.
“We can see and also know from experiences that the Angabanga and its tributaries are not safe anymore to wash in, fish, drink and eat from.”
She said the villagers needed water tanks immediately to enable them to collect rain water as the river water had been polluted by the mine’s operations.
“We will not let this matter rest. If it means taking this cause to the streets, or taking lawsuits for damages caused to our livelihood, we will do so.
“(However) we will only take this cause of actions if the Government does not adequately address this issue and our demands are not met favourably,” Ms Lala said.

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