Police will not allow public demonstration against Justine Tkatchenko

NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Silva Sika says police operations in the city will be on heightened alert from today Wednesday  onwards after  rumours of a planned protest march began circulating on social media.

Waigani Drive in Port Moresby this morning

Sika said police would not allow a public demonstration against Moresby South MP Justine Tkatchenko at the time when Pacific leaders were coming into the country for their summit.

Tkatchenko announced stepping aside from his role as Foreign Affairs Minister last Friday in Port Moresby. 

There were mounting pressure for him to resign coming from citizens politicians and various groups like the Catholic Professionals Association.

US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi were also arriving at the end of this week and with Tkatchenko stepping aside, Prime Minister James Marape is assuming his role temporarily.

Billboard in Port Moresby welcoming India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and regional leaders

 Sika said any disturbances by a minority group in NCD would be a major embarrassment to the international community.

The Metropolitan Superintendent said they received a letter from a group calling themselves the Coalition of Concerned Citizens delivered to his office on Tuesday, requesting police to grant approval for the planned protest march.

 "The organisers of this event are using social media to persuade city residents to form up at the Pacific Institute of Leadership and Governance Institute in Waigani tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said in a statement. 

 "They intend to walk from there to parliament house."

 He has declined the request  because the world's attention is now on PNG.

"We also took into consideration the social impact on the community, " Sika said.

"The business community may suffer losses, and children's education may be disrupted by this event."

He said  people aggrieved by comments made by Moresby South MP Justin Tkatchenko can take their grievances to court and seek redress or write and petition the government without a public assembly.

Last week several citizens protested along Waigani drive over discriminative comments by MP Justine Tkatchenko. 

Sika said police will continue to work closely with the communities in maintaining peace and good order across the city.

Most beautiful and mysterious place in Kerema

The Bluff Point is one of Kerema's most beautiful and mysterious places. 

Jack Frost Kivare writes it's depth is seemingly forever and its sheer size can be breath taking when you marvel at it.

But it's not just the physical beauty of the point that makes it so mysterious and attractive.

 It holds secrets of their history that are yet to be uncovered. 

Turns out the point might have been home to ancient secrets and monsters the size of a ship. 

It has been seen by fisherman but because of its fishing beliefs villagers speak only about it when they are home. 

Come along and the fishermen will take you on a journey  to discover the hidden truth of this beautiful place- the Bluff Point.

Ol Katolic manmeri long Bogenvil I lukim ken mama Fatima

Bikpela lotu na prea bai kamap long ol peris long Bogenvil long wanem Mama Fatima I kam gen.

Long Sarere namba 13 dei bilong mum Me, ol man I bringim em igo long Buka na planti Katolik manmeri I amamas tru.

Ol I kisim em igo long Hahela haus lotu na mekim welkam olsem bipo ol tumbuna I save mekim.

Bihain bikpela lotu I kirap na Mama Fatima bai igo long planti ol Peris long Bogenvil .

Mama Fatima I bin go long Bogenvil long yia 2016 tu.

Mama Fatima em ol Katolik I bilip olsem spirit bilong Maria, mama bilong Jisas I bin kamap long tripela man bilong was long sipsip long ples Fatima long kantri Portugal.

Dispela I bin kamap long 1917 na long 1930 Katolik sios I makim dispela samting olsem wanpela bilip long dispela I bin kamap.

Mama Fatima Poto NBC Bougainville 

I gat tok tu olsem mama Fatima  I bin go long Panguna na lotu wantaim Francis Ona na bihain toktok bilong wanbel na noken pait long Bogenvil I kamap.

Bougenvil I vot pinis long ol I mas kamap wanpela kantri bilong ol yet na planti manmeri  I wanbel long dispela.

Bougainville Catholics honour visit by Our Lady of Fatima

Catholics in Bougainville are celebrating the visit of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima- commonly known as Mama Fatima.

Statue of Mama Fatima Photo NBC Bougainville 

The apparition of Mama Fatima is the appearance of Virgin Mary among three shepherds in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 and the Church accepted it to be a belief in 1930.

The statue of Fatima will visit several parishes in Bougainville and Catholics will have venerations.

The last time she visited Bougainville was in 2016.

It is strongly believed that her silent visit to Francis Ona in Panguna during the Bougainville conflict influenced peace negotiations and Bougainville is now enjoying peace and looking forward to Independence after a successful vote on referendum.

Our Lady of Fatima arrived Saturday in Buka and taken to the Hahela Catholic Church before a traditional welcome was offered and a mass was celebrated .

Human bones located at a cave at Wutung

 Wutung village in West Sepik set along the Bougainville Bay right at the international border with Indonesia can be intriguing to a visitor.

First its inhabitants are neither Papua New Guineans or Indonesian Melanesians.

Yes they have family connections to as far as Jayapura, Indonesia and the international border land marks are otherwise irrelevant for the Wutung villagers- the same for the Vanimo West Coast villagers.

The famous light house land mark signifies the international border  stands aloft the hill just west of the village and beneath those hills is a cave that has human bones.

When we visited the cave accessing it via the sea during low tide, the human bones were there.

The skull, bones of the hands and legs were well kept and candles lit on the side.

During certain occasions locals offer vigil prayers for the lives of people whose bones remained there.

Belden Namah calls for Foreign Affairs Minister Justine Tkatchenko to resign

Papua New Guinea hosts world leaders from the United States in President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in less than two weeks time.

There will be 18 other Pacific Island leaders also in Port Moresby.

But the key government ministry who should be at the helm facilitating and leading the meetings is in turmoil with resonating calls for its Foreign Affairs Minister Justine Tkatchenko to resign.

The calls from the public on social media and now Vanimo Green River Open MP Hon. Belden Namah is resounding.

Namah is also Chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Immigrations and Defence and he is issuing the call for Tkatchenko to resign as minister, MP and renounce his PNG citizenship.

Tkatchenko is a naturalised citizen and the calls for his resignation stem from his comments on ABC's Pacific Beat labelling Papua New Guineans who criticized his daughter Savannah for posting a video on social media TikTok doing shopping at Singapore's airport and then to London for the coronation of King Charles III as extravagant, waste of tax payer funds.

Tkatchenko has defended his daughters post and told the Post Courier he would not resign.

He told Post Courier the trip was not funded by public funds but later told ABC's Pacific Beat, it was funded by taxpayers.

Namah has called for his resignation after Tkatchenko allegedly labelled Papua New Guineans as  “useless people” and “primitive animals” on ABC.

"I am calling on the Foreign Affairs Minister to confirm or deny that he uttered those descriptions of citizens of Papua New Guinea which has been kind enough to offer him naturalized citizenship.

 

"If he has indeed uttered those despicable words then I am calling on Justin Tkatchenko to immediately resign as Foreign Affairs Minister and as Member of Parliament and further renounce his citizenship.

 

"The “useless people” and “primitive animals” of this country have ensured he grew his business, gave him a wife, offered him citizenship, elected him into public office, made him a minister and sent him and his daughter to London.

 

"Alternatively, I am calling on the Prime Minister to sack him immediately and withdraw his citizenship.

 

"I am also calling on the Immigration Minister to direct the Chief Migration Officer to immediately call a Citizenship Board Meeting to deal with Justin Tkatchenko.  The Agenda of the meeting should be Justin Tkatchenko breaching citizenship laws, rules and regulations of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

 

"As to the TikTok video, it just reveals the kind of shallow mentality and disregard for Papua New Guineans that the minister must have inculcated in his family.  It is unfortunate.

 

The name of the video says it all: #aussiesinengland.  Send them to Australia if that is who they are," Namah said.

Opposition Leader Joseph Lelang has also said Tkatchenko's comments were irresponsible and he agrees the Minister should resign. He told Pacific Beat.

Lelang said the words used promote segregation during pre independence era.

Prime Minister James Marape has not released a statement yet.

 

West Sepik politics a must observe region in 2022 National General Elections

A province not too highly acclaimed in the development index, West Sepik though has become famous in the last decade playing some influential roles in the making or breaking of Papua New Guinea governments.

Vanimo (Lido) village in the foreground and Vanimo Town at the back

Belden Namah, a former army captain in the PNG Defence Force and nicknamed "Skull" is undoubtedly a name indelibly inked to the province as a mover and shaker of PNG politics.

He is the incumbent Member of Parliament representing the people of Vanimo Green River district.

Vanimo Green River comprises the local level governments of Vanimo Urban, Bewani Wutung Onei, Walsa, Amanab and further south and inland from Vanimo is Green River.

Namah is also the Opposition Leader and he served almost more than 10 years in the opposition.

At one instance, he was "one man" opposition. 

A son of a laymen in the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church from Somboi village, Bewani in the hinterland south of Vanimo, he says he fears no one but God.

He was one of the pioneers of Vanimo Provincial High School and then attended Sogeri National High School before joining the PNGDF cadet program and studied at the Royal Military College, Duntron in Canberra.

He became famous during the Sandline crisis when him and other soldiers forced Sandline mercenary boss Tim Spicer to leave Papua New Guinea.

Namah was later charged with mutiny, found guilty by the court and sentenced to prison.

He was paroled in 2003 and pardoned by GC Sir Michael Somare in 2005.

He became so involved with landholders of logging projects in the Vanimo TRP area and Amanab FMA protesting against Vanimo Forest Products and demanding the Provincial Forest Management Committee (PFMC) award logging licences to landowner companies.

Namah became powerful with money and was chartering Air Niugini Fokker 100's to Vanimo frequently in leading two years before 2007.

The Momase region volleyball tournament was hosted in Vanimo mid 2007 and Namah was the major sponsor.

Riding on his fame as a local who joined other military personnel and went against a government decision, kicking out Sandline-Namah's fame grew more and more.

He contested the Vanimo Green River open seat endorsed by Sir Michael Somare's National Alliance Party and won.