Police in Papua New Guinea opened fire on a student demonstration at a university campus and on the public outside the capital’s hospital on Wednesday, officials said, wounding more than a dozen people and killing as many as four.
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A major aid agency, which declined to be named as its report was preliminary, said it had information from the university clinic that at least 15 students were wounded, with four killed.
The students were marching from their campus towards parliament, where Mr O’Neill faces a motion of no confidence. When the students intervened, the police fired shots directly into the crowd.
“We call on all sides to be calm and to de-escalate the tension and certainly call on all sides to respect the peaceful and lawful right to protest”.
In 2012, Papua New Guinea was ranked one of the most corrupt countries by Transparency International.
EMTV said the university had suspended classes to deal with the student boycott, but they were supposed to resume this week.
The US embassy in Port Moresby told its citizens to avoid areas hit by violence. “But you know, that can be understood by the fact that some of them had just been shot”, he said.
“The students are not going to give up until and unless the prime minister resigns or surrenders himself to police and is arrested and charged”, Anjo said by phone from Port Moresby.
Mr O’Neill said there would be an investigation into who was funding the students and any outside “agitators” encouraging them to protest.
Nine students are studying at the Lae University of Technology (UNITECH), five at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) and six at the Medical Faculty of Papua New Guinea.
The incident caused unrest throughout the area; Yalo said she could still hear gunshots going off outside the house where she was hiding hours after the clash ended.
He said later a standoff had developed between protesters inside the hospital and police outside.
“We are now calling for the police commissioner to resign along with the prime minister…(students) are the future of Papua New Guinea”.
Police have also brought in extra officers to deal with any further outbreaks of violence around the capital of Port Moresby.
“The overwhelming majority of students simply want to go to class, sit their exams and proceed to the next semester”, Tabar said, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
“A lot of students, they got hurt they got really hurt badly”, Yalo said.
“The question is about the warrant of arrest as to why we have to run and get a warrant without even conducting an interview at the first place”, O’Neill told the parliament.
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O’Neill is accused by PNG police’s Taskforce Sweep of acting corruptly in allegedly authorised the payment of $30m of fraudulent legal bills to law firm Paul Paraka.
