Papuans behind bars: February 2014
Submitted by rait man on Mon, 10/03/2014 - 03:57
At the end of February 2014, there were at least 76 political prisoners in Papuan jails.
rait man's blog
LLG President arrested for standing up to illegal logging
Submitted by rait man on Sun, 09/03/2014 - 16:35Simon Konkas | President – New Hanover Forum, Kavieng Branch
Environment Advocate and President of Lovongai Local Level Government, Hon. John Aini was arrested and charged by Kavieng Police and currently on K200 bail for threatening to kill Malaysians involved in logging and to destroy logging company machinery on Lovongai Island.
The President has admitted to the charges.
Stolen logs leaving Papua New Guinea every week while politicians and bureaucrats look on
Submitted by rait man on Fri, 07/03/2014 - 10:26Stolen logs continue to be shipped overseas under the watchful gaze of politicians, bureaucrats and the police while landowners look on wondering what justice and the law mean for them.
The SABL Commission of Inquiry has declared 66 leases covering some 5 million hectares of land to be illegal. But the government and its agencies are ignoring the findings and allowing foreign logging companies to continue stealing valuable timber resources.
Foreign logging companies still firmly in control in PNG
Submitted by rait man on Thu, 06/03/2014 - 16:24From PNGExposed
Peter O’Neill’s handling of the illegal SABL land grab shows he is impotent in the face of Malaysian logging company control of PNG politicians and officials.
Building family livelihoods from charcoal in PNG
Submitted by rait man on Tue, 04/03/2014 - 10:31University of Adelaide researchers have helped create a new industry for Papua New Guinea (PNG) farmers based on producing charcoal from locally grown firewood crops.
A six-year project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and working with PNG researchers and landholders, has seen the development of successful small businesses surrounding the production and selling of charcoal from new quick-growing tree crops.
Call to replace SABL review team chairman
Submitted by rait man on Sat, 01/03/2014 - 17:48Sourced from PNG EDGE
The PNG-Eco Forestry Forum has called on the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to appoint a new and neutral chairman for the Ministerial Committee reviewing the Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) commission of inquiry report.
Having Forestry and Climate Change Minister Patrick Pruaith in charge was like “giving the keys of the blood bank to Dracula’’, the forum said.
Poverty rises amidst gold
Submitted by rait man on Sun, 23/02/2014 - 07:51By Catherine Wilson for Inter Press Service
Photo: Villagers in Papua New Guinea point to their village destroyed in a landslide from a quarry being excavated for a liquefied natural gas project. Credit: Catherine Wilson/IPS
What if I tell you that one day West Papua will be free?
Submitted by rait man on Sat, 22/02/2014 - 20:04Aisake Casimira
Anti-graft bill through
Submitted by rait man on Thu, 20/02/2014 - 12:48Parlt passes ICAC Bill with 91-0 vote
By Isaac Nicholas in the Post Courier
PARLIAMENT has passed the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Bill with an overwhelming 91-0 votes.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who introduced the Bill, said that was the first hurdle towards realising the establishment of an anti-corruption body.
The SABL blame game – Who is to be blamed?
Submitted by rait man on Thu, 20/02/2014 - 08:14By Pasifika Wardrobes
The Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) is still an outstanding matter before the O’Neill led government, and the much talked about delay into addressing this massive corrupt scheme has prompted the blame game.
The blame game started when there was a delay by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the SABL, and when one of the three commissioners in the inquiry failed to produce his report.