We must stamp out ethnic violence

 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.
The recent clashes between people from Enga and Western Highlands in the nation’s capital, which left three people dead and several homes destroyed, just shows that modernisation has had little or no impact on the mindset and behaviour of many of our people.
While Port Moresby is reeling from this deadly con­flict, ethnic violence is nothing new to Lae, the country’s largest port and gateway to the populous High­lands region.
The Highlands Highway links Lae city and Morobe to the six Highlands provinces –Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Western Highlands, En­ga, Southern Highlands 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 the years, a large number of highlanders have become permanent residents in the city and their children, especially those who were born there, now call Lae and Morobe their places 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 when condemning the latest 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.
Parkop may want to consider a suggestion by University of Papua New Guinea students from Enga and Western Highlands who have joined hands to end the conflict between their people.
Enga Student Association president Chris Kipalanhas urged Parkop to introduce the Vagrancy Act to stop the uncontrolled urban drift that is the root cause of ethnic conflicts and violence in Port Moresby.
Kipalan added: “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 could not 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 the rural areas 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 Western Highlanders has the potential to erupt into full-scale ethnic violence, something that must be avoided at all costs.
So far there has been no breakthrough in efforts between the two groups to find a peaceful and amicable solution. With the economic boom, spurred by the LNG project, Port Moresby can ill-afford such disruptions to city life, business operations and government services. It is per­tinent that our political leaders consider the most effective ways to stamp out ethnic conflicts and violence in our cities.