Anoushka -
Home to hundreds of tribal communities, each characterised by distinct dialects, beliefs and customs, Papua New Guinea (PNG), popularly referred to as an “earthly paradise” is a melting pot of cultural heritage. But, right now, PNG’s rich cultural tapestry is but an ethnic tinderbox, with the province of Enga on high alert after more than 50 tribal men were killed in a clash between tribes in a remote village on Sunday. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, clans fight for a variety of reasons ranging from generational land disputes, control over natural resources to simple misunderstandings between members.
The recent introduction of smuggled semiautomatic weapons onto the battlefield have cowed even the PNG police force in the face of explosive ethnic conflict. The country’s police seem overwhelmed, reduced to a reactive force rather than a proactive one with peace advocate James Komengi saying, “The best they do now is arrive at the battlefields and collect dead bodies.” With coercive means like the military and police failing to contain the violence, what lies ahead for conflict resolution in Papua New Guinea?
Bibliography:
Kobylinski, Andrew. 2022. “Tribal Violence in Papua New Guinea.” www.icrc.org, March. https://www.icrc.org/en/tribal-violence-papua-new-guinea.
Kuku, Rebecca. 2024. “Papua New Guinea Massacre: Fears Violence Could Spiral over Tribal Conflict.” The Guardian, February 20, 2024, sec. World news. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/png-massacre-papua-news-guinea-tribal-co nflict-fighting-enga-province.
Mcguirk, Rod. 2024. “Tribal Bloodshed Shines Spotlight on Instability in Strategically Vital Papua New Guinea.” AP News. February 19, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/papua-new-guinea-tribal-violence-massacre-81ff6abcda4c041b09 a45c42e7ed2638.
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