Papua New Guinea riots leave 16 dead; The Government declares a state of emergency

First modification: 01/11/2024 – 20:15

2 min

Papua New Guinea's two main cities, Port Moresby and Lae, were rocked by riots on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 people.

It all started with a demonstration organized by security forces inside Parliament, after noticing an unexplained reduction in their salaries. Although the government quickly promised to correct what it described as a “technical problem,” it was not enough to prevent disgruntled citizens from joining the melee.

Thus, in the capital, Port Moresby, angry crowds joined the protesters, burning buildings and looting shops before the violence spread to the city of Lae, located 300 km to the north. According to the latest report, at least 16 people lost their lives in both cities.

According to data provided by the AFP agency, Port Moresby's main hospital treated 25 people with gunshot wounds and another six with lacerations caused by machetes.

During a press conference held this Thursday, Prime Minister James Marape declared a state of emergency in the capital for a period of 14 days. He also detailed that more than 1,000 soldiers were ready to intervene under the state of emergency decree.

The prime minister added that explosions of “anarchy” will not be “tolerated.” “This is his country as much as mine. Breaking the law does not allow us to achieve certain objectives,” he said.

An “unprecedented level of conflict”

Powes Parkop, the governor of the region covering the capital, estimated that the riots represented an “unprecedented level of conflict” in Port Moresby, while the Post Courier, a local newspaper, described the event as the “darkest day” from the city.

This explosion of violence highlights the difficulties in Papua New Guinea, a country affected by poverty and high crime rates.

Located approximately 200 kilometers north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is the largest and most populous country in the Pacific. Although it has important commercial crops such as coffee and cocoa, the majority of the population is dedicated to subsistence agriculture.

Furthermore, despite having significant mineral reserves, including gold, copper and nickel, as well as oil and gas reserves, the country faces the highest level of income inequality in the Asia-Pacific region and, according to the UN Human Development Index, it is among the worst ranked countries in the world (156/187), excluding sub-Saharan Africa, and occupies the last position in the Pacific region.

With AFP