Advocates condemn killing

 The PNG Education Advocacy Network (PEAN) and its network of education partners have strongly condemned the recent killing of a student at Gordon Market in NCD. 

PEAN executive director Priscilla Kare said many people had been robbed, killed, raped and attacked at the Gordon “under the nose of the authorities whose conscience have become numb and are unable to act to save human lives”.

She said the Government was bound by its own policies in PNG Vision 2050 and the Medium Term Development Plan to protect lives of its citizens from all forms of violence and must take proactive action to prevent any more citizens from becoming victims. 

“Almost everyone in NCD would personally know someone who has been a victim of cowards at Gordon’s bus stop and market and what is alarming is the constant media report on the same area. There are many schools located nearby and students use the Gordon market to transit to other parts of the city and so steps should have already been taken to create a safer environment for them. We cannot address Vision 2050 without addressing Gordon bus stop/market,” Kare said. 

“The unaccounted young people and women who have died or were traumatised from physical and sexual violence experienced at the Gordon  Market, shows the lack of concern on the part of those who are in-charge.” 

She called on the National Capital District Commission to:

• Relocate the market to 9-Mile and the security monitoring responsibility to be given to McGregor Mobile Squad which should monitor the market to stop further unnecessary insecurity issues; 
• ensure that products for sale at the market are appropriately labelled and no more sales of pigs and dogs; and, 
• Protect the students by upgrading Gordon as a main bus transit point only to all destinations in the city. 

“The PNG Education Advocacy Network is calling on concerned citizens to provide information to the police on those responsible for the killing so that justice can be served and the families of the deceased can have closure,” Kare said.

“People must be reminded that if you are keeping vital information, consider yourself a murderer and the young man’s blood on your hands.”