Soldiers and police patrolled Port Moresby on Friday a day after Papua New Guinea declared a state of emergency in the capital in response to rioting and other violence in which at least 16 people are reported to have died.
The prime minister, James Marape, declared a 14-day state of emergency, suspending several officials and putting more than 1,000 soldiers on standby, after a police and public sector protest over pay on Wednesday descended into rioting and looting.
The city had returned to a “new normal” on Friday morning, with police and soldiers on the streets and long lines at petrol stations, according to Matt Cannon, who heads the local branch of not-for-profit emergency responder service St John Ambulance.
“We’re expecting the supermarkets that are functioning to reopen today and I’m hearing they have increased security to cater for potentially large numbers of people,” Cannon said.
Police and other public servants went on strike on Wednesday over a pay cut that officials later blamed on an administrative error.
Within hours, thousands thronged the streets, looting and rioting against a backdrop of smoke and burning buildings. A mob also tried to break through the gates outside the prime minister’s office.
On Friday, Marape faced a number of calls to resign, including from former prime minister Peter O’Neill. “I … am still reeling from the shocking scenes of destruction that gripped Port Moresby,” O’Neill said in a statement, calling it the darkest day in the country’s history.
“There is no shame in taking responsibility, but it is absolutely shameful to continue knowing you have lost command and control,” he added, referring to Marape.
Nine people were killed in the rioting in capital city and seven were killed in Lae, in the country’s north, the Australian national broadcaster ABC reported on Thursday, citing police. Four of those killed were reportedly shot by a business owner in a suburb of the capital.
More than 50 people were being treated for injuries at Port Moresby general hospital, according to a statement. Among them were a number of gunshot and knife wounds.
The finance secretary and police commissioner were among the officials suspended by the prime minister. In a statement, Marape that the decision to suspend them for 14 days “in no way indicates their involvement in matters of concern”.
Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, said on Friday the situation in the country had improved and that the Papua New Guinea government had issued some small requests for assistance from Canberra.
Things were quiet on Friday when Eddie Allo took the bus to his work at the Port Moresby general hospital. Most vehicles on the roads were government-owned and many people were short on fuel because petrol stations had been closed, he said.
“Everything is at a standstill now,” Allo said by phone. “Not many people are on the street and the police and army are patrolling around the areas on foot. No looting is going on.”
Rebecca Kuku is a reporter with The National, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
With Reuters