Unrest has continued in Port Moresby following the weekend’s Apec conference and the storming of parliament by “disgruntled” police and corrections officers on Tuesday.
Locals reported sporadic shooting around the Papua New Guinean capital on Wednesday night, with police reportedly warning people not to call them because they would not respond.
On Wednesday, EMTV reported landowners from Hela province had damaged the offices of the department of petroleum and energy in the latest flare-up of long-running protests against non-payment of royalties.
Several hundred members of the Joint Security Taskforce stormed Parliament House in Waigani on Tuesday, blocking roads, smashing doors and windows, and trashing entryways. Some parliamentary staff were also assaulted, according to members of the opposition who were in nearby meeting rooms.
The group – which had the support of the PNG police association – were angry they had not been paid allowances for their work covering the regional conference.
The group eventually dispersed after meeting with ministers, but the unrest spread and there were reports of looting and gunfire in areas of the city, with reports police used teargas to dispel people.
Chris Hawkins, chief executive of Apec and senior advisor to the prime minister, Peter O’Neill, released a statement on Tuesday saying it was an administrative issue and payments had already begun. He told officers to check their accounts on Wednesday.
However, many officers reported only being paid a fraction of what they were owed, and reportedly met on Wednesday afternoon to reject the partial payments.
Police spokesman Dominic Kakas said the department of finance had released only half of the funds for payments, but had committed to release the rest next week.
Powes Parkop, governor of the national capital district which includes Port Moresby, said the city was safe, but demanded consequences against the officers who stormed parliament.
“I call upon everyone involved to do the right thing – let it be arrests, suspension, salary cut to repair the damages or total sacking from the force,” he told Radio NZ.
“Your job is to protect the country, not to provoke tension and chaos.”
The police minister, Jelta Wong, said no officer would be suspended but then claimed he was misquoted and that he was referring only to the group’s spokesmen.
“Those that stormed and caused damage to our national parliament will be investigated,” he said.
On the day of the incident the police association said the non-payment was a “slap in the face”.
The PNG government, led by O’Neill since 2011, has faced numerous protests over the years, mostly against government spending and alleged corruption and cronyism while the vast majority of citizens lived in poverty.
In 2016 police fired into crowds of student protesters in Port Moresby calling for O’Neill’s resignation amid a long-running corruption scandal.
Last month a national boycott protested against government spending on Apec, including the purchase of 40 Maseratis and three Bentleys. The minister for Apec, Justin Tkatchenko, had dismissed the public outcry, saying all cars would be bought by “the private sector”, completely reimbursing the government.
On Thursday, Loop PNG reported the cars are expected to undergo public tender. Tkatchenko couldn’t say which leaders had used the Maseratis, the report said.
The country is currently dealing with a national health crisis, including medication shortages and outbreaks of polio and drug resistant tuberculosis.
Teachers and other public servants have had their salaries cut and the rural areas, where more than 80% of people live, remain with poor roads and infrastructure.
The highlands regions are also still recovering from a deadly and devastating earthquake earlier this year.
PNG police have been contacted for comment.