Dr Kristian Lasslett, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Ulster University

The recent shooting of university students brings home the incredible contrast that exists between the streets and the suites in Papua New Guinea. Police bullets don’t mince words, nor should we.

Decades of research and inquiry have established time and time again that the elite corridors of power in government and business operate through corruption, violence and theft. Many complicit individuals populate the most senior levels of government. Fact.

Injured student is rushed to emergency room in Port Moresby after police shot into crowd of peaceful protestors (Getty Images)

Source: Amnesty International

The shooting of students peacefully protesting in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is a disgraceful attack on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.

Source: PNG Mine Watch

New research reveals experimental seabed mining could have a devastating impact on life forms that are "literally saving the planet” and preventing a “doomsday climatic event”.

The research lists experimental seabed mining as a major threat to ocean life that resides around hydrothermal vents and has been found to consume enormous quantities of methane that would otherwise enter the atmosphere.

Wamsok locals from East Sepik have made their stand to the government to cancel all SABL leases and return land back to landowners.

After awareness by the Tropical Gem group on SABL and land grab, they realised that ilegal logging has been eating away their forest and land has been taken away from customary landowners under fraudulent SABL leases.

The Papua New Guinea government is seeking to use changes to the Land Act to retrospectively endorse a huge illegal land grab covering about 12% of the whole country. Despite the government promoting its new Bill as a move to clean up the administration of land and tackle corruption it will actually have the opposite effect, legitimising and compounding previous illegal acts and depriving a very large number of customary landowners of justice.

Source: PNG Mine Watch

LONDON: This morning, NGOs and civil society are outside the 5^th Annual Deep Sea Mining Summit calling for a ban on a potentially environmentally destructive “frontier” industry. They are calling on the EU to stop funding such reckless development activities and are standing in solidarity with NGOs, churches and community across the Pacific.

By Bernard Gomba

Background Facts

Papua New Guinea as a nation has its anti-corruption agencies and authorities which are created by law and policy to address corruption related issues that affects the nation.

Solwara 1 is within sight of the still smoking Rabaul volcanoes

Source: PNG Mine Watch

Civil society organisations are urging the Papua New Guinea government to take immediate action to end pervasive land grabbing and illegal logging after these issues were highlighted by governments around the world in formal recommendations put before the United Nations yesterday. (1)