PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, October 11, 2009) – High powered firearms are everywhere in the Highlands provinces. The challenge in addressing firearms-related violence in the Highlands region is enormous due to excessive and the uncontrolled purchase of illegal firearms in the rural areas.

The sad reality is that the very people who should take the lead in combating this gun culture are at the forefront of this illegal and deadly business. It is now a trend in the Highlands where villagers are seeking assistance from their educated elites, businessmen and local politicians to purchase firearms – many do it as an obligation.

Most of the firearms are brought in through the exchange of drugs, prostitution and excessive cash payments.

Ninety percent of the rural population lack the money, power and influence to take part in this illicit and corrupt practice of smuggling, possessing and stockpiling illegal-high powered firearms. It is the wealthy politicians, businessmen and top educated elites who are purchasing and smuggling these weapons and armed their tribesmen for recognition and for use in elections and in tribal warfare.

Tribal fights, for the highlanders, were taken as the judiciary system to settle disputes for thousands of years. The method and weaponry used, however has changed with time. The more effective means of killing now is firearms. And every tribe wants to own firearms to that effect.

Regardless of the laws and Christian values, tribal fights still flare up from election related issues, rape, adultery, stealing, bride price, gambling, arm hold ups, village rugby league games, home brew, marijuana, and domestic violence. This has encouraged the tribes to fully arm themselves with high powered guns. There is a very big competition from each tribe to stock up as much firearms as they could so that it will help them to destroy and wipe out the enemy tribes.

Warring tribes destroyed each other completely and many people are killed, houses are burnt down, food gardens and cash crops are destroyed, infrastructures and service oriented institutions are destroyed, women, children and the elderly displaced with deep fear and anxiety.

There is decline of socio-economic activities, lack of rural development, decline of human resource development, urban migration, deaths, loss of identify, poverty, restriction of freedom of movement and abuse of human rights.

Voice of Yongos, a Non Government Organization based in the Chimbu Province says there are more firearms in the highlands region despite the efforts of the law and justice agencies to surrender and combat the use of the firearms. The escalating law and order problem associated with gun violence in the region is slowly consuming the fibre of the communities.

Guns are really hurting the communities, the people are suffering from on-going gun related violence.

Joe Kik, front man of VOY said there was a need to work and empower the village leaders, village court officials, ward councilors, church leaders and prominent community leaders with relevant information on mediation, restorative justice and conflict resolution to address these issues at their level.

Mr. Kik said the idea of arms buy-back suggested by the Internal Security Minister would not reduce the problem. Many illegal gun owners would not give in easily as the guns are the clan or tribe’s identity and security for self defense. The people spend so much resource (hard cash) and risk their lives to get these high powered firearms and they would not give - in easily even if the government offers huge buy back rewards. The government will only collect the useless and home-made guns because of the cash payment but the high powered arms would still remain in the communities.

It is the core responsibility of the National Government to ensure that, there was an effective enforcement of the existing gun laws but the national government is not doing enough to contain the rise of gun related violence in PNG.

One of the idea that stands out more strongly from the many interviews conducted by Voice of Yongos indicates the people want to initiate physical community development projects in the villages. The most prominent one is the rural housing scheme as it is a more positive way and a stepping stone to discourage the use of firearms and tribal fights.

The idea strongly emphasized is that, if a conflict arises in the community, those people who build and own permanent and semi-permanent houses with their live savings and their immediate and extended family members will refuse outright to fight and will be at the forefront to discourage violence and will work around the clock to negotiate peace and compensation. This proves true with some tribes in the Western Highlands Province where peace is the keyword. The increased lawlessness and violent inter-tribal conflicts among rural communities also creates conducive grounds for the smuggling, illegal possessing and use of high power weapons. Where gun violence is a daily reality, politicians, policy makers and bureaucrats often fail to understand precisely how men, women and children are differently affected, the multiplier effects of insecurity on the wider community.

Gun possessions ignite fear and insecurity among the people. It has the potential to explode into huge catastrophic, as we have witnessed guerrilla type attacks and kidnappings recently, VOY and other concerned civil society partners have on number of occassions called on the current 109 Members of Parliament to seriously debate on this important national issue in the current term of Parliament and strongly pushing the National Government for legislative changes to adopt the recommendations of the National Guns Committee Report to strengthen the enforcement of the existing gun laws to control and reduce arm related violence.

The Chimbu based NGO group will go into the province’s Kerowagi district later this month to do an awareness campaign on guns in Kup and Kerowagi where there are two separate tribal fights going on.

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