Prime Minister James Marape imposed the state of emergency for 14 days, suspending several officials and putting more than 1,000 soldiers on alert, after Wednesday’s protest by police and public sector workers over wages turned into rioting and looting, local media reports.
A police and public sector protest on Wednesday over salary cuts, which officials blamed on administrative failure, turned lawless.
Television footage showed thousands of people on the streets of the capital Port Moresby, many carrying what appeared to be looted goods, with black smoke billowing over the city. Nine people were killed in rioting in Port Moresby and seven in Lae, in the gold and copper mining nation’s north, Australian state broadcaster ABC reported on Thursday, citing police.
Firefighters were also threatened and the guard house at parliament was burned, according to the PNG Post Courier newspaper. The capital’s district governor Powes Parkop said:
“We have seen unprecedented level of strife in our city, something that has never happened before in the history of our city and our country.”
Prime Minister James Marape told a news conference he had suspended PNG’s police chief and top officials in the finance and treasury ministries while the government investigates the causes of the riots. He told reporters:
“There was evidence of organised rioting that took place.”
Marape added that the review would ensure “we secure democracy, we secure rule of law.” About 1,000 troops were put on standby to prevent further unrest, he said.
Violence in the capital subsided on Thursday and the government sent additional police forces to maintain order. The United States Embassy in Port Moresby said police had returned to work, but tensions remained high. It said in a statement:
“The relative calm can change at a moment’s notice.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country’s High Commission was monitoring the situation and Canberra had not received any requests for assistance from PNG, which it regularly assists with law enforcement and security. He noted:
“We continue to urge calm at this difficult time. We haven’t had any requests from the PNG government at this time but … our friends in Papua New Guinea, we have a great relationship with them.”
Police went on strike on Wednesday morning after revealing a cut in their salaries. The government circulated messages on social media denying that a new tax had been imposed on the police, and Marape said the administrative error that caused the pay cut would be corrected.
On Wednesday, an official told local radio FM100 that without the police, the city had “lost control”.
Papua New Guinea also struggles with unrest and tribal violence in remote regions and wants to eventually boost police numbers from 6,000 to 26,000.
