By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
THE prime minister of Papua New Guinea, on Thursday Jan. 11, 2024, declared a state of emergency, suspending government and police officials after 16 people were killed in rioting in the Pacific island nation.
On Wednesday morning, the police and public sector went on strike and protested over a pay cut that officials blamed on an administrative glitch descended into lawlessness.
A television footage of the riot showed thousands of people in the streets of the capital, Port Moresby, carrying looted merchandise.
Stonix News gathered on Thursday that nine people were killed in the rioting in Port Moresby and seven others killed in Lae, in the north of the gold and copper-mining country.
During a news conference, Prime Minister James Marape told reporters that he had suspended Papua New Guinea’s chief of police and top bureaucrats in the finance and treasury departments while the government conducts a review into the cause of the riots.
“There was evidence of organized rioting that took place. The review would ensure we secure democracy, we secure rule of law,” he said.
He also stated that over 1,000 military officers were on standby to ward off further unrest.
According to the Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea, several Chinese citizens were lightly injured, with Chinese-owned stores subjected to vandalism and looting.
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