University curfews imposed

Commission of inquiry to probe university violence

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The Papua New Guinea government has impose a night-time curfew on the two university campuses that have been the main locations of escalating violence, which led to the death of a student on Saturday.

The man was killed and several buildings torched at the PNG University of Technology, two weeks after police opened fire on students at the University of PNG.

O’Neill said the curfew would operate between 7pm and 6am, local time, at UPNG in Port Moresby and PNG Unitech in the country’ second city of Lae.

The curfew, a recommendation of the government’s National Security Advisory Council, will operate for 30 days.

“The curfew on these campuses will help maintain law and order and assist universities in returning to normalcy,” O’Neill said.

He said the government believes that events of the past week were driven by criminal opportunists.

“The burning of buildings and vehicles, destruction of property and grievous bodily harm, including one death at Unitech, are clearly criminal acts,” he added.

The announcement came as police arrested three students over the death of the student at the University of Technology on Saturday.

The students have been demanding that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who is being investigated for corruption, step aside, and they have been boycotting classes as part of their campaign.

The undergraduate killed at the campus in Lae, the country’s second-largest city, was reportedly targeted amid student disagreements over whether to continue the boycotts.

It is understood one of the students arrested was the dead man’s roommate.

The government has moved rapidly to establish a commission of inquiry into the recent violence at the nation’s university campuses.

The Commission of Inquiry into Campus Violence will be chaired by retired judge Justice Andrew Warwick.

In a statement, O’Neill said the inquiry would be essential in helping to understand the violence, and help prevent similar incidents in the future.

“We all need answers, right around the country, to understand the factors leading to the escalation of student protests and the acts of violence that we have seen,” O’Neill said. - ABC