PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) — Trade unions in Papua New Guinea have threatened to go on a nationwide strike if Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare does not resign over his handling of the Julian Moti saga.
In a new twist to what PNG Defense Force board of inquiry counsel John Kawi had described as the “Motigate affair,” six public service unions teamed up with the PNG Trade Union Congress and condemned the grand chief for triggering conflict between the executive, legislative and judiciary arms of government.
Sir Michael, meanwhile, filed National Court proceedings seeking ultimately to declare the entire proceedings of the inquiry null and void.
As the sole plaintiff in the proceedings, Sir Michael has named the board of inquiry members — National and Supreme Court Judge Gibbs Salika, retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Huai, and Daniel Liosi — and recently sacked Defense Minister Martin Aini as the respective first and second defendants.
PNGTUC secretary general John Paska and representatives from the National Doctors Association, the Energy Workers Association, the Public Employees Association, the Police Association, the Teachers Association, and the PNG Nurses Association threatened to withdraw their workforce and go on a nationwide strike if Sir Michael did not step down.
Paska — who began the unions’ involvement early this week by saying the prime minister’s actions to disband the PNGDF inquiry “spits contempt” on PNG’s judiciary — said Sir Michael was creating conflict by sneaking and hiding between the three arms of government.
“The defense inquiry is part of the judiciary and the prime minister is using the legislative and executive arms of the government to challenge the judiciary, and this is very bad for the country,” he said in a joint press conference in Port Moresby with the union leaders.
The unions will present two petitions, one to the prime minister asking him to step down, and another to the ombudsman commission, urging it to investigate Sir Michael and his government’s conduct on how they “manipulated” the system to deal with the Moti issue.
Sir Michael, in an originating summons, is seeking a declaration that the board of inquiry, established by Aini and gazetted in the National Gazette No.G223 dated Dec. 7, 2006, has exceeded its jurisdiction.