Uni students warned against protesting

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By JASON GIMA WURI

THE Students Representative Council at the University of Papua New Guinea has warned students against organising or taking part in any public demonstrations and protest marches.
SRC president Rainbo Piari issued the warning during a forum yesterday in view of the current political situation in Port Moresby.
“As intellectuals, we will not take part in any protest march.”
There were rumours yesterday of students from UPNG joining a protest march organised by non-governmental and civil society organisations to parliament.
However, this did not eventuate following a public ban on demonstrations by police.
“There was no formal agreement with NGOs or civil society groups to join a protest march and, therefore, UPNG will not stage anything of that sort.
“Rather, we have called for a forum so that students can air their views,” Piari said.
“Those students caught trying to instigate something in the manner of a protest march will be dealt with severely by the administration and police,” he warned.
“Over the years, UPNG has been known for holding protest marches every time there are political sagas but, this time, we want to take a more intellectual approach.
“We are not politicians but, as leaders of tomorrow, we call for a change in power and in direction because we have that right to exercise our freedom of speech,” Piari said.
“We want a change for the better, because we have had enough of corruption in parliament,” he added.
Classes were suspended for the day as students gathered at the forum square to air their views.
Uni-force security personnel were also deployed around campus to maintain peace and order.

National Newspaper 21 July 2010

Arrest of the ring leaders of the protest in Madang

It will be a slap on the face of the people of Madang if the ring leaders of the protest yesterday are arrested by the government. This will really show that there is no freedom of speech in this country. It will show the government’s shift from so called democracy to dictatorship. It will really look bad for the government.

But nonetheless if they government arrests the ring leaders all protesters in Madang are prepared to also be arrested along with their leaders. They feel it will not be fair if the leaders are arrested. If the government is smart, it should let the people express the concerns.

Other centres in the country are also planing to do what the Madang people did. If the government is serving the interests of the people, there will not be such protests. These protests are a response to the many injustices in this country and the government by now should listen to the people. The people had enough and are frustrated. The National Alliance's rule in this country is now numbered. This could be the down fall of the ruling party.

Protest – Government Say NO! People SAY YES!

The beginning of change in PNG started today in Madang. This was purely people’s power in action. While the government was saying NO to the march today, the people went right ahead and protested. The people are no longer blind, they are rising up because of the many injustices in this country. They took the streets today to show their frustrations on the latest changes to the Environment Act 2000. Included in this crowd of about 3,000 people were the students from the Divine Word University in Madang as well as those from University of Technology, Lae, Morobe Province. People from all walks of life were on the streets today.
All members of parliament from Madang were not available to receive the protesters although they were informed about it. The Governor of Madang tried to stop the march physically by trying to talk to the people in not marching but the people showed their frustrations by ignoring him and marching to the provincial headquarters. The police were very understanding and cooperative, they should be commended for a job well done. Madang has now opened the door for protesting regardless of the Attorney General’s directions of not allowing any protests right around the country. The organizers of the Madang protests, including the general public, the students and even the police should be commended for an excellent job. The very fact that the protest went ahead will go done in history books of this country and that is the beginning of people revolting because the government is NOT serving their interests but that of the outsiders.