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Category: Crime

  • PNG deploys armoured vehicles to Enga in action against ‘domestic terrorism’

    By Theophiles Singh in Port Moresby

    Police Commissioner David Manning has warned Papua New Guinea’s security force staff and partners not to let their guard down as hostilities remain simmering in the Highlands with a risk of violent confrontations.

    He said that a stronger approach was needed by the security forces against troublemakers, and increased engagement between stakeholders was yielding results.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations Phillip Mitna has announced that more than 200 security personnel will be deployed with two armoured vehicles to curb a recent spike of killings and tribal fighting in Enga province.

    The deployment will consist of more than 120 PNG Defence Force soldiers who are already on the ground, with an additional two Mobile Squad units who are on standby to be deployed soon.

    Deputy Commissioner Mitna also announced that the Police Commissioner had given the green light to establish a Special Police Unit, similar to the Airborne Tactical Unit (ATU), which would be dedicated solely towards dealing with domestic terrorism in the country.

    “The commissioner has announced the formation of the Kumul 23 Police tactical unit, but further details will be revealed later on,” he said.

    “They will report directly to the Commissioner of Police.

    Rapid deployment unit
    “This will be a rapid deployment unit, tasked to respond to violent crimes like domestic terrorism and domestic threats,” he said.

    “The unit will be spearheaded by the Police but we will have support from the Defence Force as well. “We hope to increase its numbers as high as 1000 personnel.”

    He said multiple search warrants had also been issued to apprehend several hired gunmen and their accomplices.

    This included sponsors and connections who were supplying arms and funding tribal warfare in the province.

    “Search warrants have been issued, some have been executed and some are yet to be executed.

    “We are taking a proactive and reactive approach to the situation,” he said.

    “We have information on several leaders ‘in general’ being involved and are currently working on issuing search warrants.

    Pending approval
    “Some of these warrants are pending approval from the court magistrates.”

    Deputy Commissioner Mitna said the police would not stop until these instigators of violence faced justice.

    He explained that drastic measures had been taken to promptly and safely ensure law and order was returned to normal as the Lagaip Open byelection was approaching.

    The priority areas include Wapenamanda, Lagaip and Porgera.

    “As part of our proactive strategy, we will be deploying Engan-based senior Police officers from NCD back to the province so that they can talk to their own people,” Deputy Commissioner Mitna said.

    But this approach needed the support of the wider community, including business houses, church groups and community leaders who would provide additional support to settle the situation.

    Intel officers
    “Our reactive approach will include our intel officers, who will move on the ground to conduct investigations into identifying those involved to arrest and prosecute them,” he said.

    He said the public was advised not to believe everything that had been spread on social media because most of what was shared online was false and inaccurate.

    “We have both Wapenamanda and Pogera contained, but we have isolated cases of particularly several hired gunmen being killed,” Deputy Commissioner Mitna said.

    “Other than that, we are stepping up operations and the entire area is currently under our microscope,” he said.

    Deputy Commissioner Mitna said that rival factions were using “hit and run” and “guerrilla type” warfare, obstructing police from identifying and arresting perpetrators.

    Theophiles Singh is a PNG Post-Courier journalist. Republished with permission.

     

     

     

  • Five prisoners shot dead in PNG after taking pastor, warder hostage

    PNG Post-Courier

    Five Papua New Guinean prisoners have been shot dead in Buiebi, Imbongu, Southern Highlands, after taking a pastor and duty warder hostage yesterday.

    And while the guards were trying to figure out a way to rescue the hostages, a further 10 prisoners in Barawagi Prison, Chimbu, also escaped.

    Correctional Services Commissioner Stephen Pokanis confirmed both breakouts saying they were trying to put together information about the incidents.

    At Buiebi, between noon and 1pm “about 49 prisoners made a run for the main gate and took with them a pastor and duty warder as hostages,” said Commissioner Pokanis.

    “Forty four managed to escape while five were shot dead.

    “The prisoners held a pastor and duty warder and escaped through the main gate.”

    Commissioner Pokanis said: “Police and the PNG Defence Force are working together with the Correctional Services officers to look for the escapees.

    Second lunchtime escape
    “I can also confirm that the second escape of 10 men at Barawagi Correctional Institution was at lunch time too. Seven were recaptured while 3 were still on the run,” he added.

    These are the third and fourth prisoner breakouts in PNG this year after earlier breakouts in West New Britain and Western Highlands.

    On April 23, at Lakiemata prison in West New Britain, about 16 prisoners were shot dead with investigations still ongoing.

    At Baisu, Western Highlands, 27 prisoners are still on the run with two caught.

    “We will ensure these prisoners are caught and brought back to the prisons,” Commissioner Pokanis said.

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PNG to upgrade Tribal Fights Act with life in jail for ‘domestic terrorists’

    PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guineans engaged in tribal fights will face life imprisonment once Parliament has its way with the amendment of the Tribal Fights Act in October.

    And the PNG government is looking at amending laws to also give police additional powers and immunity under special operations to protect the lives of policemen and women.

    The “restlessness” in Enga over the last couple of days has been labelled as “domestic terrorism”, which the security forces will be addressing under the special police unit and force that has been instructed to be set up.

    Prime Minister James Marape enroute to Wabag, Enga Province and then onto Port Vila, Vanuatu, fpor the Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders’ summit yesterday said the October Parliament Session would deal with amending the Tribal Fights Act to stop these “horrific fights” throughout the country.

    Under he PNG Constitution there is an Inter-group Fighting Act 1977 with a purpose to discourage fighting between groups of Papua New Guineans by providing for:

    • The creation of offences in relation to such fighting;
    • The imposition of severe penalties for such offences;
    • The collective punishment of the leaders of groups involved in fighting; and
    • The imprisonment of group leaders for non-payment of penalties imposed on them as a result of their group’s participation in such fighting.

    Severe penalties
    The Tribal Fights Act, now under a policy directive to be enacted, will be severe and is expected to deal specifically with life imprisonment among other punishments.

    “Next October when we go to Parliament, we will be amending the Tribal Fights Act,” Marape said.

    “Those who start tribal fights will be receiving life imprisonment, not just for Enga but right across the country.

    “We don’t want people to get engaged in tribal fights, those who cause tribal fights we will give them life imprisonment and that is the policy direction my government has given with the necessary legal change happening and being drafted as we speak.

    “For now, police have been instructed to look into stepping up their operations.”

    Police Commissioner David Manning had put in place an operational order and re-structure to enable the military and police to cooperate — “we try to get a specific command, a high-ranking police officer,” Marape said.

    “I will be stepping into Wabag today and will address our people out there . . . and will be appealing to the people out there.

    It was not the entire Enga Province involved, it was about four tribal fights based on police intelligence.

    “We know who the ring leaders of the tribal fights are,” Marape said.

    “In respect to restlessness in our country we are labelling this restlessness as domestic terrorism and so a special police unit being organised will go in full power to specific hotspot areas.”

    Republished with permission.

  • Violent crime is rising in North Korea amid food shortages

    Murder and other violent crimes are on the rise in North Korea amid spreading hunger, but authorities have had little success in stemming the violence, residents in the country say.

    Most North Koreans are struggling to survive and get food on their tables amid poor harvests and a weak economy still recovering from COVID-19 shutdowns, and sources say the pressures have led to an uptick in weapons-related offenses.

    “Judicial authorities are strengthening controls by mobilizing special riot police, inspection teams, and police officers to crack down on residents’ passage at night, but criminal acts are not decreasing,” said a resident of North Hamgyong province who, like others interviewed by RFA Korean for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity citing security concerns.

    “Last month, while staying at a friend’s house to earn some money in Kyongsong county, a man stabbed the friend in the stomach with a knife because the friend asked him to pay for lodging and meals,” he said. “Cases of injuring people with weapons like this are increasing recently.”

    Intelligence collected by South Korean authorities indicate crime is rising north of the border and starvation is spreading.

    In May, the country’s National Intelligence Service reported to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee that violent crimes in North Korea had tripled compared to the same period last year, while the country’s suicide rate increased by 40%.

    South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said last week that the number of people who died of starvation in North Korea from January to July this year more than doubled compared to the average over the past five years as the food situation in North Korea worsened.

    ENG_NK_Crime&Hunger_08232023.2.jpg
    North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un visiting a field affected by Tropical Storm Khanun in Ogye-ri, Kangwon province, in this undated photo released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 14, 2023. Credit: KCNA via KNS/AFP

    In another incident, earlier this month, a man stabbed someone to death when he was caught trying to steal a cellphone from someone who was drunk and sleeping in a park, the resident said.

    “The reason why the number of these cases – murder using a weapon after a trivial argument – is increasing recently is that life is becoming more difficult day by day,” he said. “The difficulties have led to emotional outbursts. Now, residents are constantly anxious and reluctant to go out, especially when it gets dark.”

    The local social security department has mobilized special riot police and random patrols, both day and night, “to devise measures to prevent incidents, including criminal acts, in advance,” the source said, “but violent criminal acts are not decreasing.”

    The resident said that the Workers’ Party Central Committee has ordered judicial institutions to deal with the problem, but noted that doing so had become increasingly challenging “because people’s personalities have become very sensitive due to difficult living conditions.”

    Even schools are unsafe

    A resident of Ryanggang province, who declined to be named, told RFA that the local populace has also become fearful of violent crime there amid a spate of attacks.

    “A few days ago, a person who was arguing over a trivial matter on the road took out a knife he had already been carrying and stabbed another person’s leg and body, causing injuries,” he said. “There are so many criminal acts involving weapons that people are afraid to even speak face to face.”

    The source added that violent crimes are also occurring at schools, leading staff to conduct inspections of students’ bags and other belongings.

    “But these projects are only temporary measures, and there is a limit to eliminating [the crimes], no matter how much the judicial authorities try to control them,” he said.

    Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lee Myung Chul for RFA Korean.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Looting the Looters: Theft at the British Museum

    What happens when the looters are looted?  Perhaps that strange sense of satisfaction called justice, an offence cancelled by another.  One therefore greets the realisation that the British Museum has been suffering a number of such cases with some smugness.  What makes them even more striking is the inability of staff to have picked up on the matter in the first place. When they did come to light, the habitual tendency to bury, or deny matters as best as possible, also found form.

    On August 16, the British Museum stated in a press release that an independent review into its security was being launched “after items from the collection were found to be missing, stolen or damaged.”  The extent of such theft or damage is not clear, though the Museum revealed that one member of staff had been dismissed, with legal action being taken against the unnamed individual.  The Metropolitan Police, through its Economic Crime Command branch, was also investigating the matter.

    Led by former trustee, Sir Nigel Boardman, and Lucy D’Orsi, Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, the review is intended to furnish the Museum with “recommendations regarding future security arrangements” while also commencing “a vigorous programme to recover the missing items.”

    Short on detail, the Museum gave some sense about the items involved, which were, it was keen to point out, “kept primarily for academic and research purposes.”  These included “gold jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD.”

    Officials have been keen to contain the scandal, with director Hartwig Fischer insisting that this was “highly unusual”.  In apologising for the whole affair, he also assured the public that “we have now brought an end to this – and we are determined to put things right.”  Fischer’s own occupancy of the director’s role is also coming to an end in 2024.

    The Chair of the Museum, George Osborne, formerly Chancellor of the Exchequer, even saw an opportunity to weave the theft into a strategy of reforming the institution.  “This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the Museum we have embarked upon.”

    The person who seems to have spurred such reimagining was subsequently identified as Peter John Higgs, a curator of Greek antiquities of some prominence.  There is a delicious irony in this, given the fraught history the Museum has had with the Elgin Marbles, so brazenly taken from the Parthenon in Athens by the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1801.

    Much the same could be said about many artefacts housed in the BM’s collections, including the Benin bronzes and the Easter Island Hoa Hakananai’a.  As the notable human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson sourly remarked in 2019, “The trustees of the British Museum have become the world’s largest receivers of stolen property, and the great majority of their loot is not even on public display.”

    What has since emerged is that the Museum has been less than frank about the spate of pilfering, let alone the number of items missing from its inventory.  One report suggests that the number might be anywhere between 1,500 to 2,000, taken over a period of two decades.

    Publicity is being made about the artefacts through official channels without much specificity, which can be taken either as a sign of acute awareness as to where they might be found, or old-fashioned, groping ignorance.  Christopher Marinello, lawyer and CEO of Art Recovery International, is of the latter view.

    Higgs, it transpires, was sacked on July 5 with barely a murmur, despite having led the 2021 exhibition  “Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes,” which was received by three Australian museums and slated to arrive in Suzhou Museum in China at the end of the year.  The Higgs dismissal took place, it has been reported, for his alleged role behind the disappearance of various gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass.

    The suspicion here is that Higgs operated stealthily, removing the objects over a number of years.  Somewhat odder, and less stealthy, was how many of those objects found their way onto eBay.  Prices also dramatically varied, suggesting either a cheeky sense of humour, or the understanding of an untutored eye.  One item of Roman jewellery, made from onyx, valued anywhere between £25,000 and £50,000, fetched the less than princely sum of £40.

    In 2016, an unnamed antiquities expert cited in a Telegraph report began noting various listings of glass items and semi-precious gems on the e-commerce site.  Pieces from the Townley collection of Graeco-Roman artifacts, which the Museum started purchasing in 1805, were spotted under an eBay seller by the name of “sultan1966”.  Sultan1966 proved less than forthcoming to the expert in question when confronted about any link to Higgs.

    In June 2020, the Museum was informed of the matter.  In February 2021, the BBC revealed that an art dealer by the name of Ittai Gradel had alerted the institution about some of the items being sold online.  Deputy director Jonathan Williams took five months to rebuff the claim: “there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing.”  An unconvinced Gradel chased up matters with a museum board member, claiming that Williams and Fischer had swept “it all under the carpet.”  In October 2022, Fischer repeated the line that “no evidence” of wrongdoing had been identified.

    The son of the alleged perpetrator, Greg Higgs, is mightily unimpressed, declaring that his father could not have been responsible.  “He’s lost his job and his reputation, and I don’t think it was fair.  It couldn’t have been (him). I don’t think there is even anything missing as far as I’m aware.”  The lamentable conduct by the British Museum, notably in initially insisting that nothing had gone missing, would suggest that someone is telling a glorious fib.

    The Economist, in reacting to the affair, suggested that making off with such items from a museum “is easier than you might think.”  But what also matters is the museum’s response to alleged claims of theft.  As Marinello puts it, instances of pilfering are not unusual, but the British  Museum’s failure to involve the police “right away” was nothing short of “shocking”.  The Higgs matter suggests as much and is likely to prove a tonic to those seeking a return of various collections lodged in the British Museum over the years.

    Lina Mendoni, Greece’s Minister of Culture, is one who wasted little time suggesting that the missing objects reinforced “the permanent and just demand of our country for the definitive return” of the Parthenon Marbles.  The fact that the incidents had taken place “from within, beyond any moral and criminal responsibility” questioned “the credibility of the organisation itself.”  Such theft has somehow put the universe of looted treasures into greater balance.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • PNG opposition calls for emergency over Highlands naked body killings

    PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea’s opposition has called on Prime Minister James Marape to immediately recall Parliament to address the escalating killings in the upper Highlands provinces.

    The opposition also wants the debate to include other law and order issues that have spiralled out of control in other parts of the country.

    The call was made by Deputy Opposition leader Douglas Tomuriesa following images of victims lined up along the highway in the Enga Province.

    “I strongly urge the Prime Minister to recall Parliament for us leaders to come together as one and discuss the possibility of passing an Emergency Act as allowed for by the Constitution to address this serious issue,” he said.

    “These gruesome images of human beings been murdered, stripped naked and lined up next to the highway by their enemies or criminal elements, especially in the upper Highlands provinces of Enga, Hela and Southern Highlands, is becoming a regular activity and the government and elected leaders must not take this lightly, its human lives we are talking about.

    “It’s a national emergency and I call on the Prime Minister to immediately recall Parliament for a bipartisan committee to be formed to address this issue,” Tomuriesa said.

    He said parliamentarians were elected to lead and address such serious issues affecting citizens and the country as a whole.

    ‘Killings too frequent’
    “We as elected leaders shouldn’t be taking long breaks — these killings are becoming too frequent and we should be addressing them head on during Parliament sessions.

    “We just cannot ignore it as fake social media posts,” he said.

    Tomuriesa said he was making this call as a concerned citizen, a Papuan leader and deputy opposition leader.

    “The spillover effects of what is happening up in the upper Highlands region will be felt everywhere — in Mamose, New Guinea Islands and the Southern Region. So as mandated leaders we must do something.”

    Republished from PNG Post-Courier with permission.

  • Mississippi Goddam Chapter 3: The Autopsy

    After Billey Joe Johnson Jr. died in 2008, the state of Mississippi outsourced his autopsy. Al Letson and Jonathan Jones travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to interview the doctor who conducted it. Her findings helped lead a grand jury to determine Johnson’s death was an accidental shooting. However, Letson and Jones share another report that raises doubts about her original conclusions. 

    This episode was originally broadcast in October 2021.

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • PNG’s police chief issues lethal force policy to protect against ‘domestic terrorism’

    PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea police officers have been issued with a Commissioner’s Circular on the approved use of force in the execution of their duties to protect lives from domestic terrorist and other criminal activities.

    With the escalation of violence in the Highlands and other parts of PNG, Police Commissioner David Manning said officers must be clear on the extent of their powers.

    And criminals needed to be warned of likely outcomes if they used weapons.

    “Today, I issued a Commissioner’s Circular on the use of force against criminals to reinforce the lawful authority of police personnel,” he said.

    “This is not a circular issue I issue lightly, but it is necessary and done so with the full support of the government in order to quell violence, particularly in the Highlands region.

    “I have directed RPNGC personnel to be prepared to deploy lethal force where this is required and reasonable commanders are instructed to incorporate this directive into respective operational orders,” Manning said.

    He said as part of this, RPNGC members were reminded when using force and lethal force to act in good faith and sound judgment in accordance with PNG’s laws.

    Commissioner Manning said reports of criminals armed with weapons terrorising people — particularly in Enga Province — would not be tolerated.

    “Police and PNGDF personnel are responding to criminal elements that commit violent acts on law-abiding and vulnerable communities.”

    The Commissioner’s Circular issued today provides clear direction as to when and how lethal force is applied.

    In simple terms, if a person was brandishing a gun, an explosive device, or other weapons, — such as a bush knife or catapult — force would be escalated to protect the public and police.

    Domestic terrorists and other criminals had now been given more than fair warning, and they could expect no tolerance by security forces responding to crimes.

    Last week, two gang leaders in East New Britain felt the full force of the law when they confronted police with firearms. Both gang leaders were killed and their associates arrested.

    Republished with permission.

  • GOP Uses Trump Prosecution As Scare Tactic & Starbucks CEO Lies To Congress

    Republicans are warning that the prosecution of Donald Trump could lead to prosecutions of other politicians – especially Democrats – in the future. But is that such a bad thing? Also, Bernie Sanders hammered former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in a hearing last week – and Sanders may have gotten Schultz to actually lie under […]

    The post GOP Uses Trump Prosecution As Scare Tactic & Starbucks CEO Lies To Congress appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

  • Judge Rejects Hunter Biden’s Sweet Heart Plea Deal

    Hunter Biden received a sweet hear plea deal after being caught not paying his taxes for several years, but that deal was tossed out of court after the judge determined that Biden’s lawyers weren’t being completely honest. The deal is still on hold, but things aren’t looking good for the President’s son. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. […]

    The post Judge Rejects Hunter Biden’s Sweet Heart Plea Deal appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

  • Hipkins urges release of NZ hostage six months after Papua kidnapping

    RNZ Pacific

    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called again for the immediate release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who has now been held hostage by pro-independence fighters in West Papua for six months.

    Speaking in Auckland, Hipkins said Mehrtens — a pilot for the Indonesian airline Susi Air which provide air links to remote communities in Papua — was a much-loved husband, brother, father and son.

    He said Mehrtens’ safety was the top priority and the six-month milestone would be a difficult time for the family.

    New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens, flying for Susi Air, appears in new video 100323
    New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, flying for Susi Air, has been held hostage by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) since February 7. Image: Jubi TV screenshot APR

    “We will continue to do all we can to bring Phillip home,” he said.

    “I want to urge once again those who are holding Phillip to release him immediately. There is absolutely no justification for taking hostages. The longer Phillip is held the more risk there is to his wellbeing and the harder this becomes for him and for his family.

    “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is leading our interagency response and I’ve been kept closely informed of developments over the last six months.”

    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins . . . “I want to urge once again those who are holding Phillip to release him immediately. There is absolutely no justification for taking hostages.” Image: Angus Dreaver/RNZ

    Hipkins said consular efforts included working closely with the Indonesian authorities and deploying New Zealand consular staff.

    The family was being supported by the ministry both in New Zealand and Indonesia, he said.

    “I acknowledge this is an incredibly challenging time for them but they’ve continued to ask for their privacy and I thank people for respecting that.”

    Police report ‘good health’
    Indonesian police say the NZ pilot taken hostage by the pro-independence fighters on February 7 is in good health and negotiations for his safe release are ongoing.

    Jubi reported from Jayapura that Papua police chief Inspector General Mathius Fakhiri said on Monday that Mehrtens remained in good health, but he did not expand on how he obtained that information.

    General Fakhiri said the security forces were actively closing in on the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) faction led by Egianus Kogoya and were engaged in negotiations to secure the prompt release of the pilot.

    “We are currently awaiting further developments as we work to restrict the movement of Egianus Kogoya’s group. The pilot’s overall condition is healthy,” General Fakhiri said.

    Tempo reported General Fakhiri as saying the local government was allowing community and church leaders and family members to take the lead on negotiating with Kogoya, the rebel leader holding Mehrtens.

    “Our primary concern is the safe rescue of Captain Phillip. This is why we are prioritising all available resources to aid the security forces in negotiations, ultimately leading to the pilot’s safe return without exacerbating the situation,” General Fakhiri said.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

  • PNG seize big firearms stockpile, arrest 10 in Highlands blackmarket raid

    PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea police have arrested three men and seized a stockpile of unlicensed firearms, ammunition, explosives and other illegal items in a raid in Western Highlands province last week.

    The arrests identified a further seven men who were alleged to be part of a blackmarket network who move the illegal items from Western Highlands into the upper Highlands provinces. They were also arrested.

    About 800 rounds of ammunition, firearms, explosives and other illegal items were  confiscated from the trio, including a Winchester shotgun, shotgun belts, sniper scopes, a Glock pistol and a hand grenade.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police-Operations Dr Philip Mitna confirmed that a security operation had been carried out.

    “Illegal firearms and drug trade is an ongoing issue in the highlands,” he said.

    Firearms and live ammunition are smuggled into many border provinces linked by the Okuk Highway.

    “A security team in Hela had made surveillance on firearms and ammunition. They visited Hagen (travelling in from Tari) and engaged with Hagen police, who organised raids and executed two search warrants on July 30, 2023, and effected several arrests,” Deputy Commissioner Mitna said.

    Regular arms supply
    According to information received by the Post-Courier newspaper, there is a regular ammunition and firearms supply arriving from illegal dealers in the Highlands eastern end and this is supplied to the western end, which includes Hela, Enga and Southern Highlands.

    “With the continued tribal fights in Hela and Enga provinces and other criminal activities involving firearms, the intelligence had confirmed most of the ammunition was being bought from Jiwaka and Mt Hagen dealers,” Deputy Commissioner Mitna said.

    “So far, the number of people being detained has increased to 10, and we anticipate more arrests. Among those arrested included a prominent businessman and security firm owner in Mt Hagen.”

    According to the findings and assessment by security personnel, the Western Highlands share has built up to 80 percent of illegal ammunition and has been supplying other provinces.

    The team tracked persons of interest from Tari to Mt Hagen and sought assistance, leading to several search warrants being executed by police with support from the PNG Defence Force Reconnaissance Unit.

    The arrests of the 10 men came as the operations were executed in two-week intervals and continued last month.

    The arrest of a local man in Hides started an investigation into the proliferation and movement of firearms and ammunition within the Highlands region.

    Allegedly involved in kidnappings
    The man who was picked up in Hides was allegedly involved in the recent series of kidnappings and ransom and incidents in Mt Bosavi, Southern Highlands, and parts of Western Province.

    The arrest of the man in Hides and nine more in Mt Hagen led to the uncovering of a large stash of unlicensed firearms and varieties of live ammunition, including a hand grenade as well as several other illegal items at a home in Newtown, Mt Hagen.

    According to reports, the intelligence gathered led to the arrest of the main suspect  who was apprehended in Mt Hagen. He is alleged to be the main supplier and distributor of unlicensed weapons and ammunition in the tribal fighting zones in the Highlands region as well as other parts of PNG.

    On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, the main suspect was formally cautioned and formally charged with 10 counts under the newly Amended Firearms Act 2022 and two counts under the Explosive Act (chapter 308) respectively.

    The charges are:

    • Two counts of unlawfully in possession of unlicensed Firearms under section 65 (c)(ii) of the Amendment Firearms Act, 2022;
    • Eight counts of unlawfully in possession of unlicensed live ammunitions under the section 65A (a) of the Amendment Firearms Act, 2022; and
    • Two counts of unlawfully in possession of unlicensed explosive under the section 14(1) of the Explosive Act, Chapter 308.

    The other nine men were still being interviewed and were being processed.

    Police investigations were continuing.

    Republished with permission.

  • ‘You will be shot’, PNG’s police chief warns criminals in tough message

    PNG Post-Courier

    Faced with a rise in the number of criminals in Papua New Guinea who are now armed and shooting at the police, Police Commissioner David Manning says “all gloves are off”.

    “We will not be practising any leniency and we will neutralise the criminals through any means — meaning they will be shot and killed,” he said.

    Last month in Northern province, a policeman was shot and killed by armed 16-year-olds who had access to firearms and were committing crimes in the province.

    This week settlers who were allegedly evicted opened fire at police officers with a stray bullet wounding a female reporter.

    The escalating law and order problems even got Prime Minister James Marape and former prime minister Peter O’Neill “yelling” and blaming each other over daily killings nationwide.

    O’Neill challenged Marape to explain what the government’s plans were on tackling the escalating law and order situation nationwide.

    Countering aggression
    However, Manning said: “The RPNGC [Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary] is moving from what had been an overarching emphasis on crime prevention over recent decades to focus on responding to criminal activity and countering aggression head-on.

    “Standing orders for police officers to neutralise violent offenders through the escalated and reasonable use of force are being reinforced across units.”

    The RPNGC, with the support of the Marape government, is repositioning police personnel and assets to take a harder stand against violent offenders and domestic terrorists.”

    “The ‘soft glove’ approach as the frontline policy has not worked, and now the gloves are off and the frontline is the confrontation and neutralisation of criminal activity at its roots,” Manning said.

    Police officers were trained in the escalated use of force when confronting criminal activities — up to and including the use of lethal force — and they had sworn an oath to fulfil this duty, he added.

    Empowering commands
    Commissioner Manning said that an important component of this direction included further empowering provincial police commands to engage with provincial administrations to respond to local crime problems.

    “Legislation is being developed that clearly articulates actions of domestic terrorism, and the changes in our police force counter-terrorism approach will be reflected in this policy development.

    According to information received, the estimated number of firearms possessed by civilians stands at “tens of thousands”.

    With the high number of the proliferation of firearms since 2022, the number of firearms has increased to an unknown figure.

    Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PNG woman journalist hit by stray bullet during Moitaka shootout

    PNG Post-Courier

    Police in Papua New Guinea’s National Capital District are investigating the shooting yesterday of a woman reporter working with the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Central during an alleged confrontation between police and settlers at 8-Mile in Port Moresby.

    In the midst of the firing, allegedly aimed at each other, a stray bullet hit the reporter who was among 13 journalists reporting at the Moitaka plant.

    Assistant Commissioner of Police-NCD and Central Anthony Wagambie Jr condemned the shooting, saying “I have directed Metsupt NCD to have police investigators look into this immediately.

    “We have to establish what happened and where the bullet came from.

    “If this was a stray bullet or intentionally fired. Everyone must respect the work of journalists and protect them as they are the voice of the people.”

    The Media Council of Papua New Guinea said in a statement that while commending PNG Power representatives who ensured that an ambulance was arranged to take the wounded journalist to hospital and covered her treatment, it reminded public and corporate organisations that when the media was invited to cover an event in “potentially hostile environments”, precautions must be made to ensure their safety.

    The council reaffirmed that it stood ready to work with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) and other law enforcement agencies to find ways that the media could be protected, rather than be caught in the crossfire.

    This would take some time and work in sensitising both the public and the media on their equally important roles in the pursuit of truth, information, and awareness, the council statement said.

    Moitaka power station progress
    According to our reporters, the incident happened when the group had ended their tour of the facility organised by PPL.

    The purpose of the visit was to see the progress of the Moitaka Power station and the new Edevu Hydro power construction and transmission lines undertaken by the PNG Hydro Limited and PNG Power.

    While the team was at the Moitaka power station, a commotion erupted outside at the nearby residents where multiple gun shots were fired.

    A stray bullet from the shootout grazed one of the cameramen and hit the female journalist on her left arm.

    The stray bullet lodged into her left arm causing her to bleed as she fell to the ground in shock.

    The shootout continued for about 5 minutes with other journalists and PPL staff taking cover.

    The journalist was rushed to the Paradise Private Hospital for treatment.

    Other reporters did not sustain any injuries. However, they were in shock and traumatised.

    The team was accompanied by the PNG Power CEO, Obed Batia, PNG Hydro Ltd managing director Allan Guo, PNG Power chairman, McRonald Nale, and staff of PNG Power.

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PNG police report capture of alleged kidnapper of 17 girls in Mt Bosavi area

    By Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor

    Papua New Guinea’s police commissioner David Manning says a man allegedly involved in the kidnapping of 17 girls earlier this year has been arrested.

    Commissioner Manning said the man was wanted in connection with a series of criminal activities within the Mt Bosavi area bordering Hela, Southern Highlands, and Western provinces.

    “Among the alleged crimes committed by the individual are the armed robbery of K100,000 [NZ$46,000] in cash, the killing of a Chinese national, and multiple cases of rape at the Kamusi logging camp and surrounding villages in the Delta Fly region since 2019,” the commissioner said.

    “Recently, the arrested man was also allegedly involved in the kidnapping of 17 girls in the Mt Bosavi area.”

    Manning said the police and PNG Defence Force officers, acting on intelligence reports from the community, tracked down the man at the Komon Market in Tari, Hela province.

    “He was arrested, and a homemade pistol and 5.56 ammunition confiscated,” he said

    The commissioner said the arrest would bring a sense of relief to the affected communities, as the investigation continues.

    “At the same time, we are sending a strong message to the criminals and those who aid, abet and benefit from them, that they will be caught and dealt with, sooner or later by whatever force is deemed necessary.”

    Breakthrough in election incident
    Police have also arrested the main suspect in the shooting of a helicopter hired by police during the 2022 National General Election.

    This man is the main suspect in the killings and the burning of Kompiam Station and has been charged with five counts of wilful murder and one count of arson.

    David Manning, PNG's State of Emergency Controller and Police Commissioner.
    Police commissioner David Manning is calling on leaders to support law and order. Image: PNG PM Media/RNZ Pacific

    Manning said the investigation into the various crimes carried out in Kompiam during the 2022 National General Election continues.

    “New evidence has come to light of the involvement of senior provincial and national leaders in Kompiam during the election in 2022,” he said.

    “Our investigation continues, but the information we have uncovered thus far is concerning.

    “It is a sorry state of affairs when the government is working to end violence and we find that leaders are encouraging these crimes to be committed.”

    The police chief said following the recent killings in Wapenamanda, two additional mobile squads had been deployed into the area to assist the Enga Provincial Police Command to restore law and order.

    “A fight in the Kandep has already left 22 killed, and other fighting in Laiagam has resulted in the killing of six people and 20 in Wapenamanda.

    “We are facing serious law and order situation in the province and engaging security personnel and applying strategies to stop those fights from escalating.

    “This includes active involvement of provincial and national leaders from the province to engage and take responsibility.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Police Killings Set Record High In 2022 & Arizona’s Secret Surveillance Program

    New data shows that American police officers killed more than 1,000 civilians last year – a record high for law enforcement. Also, a possibly illegal database of financial transactions has been kept for years by the Arizona state government. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please […]

    The post Police Killings Set Record High In 2022 & Arizona’s Secret Surveillance Program appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • Fiji faces more children being in trouble over ‘ice’, warns FCOSS

    By Rakesh Kumar in Suva

    The Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) has warned that the nation needs to prepare itself to face more children being in conflict with the law.

    Chief executive officer Vani Catanasiga highlighted this while responding to Attorney-General Siromi Turaga’s revelation at the Lomaiviti Provincial Council meeting last week that schoolchildren were being used to peddle the highly addictive illegal drug methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice”.

    She said a concerted and coordinated approach was needed to tackle this issue.

    If the issue was not resolved, there could be a drop in education attainment rates and pressure on national social services systems, she added.

    Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma president Reverend Ili Vunisuwai said poverty was the root cause of the problem.

    He said the issue was serious and the government, church and vanua should come together to solve the issue.

    Rakesh Kumar is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Lies that Launched Black Lives Matter


    A photo I took during the early days of BLM.

    It was December 4, 2014.

    Black Lives Matter had sprung up almost four months earlier after the events in Ferguson, Missouri. The remnants of Occupy Wall Street immediately latched onto this Movement™ as if it were life support.

    Our plan that night was to stage a “die-in” inside Saks Fifth Avenue during the holiday shopping crush. Dozens of “activists” (of all ethnicities) entered the posh department store and pretended to be shoppers.

    When we got the signal, we were supposed to plop down onto the floor and pretend to be dead (see my photo below).

    This was (somehow) supposed to represent all the people of color being killed by law enforcement. I opted to not lie down because I wanted to get photos to document the action and well… I’d already had my fill of almost being arrested in this particular venue.

    We perform such futile, dishonest exhibitionism because the hive mind keeps telling us: American police are hunting down black men in an epidemic of “lynchings.”

    I’m not being hyperbolic.

    In 2020, for example, pundits of the woke kind declared that cops are hunting black people (particularly black men).

    LeBron James himself tweeted: “For Black people right now, we think you’re hunting us.” Some folks unselfconsciously call it an “epidemic.”

    In the Black Lives Matter mission statement, it is stated that black people are being “systematically targeted for demise.”

    The media picks up these quotes and runs with them as clickbait stories — without any pretense of fact-checking. Opinions are manufactured and thus, narratives are created and sides are drawn.

    BLM was founded on this deception.

    I took this photo in Times Square, in January 2015.

    Do you know how many unarmed black people were actually killed by U.S. law enforcement in 2020, the Year of George Floyd™?

    I would not blame anyone if, based on public rhetoric, they guessed hundreds if not thousands. But here’s the breakdown:

    There are roughly 60 million interactions between police and civilians (age 16 and older) each year.

    In 2020, during those 60 million interactions, 1,021 people were killed by police.

    Of that number, 55 were unarmed.

    Of that number, 24 were white while 18 were black.

    Yes, proportional to population demographics, unarmed blacks are indeed being killed at a higher rate than unarmed whites. But please allow me to repeat:

    In 2020, 18 unarmed black people were killed by law enforcement agents.

    Is that 18 too many? Yes.

    Is it equivalent to “hunting,” an “epidemic,” or being “systematically targeted for demise”? Of course not.

    However, an organization called Black Lives Matter™ opted to make this its focus. In the process, they ignore (for example) that the top cause of death for black men under 44 is homicide. Those murders are obviously not being committed by cops.

    Could you instead imagine concerned citizens holding a “die-in” in the name of finding ways to prevent even more victims of gang activity, drug dealing, and other crimes?

    Can you imagine pro athletes and members of Congress kneeling to honor those victims?

    Sure, it would still be virtue signaling, but at the very least, they’d be trying to live up to a name like “Black Lives Matter.”

    If anyone is smugly enjoying this takedown of the woke crowd, I suggest you take a good look around. The “truth” movement™ and “medical freedom” movement™ can be just as deluded and deceptive in their own way.

    The longstanding “activist” blueprint is a delusion.

    Let’s learn to be more discerning and embrace independent thought before we embark on journeys to free others. And remember:

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Biden Keeps Cuba On Terrorism Watchlist & Secrets Of Brutal Florida School Exposed

    Lawyers are begging the Biden administration to finally take Cuba off the state sponsors of terrorism list and put an end to the Cold War for good. Plus, the secrets of a brutal Florida school for boys is finally being exposed, decades after the death and abuse occurred. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was […]

    The post Biden Keeps Cuba On Terrorism Watchlist & Secrets Of Brutal Florida School Exposed appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • PNG police arrest 101 men in two-city crackdown after local killings

    PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea police in Madang and the National Capital District have arrested a total of 101 men suspected of being involved in two separate incidents reported in both provinces over the long weekend.

    In Madang, 34 villagers were arrested after they clashed with police over the death of a local man from Korak village identified as Joseph Masul.

    After the death of Masul was reported, the villagers along the Bogia-Madang Highway were up in arms and retaliated by blocking the main highway.

    The blocking of the highway, according to Madang police, hindered services and movement of people into Madang over the long weekend.

    Police moved in after Assistant Commissioner of Police-Northern Peter Guinness assisted with police officers from Lae, who removed the roadblock and picked up 34 suspects.

    While in NCD, 67 men were rounded up by police at Gerehu Stage 5 over a fight that erupted after the death of a man was reported during the third game of Australia’s State of Origin rugby league series two weeks ago.

    The 67 men were on their way to instigate another fight when police were informed and moved in swiftly, arresting all 67 men and removing their weapons.

    Murder suspect in hiding
    NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Silva Sika said the suspect in the initial murder case had been hiding from police, angering the victim’s relatives.

    The relatives approached a youth who lives at Banana Block who was about to leave for school and questioned him about what had happened a week earlier.

    Superintendent Sika said the youth then went to the block, organised his friends who painted their faces black and and marched towards where the deceased’s haus krai (house of mourning) was. They were about to attack the mourners when police stopped them.

    He said they would be charged for unlawful assembly, armed with offensive weapons and about to cause a fight in public.

    Sika said the men were all armed and were moving in a public place that instilled fear in the public.

    While speaking to the suspects at Waigani police station, Superintendent Sika told the suspects that people living Port Moresby must try to respect the rule of law.

    ‘Respect rule of law’
    “I will not hesitate to demolish the areas where you are residing. Moving around in public places with weapons shows no respect for the rule of law,” he said.

    “I am happy that the police responded on time to arrest and remove all the weapons from you. If they had not done that it [would] be another disaster in the city where innocent lives and properties will be lost or damaged.

    “The weapons that you had in your possession are dangerous and life threatening so you must be charged for that to show others that carrying offensive weapons and moving in groups in public places is against the law.”

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Hackers Target Political Super PAC Money & Microsoft Blocked From Mega-Merger

    Politicians are experiencing an increase in theft from their campaign funds, with cyber criminals targeting these massive campaign accounts. Plus, the US government has filed a lawsuit to stop Microsoft from becoming an even bigger monopoly. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. […]

    The post Hackers Target Political Super PAC Money & Microsoft Blocked From Mega-Merger appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • No Child Was Safe around Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs

    Anyone watching Sound of Freedom might wonder how such evil has become so embedded in human culture. One method involves the world of “entertainment” and the individuals we’re conditioned to view as heroes.

    For example, below you will find a brief glimpse at two writers who enjoy places of honor in the American literary canon.

    Trigger warning: Please don’t keep reading if you wish to avoid discussions of deviant and criminal behavior.

    Click here to learn more about Allen Ginsberg than you probably know now:

    Allen Ginsberg: poet, writer, artist, activist, teacher… and pedophile

    MICKEY Z. JUNE 20, 2022

    Allen Ginsberg: poet, writer, artist, activist, teacher… and pedophile

    When you think of the iconic Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg, what comes to mind? His poem, Howl? His appearance in a legendary Bob Dylan video? What about his omnipresence in a vast array of protests, marches, etc.? Or could it be the fact that Ginsburg — hero of radicals, outcasts, and rebels everywhere — was a member of North American Man/Boy Lov…

    Read full story

    Moving on to another renowned Beat writer, William S. Burroughs is often called one of the greatest and most influential writers of the 20th century, most notably by Norman Mailer who deemed Burroughs to be, “The only American novelist living today who may conceivably be possessed by genius.”

    Side note: Norman Mailer also once declared, “A little bit of rape is good for a man’s soul.” 

    According to the always reliable Wikipedia: “William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and literature.”

    Curiously, they left out the words pedophile or hebephile. Perhaps some enterprising soul out there will add something like this excerpt (from a 1955 letter written by Burroughs in Tangiers and addressed to Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac) to Burroughs’ Wiki page:

    The Italian school is just opposite, and I stand for hours watching the boys with my 8-power field glasses. Curious feeling of projecting myself, like I was standing over there with the boys, invisible earthbound ghost, torn with disembodied lust. They wear shorts, and I can see the goose pimples on their legs in the chill of the morning, count the hairs. Did I ever tell you about the time Marv and I paid two Arab kids sixty cents to watch them screw each other — we demanded semen too, no half-assed screwing. So I asked Marv: ‘Do you think they will do it?’ and he says: ‘I think so. They are hungry.’ They did it. Made me feel sorta like a dirty old man…”

    Contrary to the protestations of the swooning Left, none of the above is edgy or underground. It’s not trenchant or innovative. It’s criminal, predatory, and pathological.

    To discuss Burroughs as a “culturally influential” icon and canonize his work without mentioning his sexual assaults on children (and his open celebration of such heinous crimes) is to support and sustain the rampant, ever-increasing pedophile culture.

    We talk and talk and talk about the horrific state of human culture, then talk some more about what needs to be changed. We go round and round in our ever-tightening circles.

    But when will we dig deeper — as deep as we can possibly go — to begin comprehending the many ways diabolical power manifests and the many ways we each choose to ignore and/or support it in one way or another?

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Auckland shooting: City security beefed up as probe continues

    RNZ News

    A scene examination is continuing at a construction site in central Auckland after a fatal shooting there shocked the city yesterday morning.

    The gunman, 24-year-old Matu Tangi Matua Reid, was on home detention but allowed to work at the construction site.

    He died at the scene in a shoot-out with police after killing two civilians with a pump-action shotgun. Six others were wounded, including two police officers.

    The horror unfolded on the opening day of the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup in Auckland and a minute’s silence for the shooting victims was held at the first game at Eden Park last night when New Zealand defeated Norway 1-0.

    Police officers in high-vis vests have today re-entered the high-rise building on the corner of Queen and Quay streets and at least seven police cars are at the cordoned off site.

    A man working on the repairs at nearby Queen’s Wharf told RNZ the rules had been tightened at their site and people entering were being checked.

    A commuter said there appeared to be extra security at Britomart Station transit hub this morning but he felt safe.

    cbd shooting
    An armed police officer is seen at the cordon surrounding Thursday’s shooting incident in Auckland’s CBD. Image: Ziming Li/RNZ

    Shooting ‘out of the ordinary’, says Auckland mayor
    Reflecting on yesterday’s events, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told RNZ Morning Report the shooting was a “dreadful, unexpected thing”.

    “It was every emotion yesterday,” he said, but he thought the city had coped well in the aftermath of the ‘shock and horror’ of the morning’s events.”

    Matu Tangi Matua Reid
    The dead gunman Matu Tangi Matua Reid . . . on home detention but allowed to work at the central city construction site. Image: TDB

    Brown said he supported Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s decision to call for a rahui in the CBD area, and the FIFA fan zone on Quay Street had been closed.

    Ngāti Whātua has said this morning that no rahui is in place.

    “[The] fan zone was right hard up against the dreadful event and it just didn’t seem to be right to be having a night of celebration right next door to something that had been so horrible,” he said.

    “Ngāti Whātua called for, and I supported, a rahui on the area down there so we shut the fan zone and people, with a sad tinge, did go to the game at Eden Park, but with respect.

    “They had the one minute’s silence, which was part of our culture and the correct thing to do, and then there was a wonderful game afterwards so, I think … the city took it well.”

    ‘Good end to dreadful day’
    Brown said he had spoken to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins after last night’s match between New Zealand and Norway and they had agreed it was “a very good end to a dreadful day”.

    He said FIFA officials had been “very sympathetic” about the shooting.

    “They were very understanding, they were very concerned about the impact on the tournament, but also deeply respectful of the losses of — almost innocence — of the people here in Auckland CBD, plus of course the dreadful loss of life from this shocking experience.”

    While he had been one of the people raising concerns about ongoing crime issues such as ram raids in Auckland, Brown said he was not thinking about anything on the scale of what occurred yesterday.

    “It’s something out of the ordinary and I think this is one random person … and we shouldn’t possibly extrapolate that across the district, but crime on the streets with the ram raids is something which has got to be dealt with.”

    Brown had praise for both the police and members of the public regarding how they responded to the unfolding crisis on Thursday morning.

    “The police were wonderful, they responded bravely and promptly,” he said.

    “People behaved very well considering what an appalling thing had happened.”

    Violence like this has no place in city, says Swarbrick
    There would be a time for political debate and discussions about how to prevent incidents like yesterday’s shooting, Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick told Morning Report, but that time was not right now.

    “I very, very strongly want the message to be here that this violence has absolutely no place in our city or in our country, and we utterly reject it,” she said.

    Swarbrick said her thoughts were with the whānau and friends of those who had died as well as those who had been injured, emergency service staff, and the workers who had experienced the traumatic event.

    She said questions had been put to police officials at a briefing she attended yesterday, including about how the shooter had obtained a gun without a licence and while he was on home detention.

    Swarbrick expected those questions would be answered “in due course” but said it was important the facts were “crystal clear” first.

    “I don’t think that anyone benefits from politicians speculating in a vacuum of facts.”

    The briefing had made it “very clear that this was a tragic but isolated incident connected to the workplace and that there is no outstanding associated risk”, she said.

    Asked whether she believed a broader inquiry was needed to look into the use of home detention, Swarbrick said a number of reports commissioned by successive governments had identified evidence-based policies to address what was a complex issue, but that evidence was often “politically unpalatable”.

    The rhetoric and debate around law and order was often reduced to “soundbyte-solutions”, she said, “things that politicians know will not work and oftentimes are contrary to evidence”.

    She said New Zealanders deserved evidence-based interventions when it came to tackling crime.

    “It is really clear what we have to resource in terms of evidence-based policy but it is the crunchy and the hard stuff which looks meaningfully at prevention, it’s not this knee-jerk ‘tough-on-crime’ nonsense.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Belarus detains journalist Ihar Karnei on undisclosed charges, bans Polish journalist Justyna Prus

    New York, July 20, 2023—Belarusian authorities should immediately disclose the reason for the recent detention of journalist Ihar Karnei, reverse their decision to ban Polish journalist Justyna Prus, and let the media work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

    On Monday, July 17, authorities in Minsk searched the home of Karnei, a former freelance journalist with Radio Svaboda, the Belarus service of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, detained him, and ordered him to be held for 10 days, according to a Facebook post by his daughter Palina Karnei, a report by the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an advocacy and trade group operating from exile, and multiple media reports. He is held in Akrestina temporary detention center in Minsk, those sources said.

    Palina Karnei told independent news website Mediazona that her father was facing criminal charges, but authorities did not disclose the reason for Karnei’s detention. Police seized computers and phones during the search of his apartment, media reports said.

    Separately, on June 30, a Belarusian border guard in Brest, a Belarusian city at the Poland-Belarus border, gave Prus, a Polish correspondent with Polish state news agency PAP, who was leaving Belarus, a document stating that she was banned from entering Belarus until June 7, 2028, following a decision by the Belarusian State Security Committee, or KGB, according to media reports, Tomasz Jarosz, the head of PAP’s foreign desk, who communicated with CPJ via email, and another PAP representative who communicated with CPJ via messaging app on condition of anonymity.

    “With the arrest of Ihar Karnei, the Belarusian authorities are following their usual pattern of detaining journalists on opaque grounds to maintain the pressure on independent voices. Meanwhile, the ban on Justyna Prus marks the departure of one of the last Western journalists from Belarus,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Authorities should immediately disclose the reason for detaining Karnei, reverse the ban on Justyna Prus, and let the media work freely in Belarus.”

    Belarusian authorities have jailed an increasing number of journalists for their work since 2020, when the country was wracked by mass protests over the disputed reelection of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. In 2022, CPJ ranked the country as the world’s fifth worst jailer of journalists, with at least 26 journalists behind bars when CPJ conducted its most recent prison census on December 1.
     
    On July 1, Lukashenko signed into law a bill empowering the country’s Ministry of Information to ban the activities of foreign media in Belarus “in the event of unfriendly actions by foreign states against Belarusian media.”

    The PAP representative told CPJ that Prus was leaving Belarus for a personal trip to Poland on June 30, when she was notified of the five-year ban. Jarosz told CPJ that the document handed to Prus stated she was banned under Article 30 of the law on the legal status of foreign citizens in Belarus, but did not provide further details.

    Prus had been reporting from Belarus for PAP since 2016, and was accredited by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the PAP report said. The representative told CPJ that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs canceled her accreditation in October 2020, when it annulled all foreign media accreditation, and reinstated it in the first half of 2021. Prus’ accreditation was valid at the time of the ban, but expired on July 13.

    Other recent detentions of journalists in Belarus:

    • Previously, around July 7, authorities in the eastern city of Mahilou detained Dzmitry Lyapeyka a freelance journalist and a former reporter with the local outlet Mahilou Vedomosti, and ordered him to be detained for 15 days for “subscriptions and likes,” according to multiple media reports and a BAJ report. Those reports did not specify the exact date of Lyapeyka’s detention or the charges he faces. CPJ is investigating to determine whether Lyapeyka’s detention is related to his journalism.
    • On June 9, officers with the Ministry of Interior’s Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption detained at least four journalists with privately-owned broadcaster Ranak in the southeastern city of Svietlahorsk on charges of distributing extremist materials, according to multiple media reports and BAJ. The journalists included Ranak editor-in-chief Vadzim Vezhnavets, reporter Andrei Lipski, and cameramen Pavel Rabko and Uladzimir Papou. In addition, law enforcement detained three other non-journalist employees of the broadcaster and two employees whose occupation was not made public.

    On June 12, a court in Svietlahorsk ordered Lipski and Rabko to be detained for seven days, confiscated their phones, and ordered Vezhnavets and Papou to be held for three days. They were all released after serving their sentence, a BAJ representative told CPJ via messaging app, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. The other five Ranak employees received fines ranging from 780 (US$312) to 925 (US$370) Belarusian rubles.

    According to BAJ’s unnamed source, the charges opened against the journalists are retaliation for Ranak’s coverage of a June 7 explosion of a pulp and paper mill in Svietlahorsk. Ranak covered the 2020 nationwide protests demanding Lukashenko’s resignation, media and BAJ reported. Authorities had previously searched the company’s office and some of its journalists’ apartments in 2020 and 2021.

    The Belarusian Ministry of Information blocked Ranak’s website shortly after the detentions, BAJ reported. On July 4, a court in the southeastern city of Homel labeled Ranak’s website and its social media as “extremist,” BAJ said. 

    • On June 6, law enforcement detained Tatsiana Pytko, the wife of freelance camera operator Vyacheslau Lazarau, who was detained in February, in the outskirts of the northeastern city of Vitebsk, BAJ and banned human rights group Viasna said. Lazarau was charged with facilitating extremist activity and Pytko, was charged with participating in an extremist formation, those sources said. If found guilty, they both face up to six years in jail, BAJ reported.

    The charges against Lazarau stem from his alleged collaboration with the banned Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV. According to BAJ, while examining the content of Lazarau’s computer and phone, investigators noticed that Pytko appeared in some of the footage.

    CPJ emailed the Belarusian Investigative Committee and the KGB, but did not receive any reply.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Martyn Bradbury: A sorrowful day for my beautiful city – Matu Tangi Matua Reid’s unspeakable violence

    By Martyn Bradbury, editor of The Daily Blog

    My daughter came into the kitchen early today to tell me her friends were downtown in Auckland at Britomart, the transit hub of New Zealand’s biggest city, and that a construction worker had just run past them saying a man with a gun was shooting people.

    I immediately swept all the online news media and saw nothing and was in the process of suggesting to her that maybe her friends were pranking her when it broke on Breakfast TV.

    I know the area this shooting occurred in well — I was there a few days ago; most Aucklanders will know it as it is a vital entry point to downtown Auckland. To have a mass shooting event there is utterly outside the norm for Aucklanders.

    As the reverberations and shock ease, there will of course be immediate political fall out.

    Before all that though, first, let us acknowledge the uncompromising courage of our New Zealand police and emergency services. We all saw them sprint into that building knowing someone was armed and shooting people.

    I am the first to be critical of the NZ Police, but on this day, their professionalism and unflinching bravery was one of the few things we can be grateful for on such a poisoned morning.

    Let us also pause and mourn the two who were killed and 10 wounded. These were simply good honest folk going about their day of work and not one of them deserved the horror visited upon them by 24-year-old Matu Tangi Matua Reid.

    Now let’s talk about Matu.

    Troubling pump-action shotgun access
    The media have already highlighted that he was on home detention for domestic violence charges and was wearing an ankle bracelet. This is of no surprise nor shock, many on home detention have the option of applying for leave to work — we do this because those on home detention still need to pay the rent, far more troubling was his access to a pump-action shotgun he didn’t have a gun licence for.

    We know he had already been in a Turn Your Life Around Youth Development Trust programme.

    Political partisans will try and seize any part of his story to whip into political frenzy for their election narrative and we should reject and resist that.

    The banality of evil always tends to be far more basic than we ever appreciate.

    There is nothing special about Matu; he is simply another male without the basic emotional tools to facilitate his anger beyond violence. In that regard Matu is depressingly like tens of thousands of men in NZ.

    His background didn’t justify this terrible act of violence today and his actions can’t be conflated to show Labour are soft on crime.

    Another depressing violent male
    Matu is just another depressing male whose violence he could not control. There are tens of thousands like him and until we start focusing on building young men who have the emotional tools to facilitate their anger beyond violence, he won’t be the last.

    He has shamed himself.

    He has shamed his family.

    He has shamed us all.

    Today isn’t a day for politics, it is far too sad for that, the politics will come and everyone will be screaming their sweaty truth, but at its heart this is about broken men incapable of keeping their violence to themselves.

    What a sorrowful day for my beautiful city.

    Republished from The Daily Blog with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Two people killed in Auckland CBD shooting, gunman dead, NZ police confirm

    RNZ News

    Two people have been killed in a shooting in Auckland central business district today.

    At least six people are also wounded, including police officers.

    Police say the situation is now contained and the shooter is dead.

    They were alerted to the incident when someone discharged a firearm inside a construction site at about 7.20am.

    The gunman moved through the construction site discharging his pump action shotgun, police say.

    When he reached the upper levels he hid inside an elevator shaft.

    Police attempted to engage with him, but the gunman fired further shots, before he was found dead a short time later, they say.

    The New Zealand Herald reports Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has praised the “heroic” actions of emergency services.

    He said there was no identified “political or ideological motivation” for the shooter and as such, there was no need to change the national security risk.

    The government has spoken to FIFA organisers today and the Women’s Football World Cup tournament will proceed as planned with the opening match tonight between New Zealand and Norway.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Prisoners Trading Organs For Reduced Sentences & Scientology Leader On The Run To Avoid Lawsuit

    Democrats in Massachusetts have a proposal for prison inmates: Give up your internal organs and we’ll reduce your sentence. Also, a leader at the Church of Scientology has disappeared after authorities tried to serve him with a child trafficking lawsuit. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so […]

    The post Prisoners Trading Organs For Reduced Sentences & Scientology Leader On The Run To Avoid Lawsuit appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • Pfizer Paying Big Money To Control Media Criticism & Teen Girls Commit Murder For Online Fame

    Pfizer is spending big money to control online media. And, a group of 8 teenage girls have been arrested for murdering a homeless man in Canada, and authorities think social media may have played a role in the killing. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please […]

    The post Pfizer Paying Big Money To Control Media Criticism & Teen Girls Commit Murder For Online Fame appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • PNG killings on the rise as Madang police call for more resources

    By Dorothy Mark in Madang, PNG

    In the last 15 days of the month of July, 15 murders have occurred in the northern Papua New Guinean town of Madang — once described as “beautiful” — and the community now faces a law and order crisis.

    Madang Mayor Peter Masia said the Madang district authority could not do much in assisting police to actively carry out law and order action because public funds were still on hold after sitting MP Bryan Kramer had been dismissed as Madang MP.

    Calling Madang the “murder capital of PNG”, Masia said there had been an increase in killings with the latest killing occurring yesterday afternoon.

    Compared to the National Capital District (NCD) — Port Moresby — where killings happen every 2 to 3 days, Madang has seen killings every day for the last 15 days.

    An NCD police officer confirmed that every 2 to 3 days they were responding to a report of a killing in Port Moresby.

    “Yesterday a young man in his mid 20s from Angoram in East Sepik was stabbed in the chest by a street seller in broad daylight in the heart of [Madang] killing him instantly,” he said.

    Madang police desperately need resources to help them tackle Law and Order challenges in the province everyday.

    Police need housing, vehicles
    A senior policeman who wished not to be named said Madang police needed housing, vehicles and things like office stationery and manpower to boost police work in the province.

    There are two police stations in Madang — one is the Jomba police station and the other is the town police station.

    The officer said the estimated population ratio for one policeman to the Madang population was 1:1500 to 2000.

    He said they needed more police manpower to tackle the law and order problems, especially the killings that were happening every day.

    Transgogol people are now calling on the government to establish a police mobile squad base in the area to prevent more brutal murders in their area.

    Transgogol community leader and spokesman Morris Bann said there was state-owned land available.

    He said the type of killings in the area warranted the government to take serious steps in addressing law and order.

    Call for police mobile squad
    “We want a police mobile squad base built . . . so that law and order is monitored closely to instill the trust and security the people require from its government,” said Bann.

    Madang town resident Breed Kanjikali said the number of deaths required all Madang MPs to step in and address issues affecting the province and map out how they would assist police in combating crimes in the province.

    Bundi leader Alois Pandambai said the murder toll in the province was very significant and it portrayed an image where there was dysfunction in the political leadership of the province.

    He said Madang province did not seem to be functioning normally in the last seven months because of a political hussle and tussle over the position of the Provincial Administrator Frank Lau.

    “While our leaders are fighting over an appointment made by the NEC [National Executive Council], we are not giving 100 percent support to police work and our own people are being killed everyday,” he said.

    The 10 Nissan Patrol vehicles bought two years ago to support police work were now experiencing mechanical faults and had been grounded.

    Dorothy Mark is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PNG police launch 21-day crackdown on East New Britain conflicts

    PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea police in East New Britain have launched a 21-day operation to clamp down on community conflicts in the province.

    Police operation camps have also been set up at conflict hotspots.

    ENB provincial police commander Chief Inspector Januarius Vosivai said the aim of the operation was to ease tension to allow the next processes to start.

    The Gelegele resettlement, Nangananga and Takubar are among other crime hotspots being closely monitored by police.

    Chief Inspector Vosivai said the two weeks of the term 2 school holidays had been the peak of community fights in the province.

    He said school-aged children — mostly boys — were involved in the confrontations in the communities.

    “Community fights is fuelled by petty criminal activities and when people do not report such matters to authorities and take it upon themselves, it further escalates,” he said.

    Collaborative efforts
    Authorities and local leaders are taking collaborative efforts to restore peace as well as seeking long term resolutions to the conflicts.

    Police response units have set up camps in the fighting zones and are monitoring the situation.

    Meanwhile, authorities in the province have initiated a peace process to be staged at the Gelegele resettlement area in the Rabaul district today.

    Community leaders at Gelegele have also urged youth to let the authorities deal with the matter while they refrain from instigating further violence.

    Several meetings at the Kabiu local level government chamber in Rabaul had been held with each rival community convening to stabilise tension within the resettlement area.

    “We are doing all we can to restore peace in our community, it is sad to see homes ransacked, houses burnt down and families fleeing for their lives,” a local leader said.

    Republished with permission.