We are morally bound

By SIR JOHN R KAPUTIN

IN a paper prepared for the Kokopo summit on micro-finance and small business from April 3-7 last year, I wrote:

"When confronted with the
current political scene in Papua New Guinea, one feels somewhat cheated and angry at the lack of transparency and compliance with the laws of Papua New Guinea and related procedures by the leaders.

"What has happened to the dreams and aspirations of emancipating ourselves from the Australian colonial cocoon in order to paddle our own canoe to the promised land following independence in 1975?

"Were all the efforts and contributions made by our people to attain political independence and to create a just society that would not be contaminated by corruption, bribery and personal greed, and the constant struggle for personal power misused?

"Were the energy and personal sacrifices they put into these efforts and contributions really for nothing?

"Following the declaration of independence, who was it who had the temerity to proclaim publicly that ‘we are not Africa’, and, in doing so, to insinuate that we, Papua New Guineans, are different in our character and national aspirations?"

While participants in the constitution-making process in Papua New Guinea drew on experience, both positive and negative, and precedents in other countries, the constitution itself is "home-grown", both as a matter of law in that it does not owe its authority to any foreign law or government but to the people of Papua New Guinea, and because of the role many thousands of Papua New Guineans and their elected representatives played in its making.

Some tens of thousands of people were consulted during the process by making written submissions directly or as members of discussion groups which met and considered both issues and options around the country, or by attending meetings at which the CPC met with them when we went on tour around the country and listened to what they said, before finalising our report.

It is, therefore, all the more dismaying to read comments by people, including some very prominent foreign lawyers mistakenly described as "experts", suggesting that the problem with our constitution is that it was designed by outsiders.

This is not only untrue as it diverts attention from the real, underlying causes of the ongoing political convulsions.

These seriously mistaken – and misleading claims – are also being used to suggest that the constitution is somehow responsible for the current situation, and not the behaviours I have outlined.

Having been a member of parliament for 30 years, I have personal experience of the reality that parliamentary debates have become theatrical and meaningless.

Debating real issues has taken a back seat, while shouting matches and bickering over procedures and irrelevant technicalities have become the major preoccupation of the dominant performers in our national parliament.

The former member for Maprik, Sir Pita Lus, might have been perceived as vociferous and a loose cannon, but, behind this façade, there was a very serious mind concerned with real issues, expressed in pidgin with lots of humour and punctuated with colourful phrases in English.

Unfortunately, most of the arguments in recent times are self-centred, and although members may be very argumentative, their arguments provide little guidance as to the way forward to prosperity and integrity for Papua New Guinea.

So, how do we move forward?

(1) The most obvious thought that comes to mind is the election. While this may provide the opportunity for some good prospective leaders to enter parliament, unfortunately, history has not been very kind to us. Electing more "bros" like the present members into parliament will not necessarily resolve our ongoing leadership problem.

(2) Elsewhere, the current political convulsions would have provided the perfect environment for some general or commodore to take the bull by the horns and throw some leaders into jail in the name of non-compliance, lack of good governance and accountability, and to rule by
decree. However, this would not resolve our political problems. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on one’s point of view, our various forces are not united and do not have the numbers or unity to impose and sustain military rule. But there are, of course, people who are misguided enough to try.

(3) Perhaps one saving grace we have is the cultural and linguistic diversity among our people. While we have two, in certain respects, dominant regions in the highlands and the Sepik, and another region is separated from the mainland by the ocean, our diversity means that we can never be united to prop up any one leader forever. Although smaller regions such as Papua and the New Guinea Islands have been cleverly used in the past, time is fast running out for this kind of political exploitation.

(4) Instead of exploiting the National Constitution for their own purposes, members of parliament should be examining the constitution in order to ensure that our system of government caters for the future, taking into account cultural differences, ethnicity, the distribution and sharing of wealth, provincial powers for raising internal revenues, land use and ownership, and the costs of infrastructure, education, and health, as well as issues such as migration, and effective access by our people to opportunities for development. Unless we address these fundamental issues, national leadership will continue to be a major problem.

(5) What if the leadership
issue is not resolved and more and more problems are created in the future?

Australia must not be allowed to be involved in our internal problems as the so-called "deputy sheriff" of the United States.

They played a major role in the creation of one of Papua New Guinea’s major pro-
blems, which was the compulsory acquisition of Rorovana and Panguna land for the Bougainville copper mine.

Moreover, the lack of capacity that has continued to plague this country was to a major extent created by Canberra and its colonial administration with their lack of realistic policy initiatives to prepare Papua New Guinea for independence.

Until the 1960s, there were no full high schools in Papua New Guinea, and our first university was opened only in the late 1960s.

We have tried our best since 1975 to educate and build up our trained personnel and capacity for over 35 years, but, unfortunately, we are still a long way from what we need.

Although we are constantly being criticised by Canberra and other Australians for our current lack of capacity, they have never admitted that the fault was theirs.

Despite the sizeable pool of intellectuals who have joined the Waigani ghetto at the Australian National University, Australians have never really changed their views about Papua New Guinea, despite the grim reality that, although many aspects of our country are changing, more and more Papua New Guineans are being left out of mainstream development.

Listening to the political
polemics by Australian spokespersons with regard to current political events in Port Moresby gives the impression that there is nothing they can do for us except to use their military might to protect their economic interests in Papua New Guinea.

They seem to think that Papua New Guineans are a bunch of actual or potential law-breakers and that they can, therefore, apply their security laws in the name of democracy and non-compliance without recognising that the main issue is, in fact, their failure to educate us well in advance for independence and to help us build up our capacities both in the public and private sectors.

In anticipation of our lack of adequate capacity, Australia made sure of securing easy access to Papua New Guinea for Australian businesses and citizens in bilateral agreements but without reciprocity for Papua New Guineans, or an option even for Papuans, who are former Australian citizens, to obtain similar opportunities in Australia.

(6) Finally, if our leaders cannot resolve their differences, article 96 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement can be used in situations of non-compliance with the principles of democracy.

This can lead to economic sanctions, which, in Papua New Guinea’s case, would mean that our tuna, cocoa, coffee and other commodities such as oil and gas would be taken into consideration.

This would be a real test for the European Union and Australia – whether they are genuinely prepared to protect our democracy or whether their own economic interests
in Papua New Guinea will take precedence over the maintenance of important principles of democratic parliamentary rule.

In conclusion, it is hoped that the views expressed in this article, may assist readers
to appreciate and understand the complexities of the political situation in Papua New Guinea.

All citizens, whose rights are protected by the National Constitution, must use all resources at their disposal, including their intellectual capacity, their other manpower resources, and their voting rights to protect the constitution.

It is both our moral and collective duty to do this.

As I am reminded by Nelson Mandela, who said: "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice.

"Like slavery and apartheid,
poverty is not natural. It is
man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by
the actions of human beings.

"Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great.

"You can be that great generation.

"Let your greatness blossom."

And as Martin Luther King has reminded us: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."