Stamp out ethnic violence for good

 ETHNIC violence is turning Port Moresby and Lae cities into tribal war zones and portraying Papua New Guinea as one of the last  frontiers where uncivilised       tribesmen still roam and kill at will.

A clash last weekend bet­ween a group from Enga and a mixed community in June Valley, NCD, following the killing of a crime suspect, resulted in the destruction of several homes, vehicles and other properties.

The violence again shows that modernisation has had little or no impact on the mindset and behaviour of many of our people. 

Last year, ethnic violence between Engans and Western Highlanders in the capital city left three people dead and several homes destroyed. While Port Moresby has its share of ethnic violence, it is nothing new to Lae, the country’s industrial hub and gateway to the populous Highlands region. 

The Highlands Highway links Lae city and Morobe to the six highlands provinces – Eastern Highlands, Western High­lands, Southern Highlands Chimbu, Enga, and Hela – and is accessible to highlanders migrating to Lae and other coastal centres like Madang. 

Migrations of people from the Highlands to Lae have been ongoing for the past three decades and while the numbers have fluctuated over, a large number of highlanders have become permanent residents in the city and their children, especially those who were born there, now call Lae their place of origin. Likewise, many highlanders and people from other coastal provinces have migrated to Port Moresby over the years and are now permanent residents. Their children call the capital city their home as many were born here.

Despite their change of environment, many of these people continue to think and behave the way they do in their places of origin. In times of conflict with people from other provinces, they are prepared to fight and die just the way their forefathers and ancestors did back home.

As National Capital Dist­rict Governor Powes Par­k­op said recently when condemning such violence, those people engaging in ethnic clashes should leave Port Moresby. “We should criminalise such conduct. Those guilty of escalating an incident into an ethnic conflict should not just receive the current criminal sanction but be banned from living in all urban centres in the country.”

Parkop will probably be the first to admit that it is easier said than done – repatriating warring tribesmen and their families back to their home provinces.

He may want to consider a recent suggestion by University of Papua New Guinea students from Enga and Western Highlands who had hands to end  the conflict between their people.

Enga Student Association president Chris Kipalan said at the time Parkop should introduce the Vagrancy Act to stop the uncontrolled ur­ban drift that is the root cause of ethnic conflicts and violence in Port Moresby. 

“I call on Governor Par­kop to convene a special meeting with all provincial governors and immediately come up with a long term solution to solve ethnic class and disputes not only in Port Moresby but in Lae, Kokopo, Mount Hagen and other provincial capitals.”

We couldn’t agree more with Kipalan who is concerned that new generations of Papua New Guineans will continue to suffer from the negative effects of ethnic conflicts unless our leaders take a tougher stand on this issue.

It remains to be seen whether the Vagrancy Act will help to resolve ethnic conflicts but it may be a start in preventing the uncontrolled movement of people from rural to urban centres. There have been arguments for and against this legislation, which critics believe is against the freedom of movement as stipulated in the Constitution.

The current tension between Engans and Eastern Highlanders has the potential to erupt into full-scale ethnic violence, something that must be avoided at all costs. With the economic boom, spurred by the PNG LNG project, Port Moresby can ill-afford such disruptions to city life, business operations and government services. 

It is imperative that our political leaders and the relevant authorities consider the most effective ways to stamp out ethnic violence in our cities and towns.