After more than 30 murdered, will peace finally last in Sugu Valley?
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| Flashback: Remember this scene in Sugu Valley in June? |
After more than 30 murdered, will peace finally last in Sugu Valley?
PORT MORESBY: After more than 30 deaths since April, the eight warring tribes laid down their arms on Christmas Day and signed peace agreements here on Saturday.
But, will peace and normalcy last in Sugu Valley?
Read on and draw your own conclusion whether villagers in Southern Highlands’ Kagua-Erave are finally at peace and to move own with socio-economic development:
Peace in Sugu Valley
Peace in Sugu Valley, warring parties sign agreement
By REBECCA KUKUMANY Papua New Guineans were skeptical that peace was achievable in Sugu Valley where more than 30 people have been killed in bloody tribal wars since April.
But the warring tribesmen proved the skeptics wrong when they laid down their arms on Christmas Day and turned up in Port Moresby on Saturday to sign a Cease Fire Agreement and a Peace Agreement.
Local community leader Dickson Tasi who had been brokering the peace talks for months with others in Southern Highlands’ Kagua-Erave said “it is a miracle”.
“The tribal feud started in April and was waged by eight council wards,” he said.
“Lives were lost, homes were destroyed while hospitals and schools were also razed with the main road closed to all.
“For months, villagers lived in fear and in hiding. Many attempts were made to restore peace but none were successful until Christmas Day.”
Tasi said warring parties just met face to face and started laying down their arms.
“It is a miracle from God that shows He has big plans for Sugu Valley.
“So we flew representatives from the warring tribes to Port Moresby to sign the cease fire agreement and a peace agreement.
“What a blessed Christmas for Sugu Valley,” he said, adding that agreements would facilitate access to basic services for the people and to live in peace.
Tasi also apologised to the people of Erave and other parts of Kagua that were affected by the months of fighting and killing.
“We all make mistakes and some mistakes help us to learn and grow,” he said. Likewise, Sugu made a mistake and will learn from it and will grow,” he said, thanking Southern Highlands Governor William Powi for his support and Prime Minister James Marape for his message of peace.
“I call on Marape to either give our Member of Parliament Wesley Raminai a full ministry or relieve him of his vice-ministerial position and send him back home to address law and order issues in his electorate.”
The signed documents will be handed over to the Kagua peace and goodwill committee, provincial police commander and district administration later this week.
The death toll in Sugu Valley rose to more than 30 in the first week of June, up from 11 on May 23, following the opening of a new battlefront in Sumbura near Poroma with multiple deaths reported in 24 wards.
The tribal fighters were armed with rifles, bows and arrows, and knives, turning the valley into a bloodbath that left thousands of women and children homeless, starving and without proper shelter. They had to take refuge in caves and forest tree trunks along the mountain ranges of Popa-Naguri, Tema-Pablato and Ilimikusu, and their only health facility, the Sumbura Health Centre was razed.
The Akar primary and elementary schools were also destroyed with students getting involved in the tribal fights.
The tribal dispute and conflict was started between two people that should have been mediated and resolved amicably but it was allowed to fester and grow out of control, he said.
But the warring tribesmen proved the skeptics wrong when they laid down their arms on Christmas Day and turned up in Port Moresby on Saturday to sign a Cease Fire Agreement and a Peace Agreement.
Local community leader Dickson Tasi who had been brokering the peace talks for months with others in Southern Highlands’ Kagua-Erave said “it is a miracle”.
“The tribal feud started in April and was waged by eight council wards,” he said.
“Lives were lost, homes were destroyed while hospitals and schools were also razed with the main road closed to all.
“For months, villagers lived in fear and in hiding. Many attempts were made to restore peace but none were successful until Christmas Day.”
Tasi said warring parties just met face to face and started laying down their arms.
“It is a miracle from God that shows He has big plans for Sugu Valley.
“So we flew representatives from the warring tribes to Port Moresby to sign the cease fire agreement and a peace agreement.
“What a blessed Christmas for Sugu Valley,” he said, adding that agreements would facilitate access to basic services for the people and to live in peace.
Tasi also apologised to the people of Erave and other parts of Kagua that were affected by the months of fighting and killing.
“We all make mistakes and some mistakes help us to learn and grow,” he said. Likewise, Sugu made a mistake and will learn from it and will grow,” he said, thanking Southern Highlands Governor William Powi for his support and Prime Minister James Marape for his message of peace.
“I call on Marape to either give our Member of Parliament Wesley Raminai a full ministry or relieve him of his vice-ministerial position and send him back home to address law and order issues in his electorate.”
The signed documents will be handed over to the Kagua peace and goodwill committee, provincial police commander and district administration later this week.
The death toll in Sugu Valley rose to more than 30 in the first week of June, up from 11 on May 23, following the opening of a new battlefront in Sumbura near Poroma with multiple deaths reported in 24 wards.
The tribal fighters were armed with rifles, bows and arrows, and knives, turning the valley into a bloodbath that left thousands of women and children homeless, starving and without proper shelter. They had to take refuge in caves and forest tree trunks along the mountain ranges of Popa-Naguri, Tema-Pablato and Ilimikusu, and their only health facility, the Sumbura Health Centre was razed.
The Akar primary and elementary schools were also destroyed with students getting involved in the tribal fights.
The tribal dispute and conflict was started between two people that should have been mediated and resolved amicably but it was allowed to fester and grow out of control, he said.
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