Papua New Guinea declares 2-week state of emergency after 16 killed in riots, Chinese shops looted
- A police salary row has led to widespread rioting, with armed mobs looting shops in capital Port Moresby and across the country
- PM James Marape, who has suspended the police commissioner and several key ministers, hints at hidden hands behind the ‘organised’ riots
Papua New Guinea declared a two-week state of emergency in its capital on Thursday, as Prime Minister James Marape brought the army in to help restore order, and suspended the police commissioner and several key ministers after a police salary dispute sparked deadly rioting.
The island nation of 10 million people had been rocked by two nights of violence, triggered by a sudden police walkout over pay, which then saw armed mobs loot shops in the capital Port Moresby – including a number of Chinese businesses – in violence that also spilled across the nation on Wednesday.
Nine people were killed in the rioting in Port Moresby and seven were killed in Lae, the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea, Australian state broadcaster ABC reported on Thursday, citing police.
As the nation lurched further into political crisis, Marape pledged to restore order late on Thursday, announcing the state of emergency and a two-week investigation into the causes behind the “lawlessness”, as he hinted at hidden hands behind the violence.
The state of emergency is restricted to Port Moresby, as was spelled out by Marape’s National Executive Council.
“Enough is enough,” he said of the police insubordination which led to the chaos, telling officers to “go back to work, listen to your orders and restore normalcy. Everyone who has committed an offence under our country’s laws will face justice”.
Marape emphasised the need to address the organised nature of the unrest and identified individuals orchestrating the chaos.
