Papua New Guinea rocked by violence as pay error prompts police walkout, riots and looting

By Hilary Whiteman and Heather Chen, CNN

(CNN) — Papua New Guinea was dealing with the fallout Thursday of violent riots and looting that shook the capital Port Moresby, with the prime minister vowing repercussions amid calls for his resignation and demands from China to safeguard its citizens and their businesses.

Shops were looted and buildings set on fire Wednesday after police walked off the job in protest about a drop in their pay that government officials later blamed on a computer glitch in the payroll system that they said would be rectified next pay day.

An unconfirmed number of people were killed and dozens injured, as emergency services struggled to respond to the scale of the disturbance, with footage showing groups of people on the streets carrying boxes of goods and supplies.

Papua New Guinea, a Pacific island nation home to a population of around 10 million, is rich in resources, but its economic growth has long trailed its neighbors and it has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

In an address to the nation on Thursday, Prime Minister James Marape said security reports suggested that while the situation had “subsided in the past 12 hours…  it is still tense out there.” He warned that leaders of the police, defense and finance operations would be “put under the spotlight” and said “ill-discipline” among the police would not be tolerated.

“All this will be looked at in totality as we try to restore sanity, normalcy and order back into our city and into our country,” he said.

CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported that at least 8 people had been killed in Port Moresby, while Acting Metropolitan Superintendent of Lae Central Command, James Luan, told CNN that four had died in Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, PNG’s second largest city.

The unrest has had diplomatic repercussions for the island nation, with Beijing demanding action against perpetrators who damaged Chinese-owned businesses. PNG is home to about 20,000 Chinese citizens, and the country has a close relationship with China, as one of the first Pacific Island nations to sign up to its Belt and Road project.

According to a statement posted on the official WeChat account of China’s embassy in PNG, Beijing made solemn representations with PNG authorities over the attacks and urged them to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens.

A few Chinese citizens suffered minor injuries in the attacks, according to the statement.

At least six members of parliament have resigned, according to RNZ, with James Nomane, former MP for Chuave in the Eastern Highlands, calling for Marape to also stand down.

“James Marape must resign. The crisis is a combination and a groundswell of enmity from our people in public service that emanates from the total economic mismanagement,” said Nomane, from Marape’s Papua and Niugini Union Party (Pangu), who was Vice Minister of National Planning, in a video statement.

“The prime minister, the treasurer, the police minister are 100% culpable. Things will only get worse unless we stop this rot.”

Pay issue triggers day of violence

The events on Wednesday began after police officers and security officials gathered at the Ungai Oval park in Port Moresby to protest about deductions in their pay.

The officers later moved on to the National Parliament House where tensions escalated on the streets after security personnel withdrew their services, government officials said.

In a video message on Facebook late Wednesday, Port Moresby governor Powes Parkop warned about escalating violence. “We have seen unprecedented level of strife in our city, something that has never happened before in the history of our city and our country,” Parkop said, slamming “opportunists” who had taken advantage of events that “spiraled out of control.”

Emergency services said the “civil unrest” in Port Moresby had severely impacted operations. “We are responding to life-threatening emergency situations as quickly as possible and are doing all possible to maintain the safety and security of (staff) at the same time,” St John Ambulance PNG said in a statement shared on Facebook.

Earlier, Marape made a public apology and said the computer glitch had affected “all public servants on government payroll.” He said the shortfall would be made up in the next pay cycle.

In a statement on Thursday, the US embassy said many local businesses, including fuel stations and grocery stores, had been damaged, and that the looting in Port Moresby had stopped but “tensions remain high.”

The Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea issued a notice on Thursday reminding Chinese citizens and organizations in the Pacific nation to strengthen security precautions.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was not aware of Australians caught in the unrest and had not received any requests for aid or assistance from Papua New Guinea’s government.

“Our High Commission in Port Moresby are keeping a very close eye on what is occurring there, making sure that Australians are looked after,” Albanese said.

“We continue to urge calm at this difficult time.”

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