Criminals on death row in PNG to be executed

Landowner Leaders of the Porgera Special Mining Lease (SML) area deny that there is theft at the Porgera mine, except for the removal of certain crushed rock waste by locals in search of alluvial gold in a particular area where a crusher is located, according to a media statement by the Justice Foundation of Porgera Ltd today.

The Porgera Police Commander has reported of stealing going on from within the mine site but without providing any details. We ask that he send his reports to the Provincial Police Commander and Police Commissioner to take immediate action in protecting the mine assets. He should do his policing duties instead of misleading the public to undermine the Marape -Steven government’s decision to refuse the extension of the SML.

We also ask the former Prime Minister Mr. Peter O’Neill to explain how the majority of the landowners were benefiting financially when he and all the former Prime Ministers failed badly to deal with all of the legacy issues that have caused the Marape led Government not to have renewed the Porgera Special Mining Lease.

We are confident that Mr. O’Neill would have renewed the SML, selling out our resources cheaply to foreigners and ignoring the pleas of the Landowners, who are citizens he had undertaken by oath to protect.

Mr. O’Neill should be ashamed that he had allowed the Porgera Landowners to continue to suffer environmental damages, human rights abuses, denial of education for children and failure to resettle the landowners from the SML area. Much of these happened during the tenure of Mr. O’Neill’s Government and he did nothing to help thousands of suffering landowners.

We note that all former Mining Ministers since 1989, including Mr. Neill’s former Ministers are named as respondents in arbitration proceedings filed by the Porgera landowners in 2018. It is possible that all the Prime Ministers over the last 30 years during the life of the Porgera Gold Mine could also be held liable for damages suffered by the landowners of Porgera.

It is further shameful that Mr O’Neill, an Accountant by profession, talks about an unsubstantiated amount of K100 million a month loss from the Porgera mine, when Papua New Guinea was losing each month for 30 years more than US$ 65 million a month in revenue from the Porgera Gold Mine at today’s gold price, when foreign owners were taking out of the country 95% of the gold and silver produced with a little of the revenue earned from their sales were brought back for operating costs.

The Marape-Steven Government has in fact stopped the loss of that gold valued millions of Kina; therefore, saving it for the benefit of Papua New Guinea and its citizens.

It is people like Mr. O’Neill and many of the past Prime Ministers who have allowed the natural resources of this country to be extracted with absolutely little or no benefit to this country. They all have left no legacy for future generations, except unaffordable foreign loans.

The landowners welcome the Marape-Steven government’s decision not to renew the Porgera Special Mining Lease, as demanded by the majority of the landowners and we stand prepared to negotiate with the State to resolve the many legacy issues left behind by Barrick.

We also make it clear that the landowners will not allow any foreigners to participate in the future ownership of the Porgera Gold Mine, because we have suffered for last 30years.

We are ready to sign up with the State to reopen the mine as soon as possible with most of the employees and contractors intact.

We call on all stakeholders to respect the rule of law and all due processes to follow.

Statement

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Criminals on death row in PNG to be executed