Human rights group calls for governance investigation in Papua New Guinea
02/02/2010
Amnesty International has called for an investigation to be carried out into the means used by police in Papua New Guinea to relocate people from their homes next to a goldmine.
According to a new report compiled by the organisation, there is evidence to show that local police attempting to move people from their homes next to the Porgera goldmine used violence to force their eviction.
The companies operating the mine may also have failed to respond adequately to the incident, stated the group, which is now calling for a thorough investigation by the government.
Shanta Martin, Amnesty International's mining and human rights specialist, commented: "People who were living next to the mine's facilities have been the victims of human rights violations by police who illegally burnt down their houses and destroyed their belongings and gardens."
In related news, Papua New Guinea's military forces lent their support to a HIV and AIDS prevention project last year by helping to distribute around 43 million condoms around the country, ABC Online reported.
Written by Dan Parr 
