Papua New Guinea’s under siege court judges have found an unlikely ally
with prisoners threatening to break out of jails en mass “in protest”
at the O’Neill government’s Judicial Conduct Act.
The country’s jail boss, Correctional Services acting commissioner
Martin Balthazar, has told government broadcaster NBC that commanding
officers at the country’s 20 prisons have been put on high alert after
an inmate called the NBC’s Current Issues program last night to warn the
public.
The inmate told the radio program that there would be a mass breakout if the government did not repeal the controversial law.
Mr Balthazar, who has also come under scrutiny in recent days over allegations
one of his female jail wardens had sex 15 times with serial bank robber
William Kapris, told NBC that prisoners lost their rights to criticize
government policies when they were jailed.
"For a prisoner to make such aggressive comments against the
constitutional obligations of government then that particular prisoner
should be disciplined under the normal disciplinary process of
disciplining a prisoner within the jail administration. With prisoners
who raise that type of comments, it does indicate that there is certain
elements within the prison confinement that are trying to create a lot
of problems for prison administration. And I would like to use this
opportunity to alert my prison commanders to be on the lookout and keep
their ears sharp for such prisoners who tend to misbehave and make all
sorts of comments,” he said.
The allegations surrounding Kapris’ sex trysts confirm prisoners’
ability to breach security to access “goods and services” while in
solitary confinement including sex and mobile phones.
The prisoners are the latest group to join a growing tide of critics of
the law comprising students from PNG’s four major universities, the
Community Coalition Against Corruption (CCAC), the PNG Trade Union
Congress (PNGTUC) and the PNG Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PNGCCI).
The PNGTUC and its affiliated unions yesterday demanded the O’Neill
government make the repealing of the law the first business for
parliament when it reconvenes next Tuesday April 3 reports
PNG daily newspaper Post-Courier. Failure to comply could see members
of the PNG National Airlines Employees Association, PNG National Doctors
Association, PNG Bankers and Financial Institution Workers Union,
Telecommunication Workers Union and Public Employees Association walk
off their jobs, which could potentially cripple the economy and add to
the problems the O'Neill government is curently experiencing with the PNG LNG Project in Southern Highlands.
The unions’ ultimatum will put more pressure on the O’Neill government to repeal the law despite assurances
by Maprik MP Gabriel Kapris, the chair of the PNG Constitutional Law
Reform Commission, that the law will not be implemented until a
nationwide public consultation process is concluded.
The Melanesian Alliance Party (MA), which is represented in parliament
by PNG’s sole woman MP and Opposition Leader Dame Carol Kidu, has also
reportedly come out supporting last Friday’s protest by thousands of
students from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG).
The Judicial Conduct Act gives powers to cabinet and parliament to
regulate the conduct of National and Supreme Court judges, which legal
experts say will remove the independence of the judiciary and make it
vulnerable to the executive and the legislature.
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