Protesters in Port Moresby want Prime Minister Peter O'neill to resign

A group of protesters gathered at the Unagi Oval in Port Moresby yesterday to stage a sit-in protest against the current political events, calling for Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to resign.

The protest was called off by the action Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki on Monday but the protest went ahead.

Protesters carrying placards and banners took to the oval as early as 9am yesterday in the face of heavy police presence.

The public, included working class Papua New Guineans, students and those in the informal sector.

Students from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) joined the crowd at around 11am in bus loads to show their support despite a decision by the Students Representative Council to stay away. Their arrival at the oval boosted the morale of the crowd with more people getting drawn to the oval to participate.

Port Moresby’s top policemen, acting NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Ndranou Perou, newly appointed acting deputy police commissioner (operations) Jim Andrews and director for community policing Jerry Frank observed the protest with their men.

Police checkpoints were established in strategic locations leading from the oval to the National Parliament. Motorists were diverted away from the oval and the National Parliament by the police but people still walked to the venue.

Activist Noel Anjo commended the policemen for giving the opportunity to the people, to express their concerns over the recent political events.

He said although some police personnel had removed a loud hailer from him in the early part of the gathering as he addressed the crowd, police work should be respected as they were there to maintain the law. The protesters left at around 4pm after Police Minister Robert Atiyafa assured them that their concerns would be taken on board by the Government.