Post Courier
The power to deport a foreigner is at the
discretion of the PNG Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister. It is a powerful
mechanism that the State has at its disposal and governments around the world
use it for various reasons – migration breaches, terrorism and threats to
national security.
Here in PNG the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration is empowered by the PNG Migration Act 1978 to order the removal of persons who are considered to be in the country unlawfully.
But we are a thriving democracy and we believe in the rule of law and according all Papua New Guineans and our foreign visitors the basic human rights set under the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
It is from this school of thought that we find the actions of the O’Neill government, in its latest attempts to deport PNG-based Australian lawyer Greg Sheppard, strange and uncomforting. Last month another prominent Australian, Ross Garnaut, was warned “he is no longer welcome in Papua New Guinea” after he made comments which a number of PNG politicians found unsavory.
We believe all people – Papua New Guineans and visiting foreigners alike – should be subject to due process and be given the freedom to exhaust all legal avenues.
If politicians have issues with the conduct of lawyers, and how they manage monies held in trust or comments made by foreigners abroad, there are avenues within the PNG legal system or in a similar jurisdiction overseas where the matter could be pursued.
It is for the reason we support the calls by the newly-elected Papua New Guinea Law Society president, Sir Kina Bona, to use legal processes and procedures.
He said: “Papua New Guinea is a democratic country with a constitution and other enacted laws and regulations that govern our day to day lives in this country.
“We are proud to say that our judiciary and our legal system place paramount importance in upholding the basic principle of the rule of law. We have legal processes and procedures that have to be adhered to before people can be deported or denied access into the country.
“If anyone is upset or insulted by any public statement made by anyone in this country, then there are avenues made possible by our legal system to get relief in our courts or some other lawful means.”
There is no doubt this latest developments will be watched with concern by the international community.
In October, PNG Attorney-General Kerenga Kua told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) in an interview that the PNG constitution was unparalleled, in that it codified most of the human rights found in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.
“I don’t see how one could possibly say that PNG has inadequate regulatory or legal framework to deal with the issues when we have one of the best constitutions in the world in as far as protection of human rights is concerned,” he reportedly said.
This deportation saga is the perfect opportunity for the O’Neill Government to practise what they preach, and to demonstrate to the world that it believes in upholding the laws, legislated by its very own National Parliament for the good of the country and its people.
Here in PNG the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration is empowered by the PNG Migration Act 1978 to order the removal of persons who are considered to be in the country unlawfully.
But we are a thriving democracy and we believe in the rule of law and according all Papua New Guineans and our foreign visitors the basic human rights set under the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
It is from this school of thought that we find the actions of the O’Neill government, in its latest attempts to deport PNG-based Australian lawyer Greg Sheppard, strange and uncomforting. Last month another prominent Australian, Ross Garnaut, was warned “he is no longer welcome in Papua New Guinea” after he made comments which a number of PNG politicians found unsavory.
We believe all people – Papua New Guineans and visiting foreigners alike – should be subject to due process and be given the freedom to exhaust all legal avenues.
If politicians have issues with the conduct of lawyers, and how they manage monies held in trust or comments made by foreigners abroad, there are avenues within the PNG legal system or in a similar jurisdiction overseas where the matter could be pursued.
It is for the reason we support the calls by the newly-elected Papua New Guinea Law Society president, Sir Kina Bona, to use legal processes and procedures.
He said: “Papua New Guinea is a democratic country with a constitution and other enacted laws and regulations that govern our day to day lives in this country.
“We are proud to say that our judiciary and our legal system place paramount importance in upholding the basic principle of the rule of law. We have legal processes and procedures that have to be adhered to before people can be deported or denied access into the country.
“If anyone is upset or insulted by any public statement made by anyone in this country, then there are avenues made possible by our legal system to get relief in our courts or some other lawful means.”
There is no doubt this latest developments will be watched with concern by the international community.
In October, PNG Attorney-General Kerenga Kua told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) in an interview that the PNG constitution was unparalleled, in that it codified most of the human rights found in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.
“I don’t see how one could possibly say that PNG has inadequate regulatory or legal framework to deal with the issues when we have one of the best constitutions in the world in as far as protection of human rights is concerned,” he reportedly said.
This deportation saga is the perfect opportunity for the O’Neill Government to practise what they preach, and to demonstrate to the world that it believes in upholding the laws, legislated by its very own National Parliament for the good of the country and its people.
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