PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) — Papua New Guinea’s Attorney General Francis Damem, who defied the prime minister by failing to appear in court Friday to represent the state against logging company Concord Pacific, used to be the lawyer for both Concord Pacific and its general manager, Philip Lee, according to the environmental lobby group PNG Forest Watch.
Documents released by Forest Watch show that before he became attorney general, Damem acted in several court cases on behalf of Concord Pacific and Philip Lee in respect of the controversial Kiunga Aiambak logging project.
PNG Prime Minister Mekere Morauta earlier this month declared the Kiunga Aiambak logging concession illegal and ordered Damem to appear in court to “join the case in support of the Forest Authority” against the operation. The attorney general did not turn up to court on Friday and Forest Authority’s lawyer, Erik Anderson, allowed the case to be adjourned indefinitely.
Damem “has played a role in ensuring that the government has been unable to stop the illegal logging and protect local landowners,” Forest Watch said in a statement.
“In 1999, it was Damem who, as a private lawyer, went to court on behalf of Concord Pacific and obtained a temporary injunction to stop the Forest Authority and the government from taking any action to stop its illegal logging operation. Although the state is listed as a defendant in those court proceedings, as attorney general, Damem has taken no action on behalf of the government or the Forest Authority to get the temporary injunction removed.”
Morauta, in a statement dated May 14, said the government accepted that permission for the Kiunga Aiambak project should never have been granted and that it failed to comply with legal requirements.
The prime minister also said that the attorney general would support the Forest Authority in the court hearing last Friday to overturn the injunction granted in 1999. However, no lawyer from the attorney general’s department appeared in court and the case was adjourned indefinitely without any attempt being made to overturn the temporary injunction.
“It is not known whether the prime minister is aware it was Damem who first obtained the injunction on behalf of Concord Pacific,” Forest Watch said.
“However, the prime minister has not offered any explanation for why no action had been taken by the government and, in particular, by the attorney general since his appointment in April last year. It is quite clear that there is a web of political support protecting Concord Pacific from any action to stop its illegal operations.
