Papua New Guinea's students have a point. Peter O'Neill should talk to them, not send police | Jonathan Pyke | Opinion | The Guardian

10.6.16

Papua New Guinea's students have a point. Peter O'Neill should talk to them, not send police | Jonathan Pyke | Opinion | The Guardian: The students say the prime minister is no longer fit for office, citing multiple criminal investigations against him, attempts to shut down the police force’s corruption unit, and poor fiscal management. To date O’Neill has refused to meet student representatives, arguing that they should leave these matters to the courts and return to their studies. Even before Wednesday’s events it was difficult to see how this approach would de-escalate the situation.

The students’ claims are not without merit. The most prominent investigation against O’Neill, as well as the finance minister, James Marape, concerns the authorisation of allegedly fraudulent payments of millions of dollars to a legal firm. Efforts to delay this investigation have led to the disbanding of an independent corruption taskforce which O’Neill himself established, the sacking of the police commissioner and attorney general and, most recently, the attempted closure of the police force’s anti-corruption unit.