P.N.G. crime ‘calls for curb on rights’

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 6

P.N.G. crime ‘calls for curb on rights’

NZPA-AAP Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea could not afford to share the phobia of many Western countries about using the military in internal situations, said the former Armed Forces commander, Mr Ted Diro. He also said that it was time to consider dropping some constitutionally guaranteed rights. He personally supported making people charged with criminal sentences prove their innocence as opposed to the present onus of proof falling on prosecutors. Mr Diro is now a member of the national parliament heading a committee overseeing Port Morseby’s state of emergency to combat worsening crime. Members of the P.N.G. Defence Forces have combined with police and reserve police to mount patrols and man road blocks. If crime increased he

could see a role for the military beyond the current two-month emergency period said Mr Diro at a press conference. “Western countries seem to have a phobia about the use of military in internal situations,” he said. However, a poor country like Papua New Guinea could not afford to leave its military “lying idle” while under-resourced police could not stem rising lawlessness. The crime situation had to be given priority. Mr Diro said that in several other developing countries the military had moved to take over when internal problems got out of hand. “We want to forestall — rather prevent — that sort of thing from happening,” he said. “Democracy is a luxury and if they (the public) don’t earn it you do not give it to them.” It was necessary to take account of the national welfare. In the 10 years since independence, valuable ex-

perience had been gained about how the Constitution and legal system could be made more relevant to Papua New Guinea’s needs. The Constitution was now “very easy” and called for greater restrictions on rights such as freedom of movement.

Mr Diro argued that this was neccessary to stem the flow of people from village areas to the unemployment pool plaguing the cities. He said onus of proof in the legal system could be changed so that a person was considered guilty as charged unless he could prove his innocence.

Mr Diro said he personally did not favour Government proposals to introduce capital punishment and castration for rapists. He believed central elements in the crime problem were parental control problems arising from the educational and cultural gap between children and their parents.

This led to a lack ol respect in children, who dismissed the opinions of their elders.