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Papua New Guinea's PM survives challenge
Parliament's vote not to oust Chan triggers unrest
March 25, 1997
Web posted at: 12:17 p.m. EST (1717 GMT)PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (CNN) -- Thousands of angry demonstrators and mutinous soldiers briefly surrounded Papua New Guinea's parliament building Tuesday after lawmakers defeated a motion to oust Prime Minister Julius Chan.
Chan has been under fire for his decision to hire mercenaries to quell an internal rebellion.
After the vote, the crowd began throwing stones at departing cars, and police responded with tear gas. About 250 armed soldiers later joined the demonstration, setting up roadblocks and searching cars at gunpoint.
The soldiers, upset by the vote, were reportedly looking for members of parliament. But the tension began to ease after a top military commander, Maj. Walter Enuma, arrived and took control of the situation
Though military leaders have been openly critical of Chan, Enuma indicated that force would not be used to counter the parliament's decision to retain the prime minister.
"The parliament has made its decision. We respect the law of the land, and the military will respect it," Enuma said. "There will be no confrontation."
Chan defends mercenary contract
Chan's political support had weakened Monday with a mass defection of Cabinet ministers, including key members of his ruling party. But after a contentious five-hour debate, lawmakers voted 58-39 against the motion to oust Chan, his deputy prime minister and the defense minister.
Chan's decision to enter into a $36 million contract with a British company to hire mercenaries to quell a rebellion on the island of Bougainville is at the root of the current political crisis.
When the South Pacific nation's army chief objected to the plan, Chan sacked him, leading to two days of rioting and calls for Chan's resignation.
In the parliamentary debate, the prime minister defended the contract, saying the country's ill-trained and ill-equipped soldiers were being slain "like sitting ducks" by separatist rebels on Bougainville.
"Sometimes you have to make decisions in the best interests of the security of the nation, and we made this decision and will not compromise that decision," Chan said. "I had to put the lives of our soldiers on Bougainville first."
Rebellion has claimed 1,000 lives
Rebels on Bougainville, about 800 miles (1,300 km) northeast of Port Moresby, the capital, want to secede from Papua New Guinea. The fighting, which began in 1988, has claimed more than 1,000 lives, including those of 200 soldiers.
Military leaders have argued that the $36 million would have been better spent on equipping the country's soldiers. Opposition leader Bill Skate, who made the motion to oust Chan, called the decision to hire mercenaries "madness" and complained that the contract was made by the prime minister without consulting the Cabinet.
"Our nation has been torn apart with division and more and more questions about corruption in high office," Skate said. "We have the crisis today because of one man's ego."
But the defense minister, Mathias Ijape, said hiring mercenaries made financial sense because the country is already spending $86 million a year to fight the rebels, without success.
Ijape blamed the army's inability to quell the rebellion on the refusal of Australia and New Zealand to supply helicopter gunships and other military hardware needed to gain tactical advantage over the rebels.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Ministers defect from Papua New Guinea Cabinet - March 24, 1997
- Political crisis grows in Papua New Guinea - March 23, 1997
- Pilots: Papua New Guinea cancels mercenary contract - March 19, 1997
- Military crisis ends in Papua New Guinea - March 18, 1997
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