Papua New Guinea's climax relieves Canberra

Papua New Guinea's climax relieves Canberra

By Dewi Anggraeni

MELBOURNE (JP): After 10 days of crisis, Papua New Guinea's
Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan announced on March 26 that he and
two of his ministers, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Chris Haiveta and Defense Minister Mathias Ijape would step aside
and appoint a caretaker government.

However, Chan retains his dignity, because he only stepped
aside after securing a vote of confidence from parliament. There
was no military coup, and the constitution has not been rent
asunder.

Australia breathed a sigh a relief.

If there have been crises that draw Australia's Prime Minister
John Howard and Opposition leader Kim Beazley into a united
front, the recent debacle in Papua New Guinea has been one of
them.

Apart from the fact that Australia has historically had a
bipartisan policy towards PNG, both Howard and Beazley claim to
adhere to an Australian notion of giving people a fair go. And
hiring mercenaries to fight a group -- secessionist or not --
would give Howard, Beazley and many Australians the creeps, to
say the least.

Of course, the issue was a complex one. And Australia did not
have the luxury of distance, in a moral or geographic sense. The
reactions of Australians, ranging from outrage to squirmishness
made it imperative for Howard to express his strong objections to
his PNG counterpart's use of mercenaries in fighting the civil
war.

It was politically expedient for Howard to do so, because
morality aside, the electorate wanted to know if any of the
US$255 million of Australia's annual aid had been used to pay the
reported sum of $36 million to Sandline International, the
company which supplied the mercenaries. There was no way of
knowing for sure, because Australia's aid is general budgetary
assistance.

This was why Beazley, as Labor leader, was also politically
bound to prevent implementation of the plan. It was a Labor
government in the 1980s that changed the nature of aid to PNG
from project-related to general budgetary aid. It was then
regarded as a gesture of recognition to the PNG government, and a
sign of Australia's increasing respect for PNG's ability to run
its own country.

Howard had to walk a political tightrope. On the one hand he
had to show his electorate that he was capable of taking strong
action, by exerting pressure on Chan to drop the plan to use
mercenaries.

On the other hand, he could not afford to be seen as being too
patronizing or interventionist in PNG's internal affairs. This
might justify Chan's defiance. If Chan came across as a strong
leader defending his country's right to run its own affairs hence
his people's self-respect, he would have an advantage, leaving a
clear way to implement his strategy.

Chan's strategy was definitely contrary to the one favored by
Australia, namely non-military peaceful solutions. In fact, last
month, several days before the news of the mercenaries broke out
in the media, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had just
announced that Australia was ready to unfreeze $3.2 million in
emergency aid to PNG towards peaceful negotiation efforts with
the BRA rebel leaders.

To complicate matters, in a surprise move on March 17, the
then Chief of PNG Defense Force, Brig. Gen. Jerry Singirok and
Police Commissioner Bob Nenta, called on PNG Governor-General Sir
Wiwa Korowi to sack Chan. Commissioner Nenta distanced himself
from the call not long after, but Gen. Singirok stood firm. On
television he said that by hiring the mercenaries, Chan had shown
that he had no confidence in his own Defense Force.

Since the PNG constitution does not allow the governor-general
to dismiss the prime minister, Chan turned the tables and sacked
Gen. Singirok instead.

But in practice, it was not that easy. Gen. Singirok was well
respected in the PNG Defense Force. Yauka Liria, a former PNG
intelligence officer, in his 1989 book, Bougainville Campaign
Diary, describes Major Singirok, "as a reliable, competent and
truly professional officer".

He also describes Singirok as instrumental in maintaining
morale. "... I felt that there was a lack of purpose, mission
tempo, and very low morale in the contingent, a potentially
dangerous situation as we commenced our operations against the
BRA. If there was an officer who could remedy the position, I
knew it was Major Singirok. A hard-nosed, intelligent infantry
officer, who commanded the respect of his juniors and seniors
alike.

Major Singirok tried to cultivate in his juniors, and impress
on his seniors, a professional and dedicated attitude towards
their work. His was one of the success stories of the PNG Defense
Force. Having topped all his courses, he had risen to the rank of
major in just under 10 years. He had proven leadership skills,
matched by only a few in the Defense Force".

Beyond the border, BRA leader Francis Ona also described the
deposed commander as his only hope of ever achieving peaceful
negotiations.

While the danger of an all-out coup was allayed by the renewed
loyalty of the police force, Howard's task was becoming
increasingly difficult. While Gen. Singirok was seen as
instigating the revolt, Howard had to oppose him, though Gen.
Singirok had also been an instrumental in efforts for peace.

In brief, Howard had to express strong opposition to both
parties. Now he could not back down from his tough stand against
the mercenary plan.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Chan's credibility was far from rock
solid. The discrepancy between the poorly paid, poorly armed PNG
soldiers and the $36 million he was willing to pour on the 70
strong mercenary force was too obvious to ignore. This was
reinforced by Gen. Singirok's subsequent allegations of
corruption in the body of the government, which led to the hiring
of the mercenaries. Unfortunately for Chan, Gen. Singirok, no
longer bound by discretion regulations, disclosed the vital
information.

PNG was almost plunged into constitutional crisis. The
opposition coalition supported Gen. Singirok, calling for Chan to
step aside. Demands for judicial enquiry into the mercenary
affair followed, with Chan refusing to comply. The tense, two-day
sitting of parliament came to a remarkable conclusion, with Chan
able to step aside with dignity.

A relieved Howard told journalists that he was glad that PNG
had been able to resolve the crisis within constitutional
boundaries. Foreign Minister Downer gave three reasons why this
outcome was good for PNG. Firstly, The mercenaries had left the
country. Secondly, a military solution for the Bougainville
crisis was undesirable, and finally, the country's constitution
had been able to resolve the political impasse.

In the meantime, Gen. Singirok told Mary-Louise O'Callaghan,
PNG correspondent for The Australian, that he was going on a
fishing holiday in his home village of Madang. He denied being a
hero. 'Everybody who supported me was a hero,' he said. He did
not personally discredit anyone. "I have the greatest respect for
Sir Julius Chan."

And about Lt. Col. Tim Spicer, CEO of Sandline International,
"A totally professional soldier. He just shouldn't have come to
Papua New Guinea to make a lot of money."

Will Singirok be reinstated as Chief of PNG's Defense Force?

That's another chapter in this running history.