Cherish life, not violence

Editorial, Normal
Source:

The National, Monday 29th April 2013

 THE killing of a woman, a 20-year-old mother, has sent shock waves through a community in Lae and no doubt has left many in this country wondering where we are heading to as a society.

Mary Drua, originally from Yandera in the Bundi district of Madang, was savagely killed while at her garden at Wanam farm at 9-Mile in Lae. 

Her dismembered body parts were discovered some distance from the area where her body was discovered.

Something drastic needs to be done about the violence perpetrated on our womenfolk. 

Over the past three months there have been reports of people being killed, particularly women, for no other reason than being suspected of sorcery. 

One cannot help but shudder in horror at the number of killings and rapes in this country.

The authorities must make a stand now and thoroughly investigate this crime and catch the killer or killers.

But it should not stop there. 

We are of the opinion that such a brutal crime upon an unarmed and unsuspecting individual, a woman no less, must be dealt with using the full weight of the law.

But the police are helpless. 

Parliament must call an emergency sitting and give law enforcement bodies the muscle and teeth to address these callous and wanton acts that pervade our communities  – the sooner the better. 

We have said this many times before in previous editorials that our police force must be given the training, logistics and manpower to do their jobs. 

With killings happening all over the country, we are certain that the situation is unlikely to improve unless the government steps in.

If judges cannot convict people because of a lack of evidence, then the state must make it a priority to give law enforcement the ability to gather credible evidence and build a case that prosecutors can take to trial successfully. 

The death penalty exists under our laws for murder and treason but we believe it should now be extended to  include rape.

Killings and rapes seem to have taken over the headlines of our media over the last several weeks. 

This trend is disturbing and the government needs to intervene immediately. 

We cannot expect an ill-equipped, under-manned and under-paid police force to grant us any solutions in the near future but we can expect our lawmakers to make the necessary changes on the floor of parliament.  

Every time a person is killed anywhere in PNG, we must now ask the local MP what he or she is going to do to firstly, ensure the safety of the people in that electorate, secondly, what they will do to have the perpetrators brought to justice, and thirdly, what is the long-term strategy for changing the behaviour of the section of society that commits these crimes.  

It is on their heads now.

We cannot look at this as just a community or provincial problem. 

It has become a national issue, one that should not be ignored any longer. 

A strong message must be sent out to the public that these kinds of crimes have no place in modern PNG society. 

The penalties must be such that they act as very powerful deterrents. 

Obviously what we have now in terms of the laws and our ability to enforce them is inadequate.  

How many more innocent people need to die before we finally take action?

There was once a time in Papua New Guinea’s short history,  fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, could walk to and from the shops in their neighbourhoods in relative safety at just about any hour of 

the day.

Murder, rape, assault and the like were crimes that were seldom spoken of 

because they rarely happened – and if they did, they  were treated with abhorrence and shock by the community.

Those times have gone and will not come back unless we put a stop to the senseless violence that seems to be an accepted norm.  

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill stepped up to condemn the killing of an Australian man and the gang-rape of an American woman recently.

Justice Minister Kerenga Kua says steps are being taken to address the increase in sorcery-related killings and serious crimes against women.

We say it is time to stop talking and act against a crime rate that is spiralling out of control.

How much more horror will this country endure?