Image: Alliance of Solwara Warriors

Source: Caritas Papua New Guinea

Deep sea bed mining is the extraction of metals such as iron, manganese, copper, zinc, lead nickel, cadmium, silver, platinum gold and rare earths from the sea floor.

The Parliament decision for granting license to Nautilus (Under Sea Bed Mining) in Papua New Guinea waters is a disgraceful act of genocide on all levels of life in PNG history.

According to Caritas Co-ordinator, Chairman of the Indigenous priest association, Kokopo, Fr Mathias Lopa, the awarding license to Nautilus Sea Bed Mining is a preferential choice for more money over the indigenous livelihood.

He said that in a diagnostic view, we should say that, it is political preferential choice for ecological destruction of natural environment and sustainability of livelihood.

He stated that it is a shame for the authorities not listening to the people’s voice and no considerable attention given to the result of the independent scientific research study on the fragility and venerability of life under the sea. The scientific study proves the imminent destructive impact on human life and the natural coexistence as an eventual consequence of such an economic venture.

He said that should there be any rational thinking Papua New Guinean could explain to all citizens of this nation, why Papua New Guinea has many major mining operations by foreign investors as well as reaping of the virgin forest and grabbing land to make millions of kina as revenue over night and yet our rural population still lack basic services.

Fr Lopa added that concurrently signing of agreement between Papua New Guinea (NEC) and Nautilus, Sea Bed mining company is ethically questionable.

He said that the people of the NGI region considered the parliamentary decision on sea bed mining as pre mature, short-sighted and imprudent decision.

He stated that it is a common knowledge that PNG as a nation has no skill and knowledge on how to restore and rebuild the lives of the sea living organism when imposing of an unimaginable and pre-mediative act of crime against nature by an affluent nation.

He said that the short sighted and non-evaluative decision by Parliamentary Bureaucracy is an outcome of being blind folded by foreign economic creed.

He also said that using the robot to destabilize the eco-system of life under the sea that sustains life on the land is a scary scenario.

He said that such an invasion on non-renewable resources is an act of economic terrorism against the basic foundation of life under, within and above the sea.

Therefore, our life is at the mercy of the capitalist economic imperialism.

Fr Lopa stated that the arrogant of authorities for not listening to the people’s plea is a sign of psychological fear of offending the international relationship based on agreement.

He said that as thinking citizens, we need to rationally speculate and conceptualize the possible terrifying scenario if revoking of international agreement that would cost our nation a significantly amount of penalty payment.

He also said that the ethical question that ought not to be avoided is, what is important, the agreement with the company or the future generation and their natural resources.

He questioned as to why harvest all non-renewable resources with no due consideration of the future generation. Consuming all resource for the future generation to pay the debt of the present incurring nation’s economic debt is morally unacceptable.

Fr Lopa urged all fellow citizens that we have a social obligation and constitutional responsibility to speak up as openly guaranty by our constitution to air your views on this matter.

He said that the citizens of New Guinea Islands region are concern about our lives and the lives of our children and their children. Of course we need money and we do have various means of making money.

He questioned as to why resort to sea bed mining at this time. The politicians of the New Guinea islands have the political obligation and ethical responsibility to protect the lives of their voters and make our islands a safer place to live and enjoy life.