Violence, killings in PNG must stop!
News that matters in Papua New Guinea
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| Visualis for illustration only. JS was attacked by his own cousins during a violent beating in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Kristina Steiner/The Guardian |
Violence, killings in PNG must stop!
PORT MORESBY: Sorcery-related violence and killings, domestic violence, payback murders and tribal fights and wars have gone unabated for decades, and are undermining the global reputation of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
For PNG to move forward in socio-economic development in the 21st Century digital era, law and order must prevail to gain the confidence of both local and foreign investors.
Restoring law and order in the conflict villages and provinces is thus vital to PNG’s progressive future and to win the world’s recognition of PNG as a civilised nation.
Only with political will can the Government stop sorcery-related violence, killings and all types of violence to ensure the people and country’s economic growth and prosperity.
PNG Cyber Monitor reproduces below a detailed report by The National on sorcery-related violence and killings:
Ordeal of sorcery survivors
FLASHBACK
LAST Wednesday, the bodies of two women and a man were found by the banks of Mendi River in Southern Highlands.
Police believed the dead were victims of sorcery-related mass killings whose remains were carried downstream from Karintz. The bodies were recovered on Dec 31, Jan 4 and 5.
Western End police commander Asst Comm (ACP) Kaiglo Ambane had urged villagers to help keep a lookout for possibly more bodies floating downstream.
According to a TIME report, the United Nations has estimated that there are 200 killings of “witches” in PNG annually, while local activists estimate up to 50,000 people have been chased from their homes due to sorcery accusations.
The National reproduces below a FLASHBACK of sorcery-related violence survivors reported by ABC and a latest court proceeding of a sorcery-related violence conviction in PNG.
ONE woman survivor of sorcery-related violence, who requested anonymity, was accused of sorcery following the death of a child in her community.
“When the child died, they went to where I was riding back from the garden and they bashed me up on the way,” she said through an interpreter.
“After beating me up, they took me to see the child lying dead. They told me I was the one who killed the child, and people were saying I am not from around here, I have no people to protect me — so kill me.”
But the woman, who did not hail from the local area, was rescued by a bystander who took her to hospital to receive treatment for her wounds.
A male survivor of sorcery-related violence said he was exiled by his family following the death of a cousin in his community.
“My relatives got together and they said I was the one who used the sorcery on my family member to kill him,” he said through an interpreter. Community leaders in PNG said they are at a loss to explain a recent upsurge in sorcery-related violence that most often targets women, in some parts of the country.
Key points:
Police believed the dead were victims of sorcery-related mass killings whose remains were carried downstream from Karintz. The bodies were recovered on Dec 31, Jan 4 and 5.
Western End police commander Asst Comm (ACP) Kaiglo Ambane had urged villagers to help keep a lookout for possibly more bodies floating downstream.
According to a TIME report, the United Nations has estimated that there are 200 killings of “witches” in PNG annually, while local activists estimate up to 50,000 people have been chased from their homes due to sorcery accusations.
The National reproduces below a FLASHBACK of sorcery-related violence survivors reported by ABC and a latest court proceeding of a sorcery-related violence conviction in PNG.
ONE woman survivor of sorcery-related violence, who requested anonymity, was accused of sorcery following the death of a child in her community.
“When the child died, they went to where I was riding back from the garden and they bashed me up on the way,” she said through an interpreter.
“After beating me up, they took me to see the child lying dead. They told me I was the one who killed the child, and people were saying I am not from around here, I have no people to protect me — so kill me.”
But the woman, who did not hail from the local area, was rescued by a bystander who took her to hospital to receive treatment for her wounds.
A male survivor of sorcery-related violence said he was exiled by his family following the death of a cousin in his community.
“My relatives got together and they said I was the one who used the sorcery on my family member to kill him,” he said through an interpreter. Community leaders in PNG said they are at a loss to explain a recent upsurge in sorcery-related violence that most often targets women, in some parts of the country.
Key points:
- ATTACKS on women accused of sorcery usually take place in remote areas;
- SIX women have been killed over witchcraft allegations in the more densely-populated Enga province since September (2017); and
- CHURCH leaders have raised concerns over a lack of resources and education to tackle the problem
Attacks and murders of people accused of practising witchcraft have spread from remote areas in the country’s highlands to large towns and cities, alarming policy makers trying to address the problem.
Anton Lutz, a Lutheran missionary in PNG’s Enga province, said there had been seven attacks on women accused of witchcraft — known locally as sanguma — in the province since late September.
Six of those were fatal
“In each of these cases, they were precipitated by an unexplained death or illness in the community, and the community then turned on the local scapegoat and started torturing her,” Lutz told the ABC’s Pacific Beat.
“And under torture, the women are saying things that incriminate themselves and reinforce these beliefs.
“One of the things that people believe about these so-called witches or sanguma is when they’re not being tortured they’ll lie, and if they are being tortured, they’ll tell the truth.”
The Government is working with community groups nationally to implement the Sorcery National Action plan to reduce violence through education, legal and police strategies, and health care.
The latter is seen as particularly important, because most cases of sorcery-related killings or violence coincide with unexplained deaths and illnesses in a community.
Lutz said the increase in attacks over the last year in Enga had come despite a regional response team formed to try to halt the attacks and murders, which he believed did not have enough resources to do its job properly.
“The response team didn’t do much responding. There was no awareness, no school programmes, so people didn’t see anything changing.”
On Oct 25, 2017, in PNG’s second-largest city, Lae, a woman accused of sorcery was attacked, could have been much worse if photos of her plight had not been shared on Facebook.
Police were alerted and rescued the woman before she could be more seriously injured.
Lutz said leaders from his Lutheran church and other Christian groups had had little success in getting people to see why sorcery-related violence was wrong.
“[They said] we don’t have access to good services out here and our politicians have ignored us, so this kind of thing is happening and we don’t know what to do, so can you give us medicine to get rid of this witchcraft from among us?”
“And we said of course we don’t have any medicine that can do that because only changing your mindset and your attitude will do that.
“So if you want to go to school or if you want to go to church, you can probably be rid of these beliefs, but there’s no pill you can take, buddy.”
A young girl was tortured in PNG after being falsely accused of practising sorcery in November 2017.
Key points:
Anton Lutz, a Lutheran missionary in PNG’s Enga province, said there had been seven attacks on women accused of witchcraft — known locally as sanguma — in the province since late September.
Six of those were fatal
“In each of these cases, they were precipitated by an unexplained death or illness in the community, and the community then turned on the local scapegoat and started torturing her,” Lutz told the ABC’s Pacific Beat.
“And under torture, the women are saying things that incriminate themselves and reinforce these beliefs.
“One of the things that people believe about these so-called witches or sanguma is when they’re not being tortured they’ll lie, and if they are being tortured, they’ll tell the truth.”
The Government is working with community groups nationally to implement the Sorcery National Action plan to reduce violence through education, legal and police strategies, and health care.
The latter is seen as particularly important, because most cases of sorcery-related killings or violence coincide with unexplained deaths and illnesses in a community.
Lutz said the increase in attacks over the last year in Enga had come despite a regional response team formed to try to halt the attacks and murders, which he believed did not have enough resources to do its job properly.
“The response team didn’t do much responding. There was no awareness, no school programmes, so people didn’t see anything changing.”
On Oct 25, 2017, in PNG’s second-largest city, Lae, a woman accused of sorcery was attacked, could have been much worse if photos of her plight had not been shared on Facebook.
Police were alerted and rescued the woman before she could be more seriously injured.
Lutz said leaders from his Lutheran church and other Christian groups had had little success in getting people to see why sorcery-related violence was wrong.
“[They said] we don’t have access to good services out here and our politicians have ignored us, so this kind of thing is happening and we don’t know what to do, so can you give us medicine to get rid of this witchcraft from among us?”
“And we said of course we don’t have any medicine that can do that because only changing your mindset and your attitude will do that.
“So if you want to go to school or if you want to go to church, you can probably be rid of these beliefs, but there’s no pill you can take, buddy.”
A young girl was tortured in PNG after being falsely accused of practising sorcery in November 2017.
Key points:
- THE girl’s mother is believed to be a woman who was murdered in 2013 over sorcery accusations;
- THERE is a belief that ‘witchcraft’ passes from mother to child; and
- RESEARCH shows 30 “witches” are killed every year in PNG.
The girl, believed to be about six years old, received hospital treatment for extensive wounds and burns after members of her community tortured her with hot knives.
Lutz was in the party that rescued the girl from her remote village near Sirunki in Enga in PNG’s highlands.
“It’s the first time that I have had to deal with anything with a young child like this and it is always confrontational,” Lutz said.
Lutz was in the party that rescued the girl from her remote village near Sirunki in Enga in PNG’s highlands.
“It’s the first time that I have had to deal with anything with a young child like this and it is always confrontational,” Lutz said.
The girl is believed to be the daughter of Kepari Leniata, who was burned alive in Mt Hagen in 2013, after also being accused of practicing sorcery, or sanguma, as it is a locally known.
Her brutal death prompted news headlines around the world and drew pledges from PNG leaders to combat so-called sorcery killings but incidents of torture and murder have continued unabated.
Lutz said the torture of the girl was directly related to the accusations laid against her mother.
“Part of the urban legend of sanguma, that women are witches, includes the belief that this thing can pass from mother to child,” he said.
“Of all the children in the village, this one was singled out because of her parentage and they believed she was responsible for bad things happening in the village.”
Then Prime Minister Peter O’Neill expressed outrage at the abuse of the girl.
“Let us be clear, sanguma beliefs are absolute rubbish,” O’Neill said in a statement.
“In the modern day sanguma is not a real cultural practice. It is false belief and involves the violent abuse and torture of women and girls by pathetic and perverted individuals,” he added.
O’Neill said police had been sent to investigate the incident and “anyone who tried to impede the lawful investigation will be arrested”.
Enga Governor Peter Ipatas appealed to the people to “help stamp out the practice of accusing people of sorcery and of torturing and murdering innocent people”.
In a statement, Ipatas said that there had been two incidents of sorcery accusations in Enga in the past week, and in the past month, 20 women were victims of sorcery-related violence.
“This belief in sanguma is not part of our law, our faith or our culture,” he said, adding that “we are smart enough to realise this is an imported and false belief which is only hurting our people and our communities”.
A senior public health official in PNG is proposing public autopsies be carried out in cases where people claim sorcery is the cause of death.
Enga health department head Dr Betty Koka has become increasingly worried about the number of people who are attacked and even killed over accusations of sorcery or sanguma.
“In a number of cases, those accusations are a result of someone in the village getting sick or dying unexpectedly. This is a very big public health issue,” Koka said.
She said where there was suspicion of sorcery, stories got passed around and people had a tendency to believe them without seeing any proof for themselves.
“The accusations come from saying the sorcerer ripped out somebody’s heart or ate the internal organs of this person … how does one know this?” she asked.
Koka said educating people and dispelling the myths around sorcery could prevent further sorcery accusations and result in fewer attacks.
“One of the ways I thought to address this, I suggested it would be good to do an open post mortem. If they say this [person’s] — the deceased’s — heart has been ripped out, OK let’s open up the person. Let’s open up the body and see if the heart is missing or is it intact.,” she added.
Koka’s call comes as PNG continues to grapple with attacks against people accused of witchcraft — including on children and the country’s most senior judicial officer Sir Salamo Injia.
Two weeks ago, Sir Salamo, PNG’s chief justice, was ambushed by a large group of men as he travelled from his home in Enga.
The ambush of Sir Salamo, and his police escort, followed the kidnap and torture of two women from the chief justice’s tribe accused of using sorcery to kill a man.
Sorcery-related violence has been happening in PNG for decades, but recently the number of attacks has surged.
Over the past 20 years, there has been an average of 30 deaths and 72 incidents of torture reported in local newspapers each year, according to a study by the Divine Word University, PNG’s National Research Institute, and the Australian National University.
Lutz, who grew up and still works in Enga, said the violence has been escalating at an alarming pace over the past few months.
“Up to 30 women … have been attacked since Independence [Day] in mid-September (2017), just in the district I know and where I grew up,” he said.
In November, a six-year-old girl was tortured by members of her community who believed she was a witch because her mother — who was murdered in 2013 over sorcery accusations — had passed the power onto the child.
The girl suffered knife and burn wounds to her legs and back before she was rescued by Lutz.
PNG police have set up a special taskforce to tackle sorcery-related violence and pledged K13 million in funding for education programmes.
Police commander Epenes Nili said he wanted to send a strong warning to communities involved in this behaviour.
“They try to … make things up to inflict injuries to women, and especially females, it is only evil. I strongly condemn that kind of action,” he said in a video shared on YouTube. – ABC
On July 2 last year, Justice David Susame jailed six men eight years each for torturing three women they suspected of practising sorcery.
Justice was served after more than four years.
Her brutal death prompted news headlines around the world and drew pledges from PNG leaders to combat so-called sorcery killings but incidents of torture and murder have continued unabated.
Lutz said the torture of the girl was directly related to the accusations laid against her mother.
“Part of the urban legend of sanguma, that women are witches, includes the belief that this thing can pass from mother to child,” he said.
“Of all the children in the village, this one was singled out because of her parentage and they believed she was responsible for bad things happening in the village.”
Then Prime Minister Peter O’Neill expressed outrage at the abuse of the girl.
“Let us be clear, sanguma beliefs are absolute rubbish,” O’Neill said in a statement.
“In the modern day sanguma is not a real cultural practice. It is false belief and involves the violent abuse and torture of women and girls by pathetic and perverted individuals,” he added.
O’Neill said police had been sent to investigate the incident and “anyone who tried to impede the lawful investigation will be arrested”.
Enga Governor Peter Ipatas appealed to the people to “help stamp out the practice of accusing people of sorcery and of torturing and murdering innocent people”.
In a statement, Ipatas said that there had been two incidents of sorcery accusations in Enga in the past week, and in the past month, 20 women were victims of sorcery-related violence.
“This belief in sanguma is not part of our law, our faith or our culture,” he said, adding that “we are smart enough to realise this is an imported and false belief which is only hurting our people and our communities”.
A senior public health official in PNG is proposing public autopsies be carried out in cases where people claim sorcery is the cause of death.
Enga health department head Dr Betty Koka has become increasingly worried about the number of people who are attacked and even killed over accusations of sorcery or sanguma.
“In a number of cases, those accusations are a result of someone in the village getting sick or dying unexpectedly. This is a very big public health issue,” Koka said.
She said where there was suspicion of sorcery, stories got passed around and people had a tendency to believe them without seeing any proof for themselves.
“The accusations come from saying the sorcerer ripped out somebody’s heart or ate the internal organs of this person … how does one know this?” she asked.
Koka said educating people and dispelling the myths around sorcery could prevent further sorcery accusations and result in fewer attacks.
“One of the ways I thought to address this, I suggested it would be good to do an open post mortem. If they say this [person’s] — the deceased’s — heart has been ripped out, OK let’s open up the person. Let’s open up the body and see if the heart is missing or is it intact.,” she added.
Koka’s call comes as PNG continues to grapple with attacks against people accused of witchcraft — including on children and the country’s most senior judicial officer Sir Salamo Injia.
Two weeks ago, Sir Salamo, PNG’s chief justice, was ambushed by a large group of men as he travelled from his home in Enga.
The ambush of Sir Salamo, and his police escort, followed the kidnap and torture of two women from the chief justice’s tribe accused of using sorcery to kill a man.
Sorcery-related violence has been happening in PNG for decades, but recently the number of attacks has surged.
Over the past 20 years, there has been an average of 30 deaths and 72 incidents of torture reported in local newspapers each year, according to a study by the Divine Word University, PNG’s National Research Institute, and the Australian National University.
Lutz, who grew up and still works in Enga, said the violence has been escalating at an alarming pace over the past few months.
“Up to 30 women … have been attacked since Independence [Day] in mid-September (2017), just in the district I know and where I grew up,” he said.
In November, a six-year-old girl was tortured by members of her community who believed she was a witch because her mother — who was murdered in 2013 over sorcery accusations — had passed the power onto the child.
The girl suffered knife and burn wounds to her legs and back before she was rescued by Lutz.
PNG police have set up a special taskforce to tackle sorcery-related violence and pledged K13 million in funding for education programmes.
Police commander Epenes Nili said he wanted to send a strong warning to communities involved in this behaviour.
“They try to … make things up to inflict injuries to women, and especially females, it is only evil. I strongly condemn that kind of action,” he said in a video shared on YouTube. – ABC
On July 2 last year, Justice David Susame jailed six men eight years each for torturing three women they suspected of practising sorcery.
Justice was served after more than four years.
Violence getting too frequent
FLASHBACK
DOMESTIC violence and sorcery-related deaths are becoming too frequent that people are not reacting to the problem anymore, according to a senior Catholic priest.
Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands general secretary Fr Giorgio Licini said the Catholic Church was extremely saddened by sorcery violence and killings.
“It is particularly tragic when these things happen in areas where the people are described as staunch followers of one Christian denomination or the other. It seems that no Church is fully immune by this scourge. It is certainly something ancestral deeply ingrained.
I believe there is a need to increase general education in the remote areas, reinforce police visibility and police action, complete the process of establishing a Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government Commission on Human Rights (with the ongoing cooperation of the United Nations) and Human Rights education should be taken up more forcefully by the education system, the Churches, the local governments, the Non-Governmental Organisations and others to ensure people understand to address the issue by all means except the use of violence,” he added.
Licini was responding to The National front page report on Thursday and Friday on domestic violence, sorcery-related killings and payback killings in PNG.
On Thursday, The National reported that police had recovered three bodies found floating down Mendi River between Dec 31 and Jan 5. The dead were believed to have been executed following sorcery accusations.
On Friday, The National reported that six cases of murder and one of attempted murder recently had gone unreported and police in Madang did not have the manpower and logistics to launch investigations.
Among the cases was a teenager from Transgogol’s Sihan Village who was murdered and left by the side of a main road heavily guarded by the killers.
The crime scene was the same as an attack in March where a man, his wife and a teenage son were slaughtered by men armed with knives. Another son, Kenimai Kori, 16, who was hiding in a nearby bush while her mother Melib and elder brother Greg were being attacked, said he could hear their screams but could not do anything to save them.
When the killers left, Kori found his four-month-old brother lying on top of their blood-soaked mother inside their house.
In September, two men who had been terrorising and killing people in Transgogol and Madang finally were hacked to death their victims’ relatives.
Insp Steven Yamalu, the officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division in Madang, told The National that the “revenge killing” on Renouf Rainol Gala and his accomplice known only as Eddie, took place in Transgogogol’s Berin Village in Transgogol.
Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands general secretary Fr Giorgio Licini said the Catholic Church was extremely saddened by sorcery violence and killings.
“It is particularly tragic when these things happen in areas where the people are described as staunch followers of one Christian denomination or the other. It seems that no Church is fully immune by this scourge. It is certainly something ancestral deeply ingrained.
I believe there is a need to increase general education in the remote areas, reinforce police visibility and police action, complete the process of establishing a Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government Commission on Human Rights (with the ongoing cooperation of the United Nations) and Human Rights education should be taken up more forcefully by the education system, the Churches, the local governments, the Non-Governmental Organisations and others to ensure people understand to address the issue by all means except the use of violence,” he added.
Licini was responding to The National front page report on Thursday and Friday on domestic violence, sorcery-related killings and payback killings in PNG.
On Thursday, The National reported that police had recovered three bodies found floating down Mendi River between Dec 31 and Jan 5. The dead were believed to have been executed following sorcery accusations.
On Friday, The National reported that six cases of murder and one of attempted murder recently had gone unreported and police in Madang did not have the manpower and logistics to launch investigations.
Among the cases was a teenager from Transgogol’s Sihan Village who was murdered and left by the side of a main road heavily guarded by the killers.
The crime scene was the same as an attack in March where a man, his wife and a teenage son were slaughtered by men armed with knives. Another son, Kenimai Kori, 16, who was hiding in a nearby bush while her mother Melib and elder brother Greg were being attacked, said he could hear their screams but could not do anything to save them.
When the killers left, Kori found his four-month-old brother lying on top of their blood-soaked mother inside their house.
In September, two men who had been terrorising and killing people in Transgogol and Madang finally were hacked to death their victims’ relatives.
Insp Steven Yamalu, the officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division in Madang, told The National that the “revenge killing” on Renouf Rainol Gala and his accomplice known only as Eddie, took place in Transgogogol’s Berin Village in Transgogol.
Torturers jailed
SIX men who tortured three women they suspected of practising sorcery were jailed eight years each.
Justice David Susame told a National Court sitting in Lihir, New Ireland, that “there has been so much public outcry on sorcery-related injuries and killings”.
“It is becoming a practice in some parts of the country. Suspected sorcerers are usually rounded up and brutally tortured to the point of receiving permanent injuries or death,” he said.
“Properties are destroyed and burnt.”
He said the situation had caught the attention of the global community and human rights advocates, forcing the Government to take action. “Because of the immense pressure put on the Government, wholesale changes were made to the laws with the repealing of the Sorcery Act and introduction of new penalties for sorcery-related killing.”
The six were originally charged with attempted murder but after the trial, Justice Susame sentenced them on the lesser charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The court heard that Kaule’s daughter Lavinia had felt an odd sensation in her heart. A group of women who attend the Revival Church were called to pray over her. The group then revealed the names of the three women “responsible” for Lavinia’s heart ailment.
Justice David Susame told a National Court sitting in Lihir, New Ireland, that “there has been so much public outcry on sorcery-related injuries and killings”.
“It is becoming a practice in some parts of the country. Suspected sorcerers are usually rounded up and brutally tortured to the point of receiving permanent injuries or death,” he said.
“Properties are destroyed and burnt.”
He said the situation had caught the attention of the global community and human rights advocates, forcing the Government to take action. “Because of the immense pressure put on the Government, wholesale changes were made to the laws with the repealing of the Sorcery Act and introduction of new penalties for sorcery-related killing.”
The six were originally charged with attempted murder but after the trial, Justice Susame sentenced them on the lesser charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The court heard that Kaule’s daughter Lavinia had felt an odd sensation in her heart. A group of women who attend the Revival Church were called to pray over her. The group then revealed the names of the three women “responsible” for Lavinia’s heart ailment.
Sorcery not customary to PNG
PAPUA New Guinea (PNG) Tribal Foundation president Gary Bustin says sorcery accusations, violence and killings were not customary practices of Papua New Guineans.
“Instead, sorcery-related violence and killings are destroying the lives of people, creating separations in communities and giving the country an extremely bad image,” he added.
He said committing violence against anyone based on accusations of sorcery was clearly against the law in PNG and “this must end”.
“We do not want PNG to be branded a country that is uncivilised where anyone can falsely accuse people of sorcery any time they want, and then torture and kill based on such false accusations. Sadly, this is still happening here today (in this modern era),” Bustin said, urging the police and Government to seriously deal with the problem and use the full brunt of the law to clamp down on sorcery accusers.
He condemned the recent killing of two women and a man whose bodies were found by the banks of Mendi River in Southern Highlands.
“This is simply madness. It is people taking the law into their own hands, and it is 100 per cent illegal or criminal,” he said, adding that the foundation would be working closely with the police, Government and other agencies to find ways to tackle the protracted nationwide social problem.
Churches urged to do more
“Instead, sorcery-related violence and killings are destroying the lives of people, creating separations in communities and giving the country an extremely bad image,” he added.
He said committing violence against anyone based on accusations of sorcery was clearly against the law in PNG and “this must end”.
“We do not want PNG to be branded a country that is uncivilised where anyone can falsely accuse people of sorcery any time they want, and then torture and kill based on such false accusations. Sadly, this is still happening here today (in this modern era),” Bustin said, urging the police and Government to seriously deal with the problem and use the full brunt of the law to clamp down on sorcery accusers.
He condemned the recent killing of two women and a man whose bodies were found by the banks of Mendi River in Southern Highlands.
“This is simply madness. It is people taking the law into their own hands, and it is 100 per cent illegal or criminal,” he said, adding that the foundation would be working closely with the police, Government and other agencies to find ways to tackle the protracted nationwide social problem.
Churches urged to do more
By MARJORIE FINKEOCHURCHES in the country have been urged to do more to stop sorcery in communities because too many lives have been lost.
General secretary of the PNG Council of Churches Roger Joseph said the practice was sinful, anti-social and illicit. And many lives have been lost because of cult beliefs and practices.
Joseph said the council also called on the Government to allocate funds to churches to implement the Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence Strategic Plan drawn up in 2018 in Enga.
He said the practice affected the unity of families, faith of the people, and hindered development and growth socially, economically, spiritually and politically.
“Sorcery refers to all occult rituals or processes designed to influence or control the cause of nature and to dominate men to the use of supernatural powers,” he said.
The Bible opposes all forms of wizardry and sorcery (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26; 20:27 and Deuteronomy 18:10-11).
He said the Mosaic law in the Old Testament strictly forbade any contact with magic and its practitioners, not only to avoid and to destroy the abominations of the heathen, but also because it was a denial of the true function of prophecy and therefore of the way of faith.
General secretary of the PNG Council of Churches Roger Joseph said the practice was sinful, anti-social and illicit. And many lives have been lost because of cult beliefs and practices.
Joseph said the council also called on the Government to allocate funds to churches to implement the Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence Strategic Plan drawn up in 2018 in Enga.
He said the practice affected the unity of families, faith of the people, and hindered development and growth socially, economically, spiritually and politically.
“Sorcery refers to all occult rituals or processes designed to influence or control the cause of nature and to dominate men to the use of supernatural powers,” he said.
The Bible opposes all forms of wizardry and sorcery (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26; 20:27 and Deuteronomy 18:10-11).
He said the Mosaic law in the Old Testament strictly forbade any contact with magic and its practitioners, not only to avoid and to destroy the abominations of the heathen, but also because it was a denial of the true function of prophecy and therefore of the way of faith.
More awareness on domestic violence, sexual abuse planned
POLICE plan to carry out more awareness on domestic violence and sexual abuse of minors around the country, according to acting Deputy Police Commissioner (Administration) Joanne Clarkson.
“We also have plans to improve the standard and working environment for our Family Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU) officers to boost their morale to effectively deal with victims of violence,” she said.
The United Nation yesterday donated K80 million to the Government to address domestic violence in PNG.
Clarkson said funding allocated to the police would be used to strengthen the FSVU.
“Awareness in communities and schools is part of our programme because we must not be silent about it,” she said.
“People might think it’s normal for husbands to bash wives or vice versa. But that is not normal. It is violence against an individual especially in homes which is the safest place to be.”
Clarkson said police had to strengthen their networking with other government agencies which addressed domestic violence to ensure victims get justice.”
Police have also proposed to the Personnel Management department to have the FSVU properly structured under the Police department.
According to a United Nations report, about 70 per cent of women and children in PNG faced abuse at home. It is why the UN is providing K80million, of which the European Union contributed K22 million.
“We also have plans to improve the standard and working environment for our Family Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU) officers to boost their morale to effectively deal with victims of violence,” she said.
The United Nation yesterday donated K80 million to the Government to address domestic violence in PNG.
Clarkson said funding allocated to the police would be used to strengthen the FSVU.
“Awareness in communities and schools is part of our programme because we must not be silent about it,” she said.
“People might think it’s normal for husbands to bash wives or vice versa. But that is not normal. It is violence against an individual especially in homes which is the safest place to be.”
Clarkson said police had to strengthen their networking with other government agencies which addressed domestic violence to ensure victims get justice.”
Police have also proposed to the Personnel Management department to have the FSVU properly structured under the Police department.
According to a United Nations report, about 70 per cent of women and children in PNG faced abuse at home. It is why the UN is providing K80million, of which the European Union contributed K22 million.
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