O’Neill group flies in extra police

Main Stories, National
Source:

The National, Friday 16th December 2011

THE faction led by Peter O’Neill yesterday flew in extra policemen from outside Port Moresby in an attempt to “retake state assets” controlled by Sir Michael Somare’s group.
O’Neill said 70 policemen had been flown in to retake the Morauta Haus which houses the offices of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council, the Vulupindi Haus which houses Finance, Treasury and National Planning and Monitoring offices, the Government Printer and Government House.
On the other side, the Somare faction announced that it would shut down water and power to Parliament House in an attempt to flush out O’Neill and his group which had been using parliament exclusively to its great advantage.
In an all-day meeting yesterday, the Somare cabinet was understood to have placed the PNG Defence Force on a 12-month call-out.
While details were sketchy, it was understood that the move was to assist police and other state authorities in the event of a fall-out or a civil unrest.
Also yesterday, O’Neill’s lawyers filed in the National Court an application seeking to restrain Sir Michael from performing prime ministerial duties. The case had been scheduled for Monday.
In Port Moresby, the situation had remained tense and many people, including government workers, stayed home yesterday.
Today marks the fifth day of the political impasse that began on Monday afternoon with the split Supreme
Court decision restoring Sir Michael to office and voided the election of O’Neill on Aug 2.
Later the same afternoon, parliament re-elected O’Neill on the basis that parliament, in rescinding its granting of leave to Sir Michael last Friday and in amending the Prime Minister and NEC Act earlier, had created a vacancy in the post of prime minister in that Sir Michael Somare was no longer eligible to hold the post of PM.
“Sir Michael is no longer an MP,” O’Neill said yesterday.
“A non-MP is sworn in as prime minister. The O’Neill-Namah government has now taken control after four days of uncertainty, uncertainty that undermined government. PNG is going through a political crisis that it has never gone through before.”