PNG Courts Clear Singirok Of Sedition

As a former commander of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, Jerry Singirok led what went close to the borderline of removing an elected government.

In March 1997, he was stripped of his title and sacked after using the national radio to demand the resignation, within 48 hours, of then prime minister Sir Julius Chan and defence minister Mathias Ijape.

The Chan government had hired a British company, Sandline, to supply mercenaries, weapons and helicopters to kill the leaders of secessionist Bougainville island's independence fighters. The PNG army was having a hard time, often coming off worst, battling the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA).

The hiring of mercenaries angered Singirok. Mounting what the army called Operation Rausim Kwik, Singirok had the mercenaries rounded up and expelled from PNG. The survival of the Chan government was in question.

In March, Singirok was acquitted of sedition charges by National Court judge Justice Cathy Davani. He's now busy writing a book, A Matter Of Conscience: Operation Rausim Kwik.

Singirok believes his actions saved the lives of thousands of Bougainville people.

"I think it was only logical that I was acquitted from the charge of sedition because I had no seditious intentions," he says. "I wanted to prevent a major criminal act."

Singirok says that what isn't generally known is that Sandline intended to attack the Solomon Islands as well as Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea, but has close geographic, cultural and historic links with the Solomon Islands.

BRA rebels used the western Solomon Islands, a short boat ride away, as a refuge.

There were secret plans to destroy the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Commission and knock out a couple of government and police posts.

"That would have brought PNG international condemnations," he says. "Those issues alone had a major consequence for me as commander."

Singirok says he informed PNG's then governor-general and police commissioner before making the broadcast that brought him a charge of sedition.

"I warned them that I had to voice my concerns about the consequences of Sandline. Because thousands of Papua New Guineans do not have access to newspapers and television, it was only right that I spoke on radio. My address to the nation was not seditious. I believe that it was in good intention."

Now that the trial is over, Singirok says he wants to serve Papua New Guinea in the public or private sector since much public money was spent educating him to be an army officer and commander. "I was very young when I was appointed general, and I'd like to think that I can develop a system of developing Papua New Guinea."

The last seven years have been tough for him and his family, he says.

I had to use a bit of my retirement money to reinvest in order to ensure that I acquired the basic things, bread and butter for the family.

It was pretty tough but I had three decisions that I made when the Sandline contract was awarded: one was to resign, two was to take leave, and three was to evict Sandline and face the consequences.

"I elected to evict them and face the consequences, so the seven years that I have gone through was part of the process that I expected."

Singirok is of mixed Madang and East Sepik parentage. After school, he joined the army in 1976 and later had military training in Australia and the United States.

He got his first taste of action in Bougainville in 1988 and 1989. In 1994, while commanding officer there, he injured badly his left wrist while trying to retrieve the bodies of two army men.

In 1995, he became a general at the age of 38. Singirok said he launched Operation Rausim Kwik just before a Sandline chartered ship arrived on March 19, 1997.

That's why I chose March 17 to prevent the final equipment from arriving. We detained about four key Sandline executives in Port Moresby and 87 or so mercenaries in Wewak barracks. As a result, Papua New Guinea was in turmoil for a few weeks. I had a duty to use the media effectively, to tell the people that they had to calm down, this is not a coup, this is not a takeover. I just put a stop to a decision I believed was quite wrong.

"Sandline had that commercial value on their contract. They used their modus operandi of Africa, and that is the sad thing. Because we look like Africans, they thought they could come and impose on us their commercial successes of Africa. It's good that we exposed them because the world no longer needs mercenaries."