End the violence, distribute natural resources wealth fairly, pope tells PNG

The head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis has highlighted Papua New Guinea’s inequality and instability and called for an end to tribal violence during a public speech in the capital Port Moresby.

Speaking to government authorities and diplomats and huge crowds of PNG people on Saturday, he also spoke out on women’s equality, fair distribution of wealth from natural resources and resolution of Bougainville’s independence aspirations.

He said it was his particular hope that tribal violence will come to an end, “for it causes many victims, prevents people from living in peace and hinders development.”

Deadly clashes between tribes regularly occur in the Pacific island nation of about 12 million people, including 49 killed in February in the mountainous Highlands. At least 16 people died in rioting in the capital Port Moresby a month earlier.

Stability for Papua New Guinea, which gained its independence from Australia in 1975, has remained elusive as it grapples with challenges such as corruption and lack of roads and basic healthcare in many regions. 

The Pope amended his written remarks, according to Associated Press, to include violence against women, saying women “are the ones who carry the country forward they give life, build and grow a country, let us not forget the women who are on the front line of human and spiritual development.”

Domestic violence affects more than two-thirds of women in Papua New Guinea. In March 2019, more than 200 domestic violence and sexual violence cases were reported in Lae and Port Moresby, where over 23 murders alone were attributed to domestic violence.

The Pope singled out PNG’s rich natural resources which he said were “destined by God for the entire community. “

“Even if outside experts and large international companies must be involved in the harnessing of these resources, it is only right that the needs of local people are given due consideration when distributing the proceeds and employing workers, in order to improve their living conditions” he said.

He appealed for the people of PNG to embark on the path that leads to fruitful cooperation for the benefit of all the people of the country.

The Pope also referred to the autonomous state of Bougainville, which is seeking independence from the PNG Central Government. An estimated 10,000-15,000 people died in a decade-long civil war between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea that ended with a peace agreement in 2001.

The Pope said fruitful cooperation can create the conditions in which the question of the status of Bougainville Island can also find a definitive solution while avoiding the rekindling of ancient tensions.

Today is the first full day of the Pope’s two-day visit to PNG, a country of devout Christians, of whom an estimated 31-percent are Catholics. 

Followers have walked for days through remote mountains while others have made long journeys by canoe to see the Pope.

Tomorrow the Pope will hold an open-air mass which is expected to be attended by thousands in the Sir John Guise stadium in the capital before flying to the border town of Vanimo for a brief visit. He departs Port Moresby on Monday morning. 

Francis is on a 12-day, four-nation tour that began in Indonesia. He will head to East Timor next before his final stop in Singapore.