The climate has been explosive since Wednesday evening in Papua New Guinea, a Pacific country located about 200 kilometers north of Australia. Prime Minister James Marape on Thursday declared a two-week state of emergency in the capital Port Moresby after at least 15 people died during a night of violent riots in the country’s two main cities . The city’s main hospital treated 25 people with gunshot wounds and six others with lacerations caused by “machetes.”
Unexplained salary cuts
Violence broke out in the capital on Wednesday evening after security forces demonstrated inside Papua New Guinea’s Parliament in response to an unexplained cut in their salaries. Although the government quickly promised to correct what it described as a “technical problem,” it was not enough to stop disgruntled civilians from joining the uproar.
Angry crowds burned buildings and ransacked stores during a night of chaos. The violence then spread to the town of Lae, some 300 kilometers to the north. More than 1,000 soldiers are ready to intervene “where necessary” under the state emergency decree, the Prime Minister said.
The head of government indicated that the four officials involved in the problem (the heads of personnel, finance and treasury as well as police commissioner David Manning) had all been suspended for 14 days.
Chinese businesses targeted
Videos filmed in the capital by AFP showed looters rushing into stores through broken windows, stuffing stolen goods into boxes, supermarket trolleys and plastic buckets. Buildings and cars were set on fire and thick plumes of black smoke hung over the worst-hit parts of the city.
Earlier, a crowd gathered outside the prime minister’s office in Port Moresby, tearing down a security fence and setting fire to a parked police car. Beijing filed a complaint with the Papua New Guinea government following reports that rioters targeted Chinese-owned businesses. China’s Foreign Ministry said two Chinese nationals were “slightly injured” during the violence.
“We remind Chinese nationals in Papua New Guinea to pay close attention to the evolving security situation on the ground,” Mao Ning, a ministry spokeswoman, said on Thursday. For its part, the United States embassy in Port Moresby reported shots fired near its compound while the police tried to “disperse groups of looters”.
40% of inhabitants below the poverty line
Maho Laveil, a Port Moresby resident who teaches economics at the University of Papua New Guinea, said peace had been “largely restored” by Thursday evening. “They chased away the looters, they prevented the buildings from burning,” he assured.
This explosion of violence highlights the difficulties of this country, plagued by poverty and a high crime rate. Although it is blessed with vast deposits of gas, gold and minerals, human rights groups estimate that nearly 40 percent of its nine million residents still live below the poverty line.