WWII sites fear

 By SIMON NIANFOP

THE National Museum has been denied access to World War II bunkers and relics at Paga Hill, in Port Moresby, director Dr Andrew Moutu says.

He said that was contrary to the War Surplus Material Act, which protected all WWII sites and was enforced by the National Museum.

Moutu said he was gravely concerned after the reported destruction of settlement dwellings at Paga Hill on Tuesday, which included war bunkers and relics.

One of the bunkers that were allegedly demolished by a company involved in the Paga Hill development project was home to a family for more than 10 years.

The family members were away when their home was destroyed and returned later to retrieve what was left of their belongings.

Unexploded WWII bombs were discovered in the bunker during the demolition exercise.

Project developer Paga Hill Development Company said yesterday that it was not responsible for the destruction and shifted the blame to the National Capital District Commission and contractor, Curtain Brothers.

Moutu said the National Museum had entered into a dialogue pertaining to development plans at Paga Hill since 2012 after the National Executive Council issued orders to stop relevant stakeholders from taking legal action against proposed development plans.

He said consequently the museum wrote to parties involved, including the NCDC, since 2013 expressing concern about historic war relics, which belonged to the State, denial of access to the Paga Hill site and the management plans underway. 

“We are not sure what is going to happen to the historic structures,” Moutu said.

He said the bunkers located on the west wards spine of Paga Hill were significant strategic locations during WWII.

He added that the sites posed potential risks to peopleand needed an extensive inventory by experts to determine their contents.

Moutu said they had asked for a coordinated management plan that would address the issue but their request was not granted, he said.

The National Museum’s deputy director (science and research), Herman Mandui added: “Projects have an assessment plans, we want to go there and do that and device a strategic plan that would ensure that the best interests of the stakeholders are catered for.”