Such senseless killing must stop

 PAYBACK or revenge killings and brutalities are becoming a daily occurrence in Papua New Guinea.

Hardly a day goes by with­out news reports about tribal and ethnic clashes that started from minor domestic or family arguments, drunken brawls or even road accidents.

The news pages of The National yesterday carried more stories about this increasingly alarming trend. The latest incidents occurred in the Northern and Madang provinces. 

In Northern, three suspects have been detained and the search for others is continuing in relation to recent killings in the province.

Police reported that three killings took place at Jonita village on the Oro Bay-Popondetta Highway a week ago. 

A local man was killed by a vehicle in what police described as murder because alcohol was involved, while two Western Highlanders were killed by villagers as payback.

Provincial police commander Insp Jacob Singura has appealed to the local community to help in handing over the six or seven suspects who have gone into hiding.

He stressed that lack of support and evidence had delayed investigations into such incidents in Northern.

The Highlands community in Northern, in a petition last week, called on the Oro provincial government to pay for the funeral expenses and repatriation cost of the two Western Highlanders. The provincial executive council is expected to meet this week to address the issue. Governor Gary Juffa has condemned the killings and called on the National Government to boost police presence in the province.

His revelation that the current ratio stands at one policeman to 2100 citizens is most alarming and needs to be rectified immediately.

Juffa appealed to his people to observe the laws and respect the freedoms and rights of fellow citizens. His call should be heeded for the good of the province.

We agree with Juffa that Northern, once notorious for its high crime rate, urgently needs improved policing. 

Without an effective police presence, the province could easily slip back into its dark days of serious crime and lawlessness.

Over in Madang, the bru­tal murder of a disabled eight-year-old girl and her mother has brought much grief and angst to her relatives and the local community.

The girl and her mother were killed during an ethnic clash between two villages in the Amele area outside Madang town. Her father was seriously wounded.

How much longer will the country tolerate such senseless killings and brutalities? 

Is payback killing a feature of Melanesian culture that should be condoned and allowed to prevail in this day and age?

The Criminal Code is quite explicit about such lawless behaviour and clearly stipulates that an act of revenge that leads to the death of an innocent person or persons is an offence that carries a severe penalty.

Despite the legal ramifications, ethnic and tribal groups continue to take the law into their hands through payback killings and destruction of property. 

The recent ethnic clashes in Lae city are a glaring example of the age-old payback tendencies and acts of revenge that are allowed to persist in the country’s industry hub. 

The capital city of Port Moresby and other centres have had their fair share of ethnic troubles and will continue to face this problem until the payback mentality is eradicated from these irrational and lawless minds. The police should be supported in their efforts to curb payback killings and other acts of revenge but the onus should not be squarely placed on their shoulders. 

Other concerned groups should take a greater interest in this issue and play their part in changing the people’s behaviour and mindsets. 

In particular, Christian church organisations in this country seem to have turned a blind eye to these ethnic conflicts. 

While members of ethnic groups have been fighting and killing each other under the noses of major churches, we hardly hear a word from these men and women of God.

It would be even better if the churches practice what they preach by doing more to change the people’s mindset on such violence and lawlessness.