Allan Patience
THE primary
cause of the recent ''mutiny'' by sections of the Papua New Guinea defence
force is a mix of soldiers' anger over low pay, their substandard living
conditions, associated low morale, and grudges against some of their senior
officers.
This has led
some of them to back Sir Michael Somare in his quest for his reinstatement as
prime minister, naively believing that the dishonoured promises of the past
will somehow be honoured this time around.
Sir Michael and
his followers are boycotting parliamentary sittings while scheming a take-over
of the government before the general election due in a few months. Incumbency
is vital to electoral success in PNG, so access to the largesse of the Treasury
benches is now everything to the Somare camp.
Sir Michael's
followers seem ready to go to desperate extremes to regain power. In a bizarre
move last week, they ordered retired Colonel Yaura Sasa to seize control of the
defence force and coerce the Parliament into restoring Sir Michael as PM.
Sasa's five minutes of infamy were, however, quickly ended.
That the Somare
camp would seek to politicise the PNG military shows Sir Michael and those
around him are no longer fit for high office. But it also raises the issue of
the Somare political legacy in PNG.
Sir Michael, his
family and his political cronies have developed an over-weaning sense of
entitlement. Over the years they have resolutely resisted legitimate attempts
to subject their use of public resources to scrutiny.
For example, in
a report by Justice Barnett in 1989, allegations were made that Sir Michael and
people close to him profited from links to the Malaysian logging company
Rimbunan Hijau. The Barnett report has never been acted on despite its
revelations of serious improprieties and its unequivocal recommendations for
criminal charges to be laid.
More recently,
Sir Michael and his son Arthur purchased expensive properties in Cairns. How
they obtained the funds for these purchases remains a mystery, despite several
attempts in 2007 to hold them to public account.
Sir Michael's
four-month medical sojourn last year in Singapore was subsidised to the tune of
millions of kina by the PNG government, though the terms of this latest display
of generosity by the PNG state have never been publicly explained.
Sir Michael's self-aggrandisement
at public expense was on display in April 2010 at an extravagant reception at
Tokyo's five-star New Otani Hotel, for the opening of the chancery building of
the PNG embassy in Japan.
Hundreds of
guests wined and dined copiously. Sir Michael made a grand entrance flanked by
two Papua New Guineans in traditional dress and carrying spears. A traditional
entertainment group from East New Britain drummed and danced. The PNG foreign
minister and then Sir Michael subjected the guests to rambling speeches
extolling the PNG-Japan relationship.
Somare was in
his element, exuding what he thought was greatness and receiving what he
thought were appropriate salutations. The whole affair must have cost many
thousands of kina - money that would have been far better spent on medical and
educational facilities back in PNG.
Diplomatically
it was a disaster. Many of the Japanese present were bemused by the traditional
entertainment. They did not understand the speeches and thought the short fat
man overshadowed by his lofty guards-of-honour was part of the act rather than
the Pprime Minister of PNG. But Somare was oblivious, effusing, gesturing and
wanting to be the centre of attention.
To be fair,
Michael Somare has at times reached towards greatness in his political career.
But his political record overall is one of disastrous failure. PNG remains
deeply corrupt, under-developed and sadly exploited. Its long-suffering
citizens deserve far more than the Somare leadership has bequeathed them.
It is time for
Papua New Guineans to reassess the role Sir Michael has played in their
country's post-colonial development. It may be that in time he will become
known as the ''godfather of the nation'' rather than the ''father of the
nation''.
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