I am not sure Ms Merrell understands the depth of feeling and immense level of frustration that has built up over the last few years as ordinary people have felt ignored and not listened to by the leaders of their own country.

This is not just a political movement or even a few rabble rousers creating an opportunity for the ever present rascals to rampage around. What we are seeing is the tip of an iceberg that has been growing in size and power.

If the repercussions of the recent police action really start reverberating in the PM's volatile electorate, he will find himself isolated and vulnerable. Unfortunately, all this violence and injury could have and would have been prevented if PM O'Neill had merely agreed to be questioned by the police fraud squad.

Surely it is not worth creating the suffering that have now arisen and will be hard to downplay or ignore? By refusing to answer any questions it begs the question: Why?

Is it worth creating such a situation that people feel so aggrieved that they are prepared to suffer personal injury and even the possibility of losing their lives.

If I were Ms Merrell, I would be advising her employer to agree to answer questions in his office with his lawyer present and easily clear his name as after all, he claims he has done nothing wrong.

Given the government is still united behind the PM, how can the answering of a few questions be politically motivated?

I would suggest that anyone who tries to downplay this genuine demonstration of PNG people power should expect and not be surprised at the level of vitriolic response.

No fear young leaders!

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mahatma Gandhi

Faith. Unity. Action.

Mr Alone, not once did you pen a message condemning police brutality. You shot a lot of arrows at the poor university students, half of them females. Over 20 students were shot at.

Since you and I went to university, how many in our time went on to enter the national parliament as elected leaders?

Not many. But leaders are not necessarily elected. I became a captain and coach of my RLF team, I was a leader. One of my mates left uni to become a priest - he is currently a great leader leading thousands of Catholics.

You seem to condone the police brutality - the shooting with live bullets at unarmed students who were conducting a peaceful protest.

And butchery? Yes this time maybe nobody died, but police shot indiscriminately into the mass of students.

Do you condone this butchery act of the well armed Special Service Unit (police)? Or maybe we should sent them to Iraq and see if they stand a change against real bullets flying at them too?

This is a democratic country, citizens have the right to assemble, voice an opinion and audit government performance. The students have been doing just that. You seem pro-O'Neill.

Yu save wokim gutpla toktok long PNG Attitude; tasol nau mi ino save.

It is my view and I strongly feel that this issue of student unrest would not have blown up should it have been internally resolved at institutional levels starting from the university administration through to the higher education department and ministry.

The NEC and prime minister should be the last option for intervention. The university administration and higher education department and ministry should have resolved the problem at its inception.

It appears obvious that Wednesday's confrontation between students and police demonstrates the inability of the higher education department and UPNG to amicably resolve the issue.

It seems that the minister for higher education is the only leader on the forefront addressing this issue. The public hardly sees the secretary of higher education and UPNG administration finding neutral ground to resolve the issue.

The Ombudsman Commission and the inquiry should also investigate whether these key actors contributed to the confrontation.

The heads of these institutions should immediately step down to save face. I have confidence in Minister Malakai Tabar to resolve this issue.

I detest xenophobia of any form but for you Susan, I make the excpetion. You are an oxygen thief and undeserving of any association with Papua New Guinea.

Due to the shooting,
PNG will retaliate as civil unrest
and you will lose your glory
Susan's comment on what students deserve
will be like a bush fire.
you and O'Neill with the bulk of rough, semi educated policemen
will not contain the anger of the 7.5 million Papua New Guineans
as they rebel.
Be mindful, PNG is a communal society
bound to cause destruction
at any time
Simbu is protesting
Mt Hagen is protesting
Wabag is protesting
when will you contain the protesters?
you will hide in a police cage
your freedom is suppressed
with your evil deeds
you are bullying
playing like a dictator
by mouth you a undermining law
by action you are a coward and puppet
the world is watching
you are disgrace to Melanesian society
you people are embarrassing
yet you think you fly like an eagle
and see like an owl
but without legs to stand on
the edge of the law will suit you
it is the mouthpiece of the nation
if you step on the branch
you will fall
still the edge is waiting for you
Peter O'Neill is fighting a losing battle
bai yu pudaun lon hel tomoro

Butchery - truly.

This makes me feel angry, frustrated and guilty for not being there too.

This is what evil men will do when a nation does not take responsibility for its democracy - your children will bleed on the streets.

Look at the pictures. Why is the mobile squad equipped with Australian-made SLR'S (self loading automatic rifles) or US M16s?

These are combat weapons, designed to rapid fire at enemy troops in the context of a war, with a devastating impact.

To use them against a civilian protest is an abomination.

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/papua-new-guinea

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/australian-guns-passed-to-png-criminals/2005/07/03/1120329325687.html

Julie Bishop has just said this -

"Peter O’Neill is the elected prime minister of PNG and PNG is a sovereign nation. PM Turnbull spoke to PM O’Neill last evening and offered support if the government needed it but that offer was not taken up.

"We want there to be calm in PNG, we want PNG to focus on its strengths as a nation. It has an enormous economic opportunity with a number of LNG projects.

"This can provide jobs and economic growth in PNG. But the violence is disturbing, of course, it is, and we call for calm and a deescalation of the tensions.

"These protests have been going on for some weeks now, the students have effectively boycotted the university. So we want to ensure that law and order is restored but that any police response to lawful peaceful protest is proportionate."

Well said!

There is zero justification for police brutality. God's speed with recovery to those injured and traumatised by these deplorable actions. My heart breaks seeing this image of our others mourning for the assault on young lives. PNG belongs to us all and not only one man!

Shooting at students is simply unacceptable. Let this government go and go for good!

You are spot on Keith. This is a shameful act by the police against the most basic tenet of democracy, the right to peaceful protest.

Why have we, the Australian government, been co-operating with this rotten government, oh that's right, we have a detention centre on Manus.

You could add Kevin Rudd to Malcolm Turnbull & Julie Bishop. My thoughts are with those young people who will eventually become the leaders of their country, I only hope they will still have a country.

It is a sad day in the political history of this beautiful nation, PNG. Why it has happened this way? The political cronies had their way to escape from law. I stand with the majority to strongly condemn the act of slaughtering. Human beings are not animals, they are precious gift from God above. May those who involved in murdering fellow PNGans be strongly condemned.

It would seem the dross and inept who've ridden on the coat tails of political history are revealed for who they truly are.

To slaughter the the nation's youth is such a malevolent step. Like Herod of old, all pretenders to earthly rule would not be tolerated.

It will be interesting to see what is made of this here in Australia. Time now for sterner diplomatic stuff - not stuffing around, methinks.

PM O'Neill has shut all doors of escape from the consequences of this social evil that has descended upon the country.

Try as he might, there is no way he and his cronies can atone for this insanity perpetrated upon future leadership.

Let's see what saner heads amid PNG's Parliament and Judiciary can now achieve to rid the nation of the miscreants, and restore confidence in the market-place.

The RPNGC has now stepped over the line between being a force for the preservation of law and order to being a gang of thugs enforcing the will of the will of the Prime Minister.

Thus a once proud and honourable heritage has been trashed for good. The honorific "Royal" is now a black joke.

The use of lethal force against unarmed students is a crime, pure and simple. The principal beneficiaries of this crime are the Prime Minister and the gang of crooks, shysters and carpetbaggers who support him.

Any right thinking person in PNG, including even the ignoramuses who constitute that crapulous place of cant, hypocrisy and deceit called the PNG parliament, ought to realise by now that O'Neill has to go.

If he is not forced to step down then, by default, his supporters are endorsing murder as a necessary "tool of trade" to maintain Prime Ministerial power.

This also would represent the end of genuinely representative democracy in PNG even though, of course, farcical attempts would doubtless be made to pretend otherwise.

O'Neill's unwillingness to submit himself to the judicial process demonstrates his flagrant contempt for the rule of law.

His supporters are just as culpable for this outrageous crime in so far as they have helped create the conditions for it to occur.

The role played by Commissioner Gary Baki in thwarting the proper administration of justice is especially significant. He should be compelled to resign immediately.

Is there no-one willing or able to act to defend the constitution of PNG and the laws made under it?

O' Neil hungry to suck blood
like sucking power
he thinks not like a Papua New Guinean
he thinks like an alien
he acts like a thief
defending his dictatorship
as a war lord
at the battle field
in the parliament
using another Papua New Guinean
as a slave
to shoot another elite Papua New Guinean
man in blue
semi educated
ill trained
not to respect law
not to enforce law
not to bring peace
but to follow a thief
to gain favour with money
to an innocent money
if the nature checks
and balance
both the verbal commander
and the arm commander
will enter the same gate
since PNG is mourning
over the spill of blood
at the capital city of PNG

Peter O' Neill, be a man and step down or better resign from the post of PM na go hait pastaim. Mi filim les na belhat pinis long wanem samting wok kamap stap.

You are holding the citizens of PNG for ransom. This is unbecoming of a PM of a democratic country. Your stubborness to answer to corruption charged is like a tropical ulcer eating into PNG society.

Be a man and step aside, and go in for questioning.

Leaders take responsibility of their actions. Leaders listen to what their people are saying. Leaders accept criticisms from their opposition. Leaders have integrity.

What transpired today would be another dark chapter in PNG's political history. Shame on you and all those fat frogs for this mayhem.