PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) — Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has moved to disband the PNG Defense Force Board of Inquiry investigating Australian lawyer Julian Moti clandestine flight to Solomon Islands last year.
Lawyers representing the prime minister appeared at the inquiry and demanded the immediate discontinuation of the proceedings by “disbanding itself” and “surrendering all its records, transcripts files” and everything else to the minister for defense.
Sir Michael’s lawyer Kerenga Kua also questioned the appointment of Justice Gibbs Salika as chairman of the inquiry.
Kua contended that “there was no validly appointed chairman to this board and consequently the composition of this entire board and its entire proceedings was a legal nullity.”
This move came the inquiry was winding down and preparing to complete and send its final report to the minister for defense.
Kua also said the summons served on his client Sir Michael to appear before the inquiry was not necessary on the basis that under Sect 52 (1) (a) of the Defense Act, he did not have or was likely to have material evidence that may be needed by the inquiry.
He said the summons for Sir Michael’s appearance should be withdrawn, and added that only Joseph Assaigo had asserted that Sir Michael had directed the Moti flight.
This was hearsay and that he was the only witness against three others who said they did not get any directions from the PM for such a military operation, he said.
On the jurisdiction issue, Kua said the chairman “does not possess the qualifications and criteria set out under the Defense Regulation 3 (1) of the Defense (Boards of Inquiry) Regulations Chapter No. 74 of the Regulations.”
He said under the Defense Regulations 3 (2), the chairman of the inquiry must be an “officer of the Defense Force,” and said “since the current chairman was not, unless proven otherwise, he does not quality to be appointed as chairman.”
On Wednesday, suspended director-general of the Office of Security and Coordination assessment, Joseph Assaigo, claimed before the inquiry that he strongly believed there was a grand collusion or conspiracy between Ambassador Barney Rongap, Chief Secretary Joshua Kalinoe and PM’s chief of staff Leonard Louma to make it look like he was telling lies before the Defense inquiry.
Assaigo said this when senior counsel assisting the inquiry John Kawi put it to him that all the other senior government officials including Prime Minister Sir Michael had said in the media and also before the inquiry that they had no knowledge of the clandestine flight until the operation was reported in the media.