пятница, 2 марта 2012 г.
FED: Downer formalises PNG law and order treaty
AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2004
FED: Downer formalises PNG law and order treaty
By Katherine Danks
SYDNEY, Aug 13 AAP - A reduced contingent of Australian police will head to Papua New
Guinea (PNG) next month under a controversial plan to restore law and order.
Federal Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and his PNG counterpart Sir Rabbie Namaliu
today signed the five-year Enhanced Cooperation Program (ECP) at a meeting in Sydney.
Police officers, lawyers and public servants are to be deployed under the $900 million
plan aimed at cleaning up the local police force and improving the efficiency of the bureaucracy
and courts.
Mr Downer said Australia would now send about 210 police officers to PNG, rather than
the 230-strong contingent flagged earlier.
"To be frank I think it (the mission) will be difficult, we embarked on this undertaking
to help the Papua New Guinea constabulary without any illusions about it being easy, it's
going to be difficult and some of the work from time to time will be dangerous work,"
Mr Downer told reporters.
The first contingent will head to the troubled Bougainville island next month, with
more police heading to the PNG capital, Port Moresby, in November.
Bougainville is slowly returning to peace after years of secessionist-fuelled conflict.
PNG had earlier delayed the plan from being put into action by refusing to grant legal
immunity to Australian Federal Police officers to protect them from malicious prosecutions.
But Mr Downer offered in June to have Australia prosecute any of its police who break
local laws in Papua New Guinea.
The move led to both parties reaching a broad agreement on the plan.
Sir Rabbie said a member of the PNG parliament had launched an appeal against the immunity
plan in the country's supreme court, although he did not believe it would be successful.
"That is his right as a member of parliament, I sat down with him and talked through
the agreement with him... but I feel comfortable," Sir Rabbie said.
Mr Downer said the first objectives would be day-to-day policing and eventually getting
the law and order into shape.
"This is a way of enhancing very substantially the assistance we provide to Papua New
Guinea and I think this will be remembered as one of the historic agreements," he said.
Mr Downer emphasised that the Australian police were not an intervention force such
as that in the Solomon Islands.
AFP officers would also train and recruit up to 400 local police, he said.
Sir Rabbie said the plan was the most significant development in Australian-PNG relations
in about 30 years.
"It is a very timely agreement, it is valuable and it is very much needed," he said.
"Everyone in Papua New Guinea recognises that there is a very serious problem and we
have to address it with assistance if we can get it from anywhere."
AAP kjd/kbw/rgr/de
KEYWORD: PNG POLICE (PIX AVAILABLE)
2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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