Sandline Affair - The Military Standoff Begins

The Military Standoff Begins

Singirok stated that he would accept the decision, and urged his soldiers to support his replacement. Chan stated to the media that Singirok had been neutralised and would be arrested. He also alleged that Singirok had attempted a coup, but had not had his men behind him. However, Chan's optimism turned out to be premature. The soldiers at the central Murray Barracks began to disobey orders, and police units had to be flown in from outside of the capital, Port Moresby. Two days later, a boycott of classes began at the University of Papua New Guinea, in support of Singirok. Crowds of civilians blocked the roads around the barracks, and bomb hoaxes closed down government departments. Chan still continued to insist that he was in complete control, and accused Singirok of being in a plot to manipulate the price of copper. The following day, the protests turned somewhat violent, and some looting began. The situation grew darker for Chan when the Governor-General, Sir Wiwa Korowi, took out a newspaper advertisement that also accused the government of widespread corruption. Another two days saw Port Moresby almost grind to a halt.

The protests continued to get larger with each day, and the police and the army faced off against each other, with the army under Major Enuma's strict orders to hold their positions and the police in no hurry to confront the army. Enuma also instructed the army to halt the looting. The Australian government sent emissaries to Port Moresby, and threatened to withdraw financial aid altogether if the Sandline deal was not cancelled. Reluctantly, Chan cancelled the deal and announced an inquiry. While this meant that Singirok and Enuma had accomplished one of their major goals, they continued to demand the resignation of Chan, Ijape and Haiveta. On 21 March, all Sandline's personnel, with the exception of Tim Spicer, who remained to give evidence to the enquiry, were withdrawn.

Despite having cancelled the Sandline contract, the security situation continued to slip further out of the government's control. The Acting Commander, Alfred Aikung was attacked and his vehicle was burnt. Aikung subsequently fled into hiding fearing for his life. Chan considered asking for foreign military intervention, but Aikung advised him against it. Speaker of Parliament and former Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu met with Chan and Singirok, and advised the latter that two of his demands had been met, and that Chan would resign only at the wish of Parliament.