Is it time for prime minister Peter O’Neill to step down?
17 April 2016
LUCAS KIAP
I doubt that there’s a person in the history of Papua New Guinea who has been able to avoid the law with alacrity of the current Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill.
With his name on an arrest warrant and a number of successful court stay orders, Mr O’Neill has been able to sidestep his appointment with detectives for some two years.
But with the court turning down his latest bid to stay his warrant of arrest, how long can the cat and mouse game continue, wasting limited resources and tearing apart more state institutions, questioning and undermining their authority.
Yesterday’s suspension fraud directorate chief Mathew Damaru, who had been tipped as poised to arrest Mr O’Neill, was just the latest move in this long-running saga.
The law is taking a long time to catch up with PNG’s seventh prime minister to give him the opportunity to show he is innocent.
PNG has a robust and independent judiciary which remains one of the country’s last hopes for the dispensation of justice when corruption is rampant across all state institutions.
We are not at war. This country is not under siege. The police fraud squad is only doing its job. The judiciary is only performing its duty.
But heavily guarded by armed security forces, the prime minister seems afraid of the laws of the very country which he leads.
Papua New Guinea’s institutions must remain strong to hold the country together as a vibrant democracy. In the end they must prevail to fulfill this purpose. But at present they are under great pressure.
This country must be bigger than any person, tribe, province, region or group that wishes to hold her to ransom against the wishes of the people.
Police Commissioner Gary Baki is making the greatest mistake in his life trying to protect the prime minister. He won’t succeed in holding out against a nation which wants nothing but for the prime minister to prove his innocence in a competent court of law. There is no other way for the prime minister to free himself of allegations.
In my view, Peter O’Neill should step down now and prove his innocence in court. He has been maintaining his innocence so far, so there should be nothing for him to fear.
He has a moral and constitutional obligation to his office, to the country and to the people to lead with dignity and to do the honourable and right thing. In the current circumstances, it is to step down.
World leaders have stepped down for investigations to prove their innocence in a court of law.
Peter O'Neill is adamant he is innocent, but what is he afraid of. Go to court to cement your innocence if you think you are, Mr O'Neill. You cannot declare your own innocence. Someone else will have to judge and tell you what kind of character you are.
If you think that you are innocent, then give in to the police to arrest you and face the courts. Evading police arrest is already a bad sign of fear for crimes that may have been committed. I believe you are a good leader. Let the courts decide.
Posted by: Towaira Timan | 08 May 2016 at 02:10 PM
Step down? What do you mean step down? We leaders in PNG don’t know what step down means. We only know how to hold on as hard and as long as we can. We don’t care what you or anybody else thinks of us, as long as we have money and power. We don’t even care about what other countries think of us as a nation because we only think of ourselves. We will use our money and power and do anything under the sun to stay in power as long as we can, for eternity (if that is possible).
Posted by: Marcus Mapen | 17 April 2016 at 12:52 PM
Yes, it is time for the PM to step down. And Gary Baki must wake up and protect the country from falling apart into arnachy. He must allow Mathew Damaru and his band of honest men to continue with their investigations.
Posted by: Daniel Kumbon | 17 April 2016 at 06:00 AM