It was sickening to learn from the SBS telecast of Forestry in Daru the corruption involving Rambunhijau (Logging Company also Owner of RH HyperMart in POM) and the Police Force and the forestry authorities

Several things to note form the telecast

1. Bribery
2. Corruption
3. Lack of Police presence (Police presence in the area is funded by Rambunhijau logging company to safe guard their propertise when locals speak out against the company)
4. to date what has the forest authority done ??
5. no monitoring of logging practise by DEC or forestry
6. lives of the people who speak out the truth about the corruption there is in real danger ( the policeman who decided to speak about what is happening between the police and Rambunhijau logging company is already out on PNG for his safety.

Note Rambunanhijau is the biggest logging company in all of PNG

Is the PNG Government just going to sit like this and pretend all the time ?

SQuiler

Bara, what SBS reported is true ( I have not seen it )and such practise of corruption is rampant in all levels of our society...........

From politicians down to the ordinary villager.

I hope PNGans should be honest as we claim to a christian country.

........I just feel like running amoch and killing every body who invovle in corrupt practices........

God forgive me for words and my fellow citizens for involving in such corrupt practises.

Help us Lord to be born again and become good stewards of the resources you've bless PNG with.

God bless PNG

Hi Squiler and Blada,
these logging companies have been getting away with corrupt practices for too long.

There is no end in sight, because the corrupt practices, are by now, endemic. Greenpeace
(which I donate to) can only do so much.

The time has come for civil-disobeience on a large scale. Make it too hoat for these companies to continue. That way something will happen. It is already working against RD Tuna. Take the initiative, talk will get you nowhere.

Read Voltaire on educating the people. Once the people become motivated, anything is possible.

Regards......Ralph.

Even God hasn't helped PNG yet.

I'm responding to the artle dated NOV/05/04 titled "God bless PNG" yes,God has blessed PNG with everything what we have enjoyed today. God blessed our ancestors and fore-fathers with all those resources and they passed it down to our grand parents and to us today. We are greedy who wanted to get everything without thinking of the future generations. God of our ancestors is the God who does not demand anything from His men and women, and therefore they have firmed relationship.

Today's God brough in by the religious groups is demanding too much us. He loves money, he loves us to go to church in full suit, he will only eat imported bi-products, he loves to see us marrying in the church, he only likes to listen to English or Pidgin, he does not want to hear people speaking languages in the churches. He love to listern to songs and music with modern muscial instruments.

Where are we going to get all those things to serve him? We have turned our backs to our creator and selling the blessings that He has blessed us such as our natural resources to satisfy God who demanded money to serve him ony in the churches. Where are we going to get money to buy suit, shoes, wedding clothes, rings,tin grosseries from the shops, learning foreign languages is to sell our forest, gold and copper under the land. We chopped down our forest to make plantations to to get more money. What we give and serve him is not enough, he needs more and more because he exectly know what we have remains on our land.

Let us talk about corruptions from top down to the bottom or vise versa. We all have a disease in our blood (biological system) that kills all our sense of determination and visioning our future destination. Therefore, I don't think our religion conviction, or beliefs or practices as a mean of solving our problems.

Enclosed quote from what Bishop Desmon Tutu "Churches came with te bible and told us to close our eyes while we closed our eyes they gave us the bible and took our land"

We should look at the big picture than narrowing to religion as a only solutions.

Busman

The goverment in power today is allowing this to happend. Even Somare is turning a blind eye on the issue up front, instead of taking cation on the allegations he has instead tried to crucify the messanger. And we thought he was clean and had a heart for this nation. Which leaders are we gonna trust?

Yes, Somare is to be blaimed for all the problems that we are facing today including other PMs and their MPs. They simply ignored the procedures, rules and regulations of this country. Their plotical cronies and foreign advisors are favouring their way which lots of problems are undercovered. Those same corrupted leaders since 1970s are still in the parliament. They know how the system works and therefore, corrupt practice and brivery is part of their lifes. Who is going to expose it? Corruption is their bread and butter and their mean of survival.

Come-on! The grassroots people of PNG needs revolutional change instead of political change with the system. We can replace the current leaders with new leaders, but they are going into the umban, we need to change the system with a new system.

BK

Civil disobedience is the answer! !

Corruption from top to bottom is rampant and has filtered itself into the fabric of our society. As it seems, there is one law for the Government of the day and another for the ordinary Papua New Guinean.

We have said enough in the last 10 to 15 years. I personally don't see any gains for me to continue yapping on in this forum and other media outlets - there seems to be absolutely nothing we can do to stop this network of corruption. I think resource owners should stand up for their own rights and do something about this.

All it requires is for a charismatic person to take the lead and motivate simple Papua New Guineans to consolidate and rise up against the dark forces in PNG. When people are motivated they can move mountains ! Governments and politicians are created by the people ! Elected leaders have become selfish and corrupt therefore the people must rise up now or else all hope will be gone.

rock
London

yeah its about time ppl realised this ...but did we not realised this before ??? we ready for the chance ...but given the diverse in our culture do we stand a chance of uniting as a PNGean weeding out corruption ???

I think it will take time ...lets punish them with our laws ..for example the law on leadership code ...

SQuiler

The people needs to build a solid foundation based on self consensus as Melanesians PNGans and put a side our greed, selfishness,corrupt and political and ideological differences. We need to uphold the sense of nationalism,to pursue for equality and just society. How many of those existing political parties has a long term vision/mision for PNG and Strategic objective to rescue the fail economy?

We despradily, need a revolutional change in the government system to to reconstruct a govering system that can serve the people and the remaining resources. The more we wait, more people died and resources are rapidly exploite to uncontrolable degree. Please, be serious and we mobilize and motivate people to build grassroots power to change the corrupted potical system.

BK

Somare is turning a blind eye to all this happening in forestry. Is he benefiting from them and thats why he is turning a blind eye?
Its funny that Somare is blasting the journalist and his namesake Anthony Smare was the one who got the journalist and her video tapes out of PNG and the police to Australia. Good to see some lawyers are honest.

Not surprised that Anthony Smare is involved in getting the reporter out of PNG with her story. When he was at uni he was active in campaigning against logging in his area in Aitape. But as a corporate lawyer it might not be good for business to take on the loggers in PNG these days. People like RH are very powerful and have friends in high places.

the forestry resource is non renweabel and the PNG governement seems to continually ignore the Asians who are plundering our forests. It makes me wonder are the Government and Politicians conspiring to clean our country clean of forests.