by The bullets flew. Shops and warehouses were burned. At the edge of the prime minister’s compound, hundreds of protesters broke down doors and set fire to a guard booth. Inside, on the 10th floor of the beige building that housed the country’s leader’s office, he faced calls to respond forcefully, perhaps even to ask the former colonial ruler for help.
“We are not going to call the Australians,” Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea told a journalist who visited him in his office. “We can handle this ourselves.”
Last week’s deadly riots caught officials by surprise and left Marape grappling with a rapidly advancing crisis. But discontent had been simmering for months in one of the poorest countries in the world. Papua New Guinea has a very large youth population, but few jobs to offer its young people, further compounding economic difficulties.
So when hundreds of civil servants and police officers had their salaries docked (due to what the government described as a computer problem), they walked off the job on January 10. Within hours, Port Moresby, the capital, was rocked by a level of violence it had not seen in decades. No official death toll was released, but at least 22 are believed to have died in the unrest, according to newspaper reports Australian media.
Marape insisted the payroll error would be corrected and the missing money restored, dismissing claims circulating on social media that the pay cut was a backdoor tax increase. As night fell, he had ordered the military to restore calm in the capital. The next day, he declared a two-week state of emergency in Port Moresby and suspended the Pacific island nation’s police chief.
During the unrest, telecommunications services in Papua New Guinea were cut, according to NetBlocksa group that monitors Internet connectivity, but the causes of the problem are still unclear.
A fragile peace has now been established. But resources are scarce, with so many businesses looted or burned in the riots. It is unclear who will bear the reconstruction costs, which are estimated at 600 million Papua New Guinea kina, or about $160 million, according to the government, and which are unlikely to be covered by the companies’ insurance. . Members of the military and police are a visible presence in the capital, some services face reduced opening hours and there are restrictions on public gatherings and alcohol consumption.
In the wake of the unrest, seven lawmakers resigned and rumors have emerged of a mutiny over Marape’s handling of the crisis.
The speed with which a wage dispute gave way to violent unrest reveals the fragility of life in Papua New Guinea, said Michael Main, an anthropologist and researcher at the Australian National University.
More than 68 percent of the country’s population (estimated between 9 million and 17 million people — lived below the poverty line, on less than $3.65 a day, in 2017, according to the World Bank.
It is experiencing what is known as a youth bulge: up to two-thirds of the population is under 25, according to recent studies. Although there are few reliable official statistics, youth unemployment is very widespreadthe experts say.
“Our cities and towns are home to a large population of unemployed, disconnected and disaffected young people with little or no prospects of being productive citizens,” said Christopher Elphick, 39, owner of a furniture and appliance store in Port Moresby. “They have nothing to lose.”
Those who get a job face obligations to their community and their families depend on them for help.
The sudden pay cut for the police, who come from various parts of the country and have complex political and clan alliances, ignited a ready powder keg. “If you take a substantial amount out of their pay,” Dr. Main said, “suddenly they will be left with the same demands, but even less money.”
In a video posted on social media, James Nomane, one of the members of Parliament who resigned after the riots broke out, blamed Marape, the prime minister, for the crisis and called on him to resign.
“The government has failed to address the ‘youth bulge’ issue, we have failed to create opportunities for our people and we have absolutely failed the nation,” he said, adding: “There are no blame games or excuses; responsibility it’s theirs”. the first Minister. He must resign.”
Marape came to power in 2019, promising that the impoverished but resource-rich country would be the “best in the world.”The richest black Christian nation”within a decade. He avoided a no-confidence vote in 2020 and won re-election in 2022. In recent months, as the United States and China compete for influence in the Pacific, Marape has signed security agreements with the United States and Australia, while seeking economic agreements with China, the country’s largest trading partner.
Marape announced a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, suggesting a fracture within his coalition. But while a no-confidence vote is likely, no challenger has emerged so far, and members of the prime minister’s party and the media have mostly rallied around him, said Maholopa Laveil, an economist at the University of Papua New Guinea.
The timing of such a vote is still unclear, but it cannot happen until next month at the earliest. The country’s laws prohibit a vote of no confidence within a year and a half after the election.
For now, the government has threatened to shut down social media, citing concerns about “misinformation and disinformation.” according to the telecommunications ministerTimothy Masiu.
He is already “investigating certain social media accounts and following people of interest,” Laveil said. “They have the right to freeze accounts if there is a credible threat.”
