PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRIME MINISTER ON MOTI AND BILATERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT MORESBY 000479 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/ANP E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PP SUBJECT: PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRIME MINISTER ON MOTI AND BILATERAL ISSUES CLASSIFIED BY: Leslie Rowe, Ambassador, AMB, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Ambassador made her introductory office call on Prime Minister (PM) Sir Michael Somare on November 27. Somare said that he has instructed Foreign Minister Paul Tiensten to meet with Australia Foreign Minister Downer next week to resolve the current stalemate over the Moti affair. The discussion also focused on the December 3 FPOTUS Clinton visit, HIV/AIDS issues and the 2007 national election. Somare is interested in enhancing bilateral relations and requested Millennium Challenge Account consideration as well as the return of Peace Corps and Fulbright programs. Also present in the meeting were Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Secretary Gabriel Pepson, PNG Ambassador to the U.S. Evan Paki, and PM Chief of Staff Leonard Louma. End Summary. ¶2. (C) MOTI AFFAIR: Ambassador and PM Somare discussed the impact of the Moti Affair on PNG-Australia relations. Somare stated that the PNG government 'knows who the culprits are,' and confirmed that there will be no further investigations. Somare stated that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) breached PNG rules by going directly to PNG police to request the arrest and extradition of Moti, bypassing the MFA and PM offices. (Julian Moti, an Australian citizen and attorney general-designate in the Solomon Islands, is wanted by Australia on sex offense charges). The Prime Minister also asserted that existing extradition laws did not apply to Moti because he was apprehended illegally in 'no man's land' (the airport transit area). Somare stated that Moti was arrested without a warrant and that Australian extradition documents were not properly authenticated. Somare said of Australian actions, 'I can't put up with this type of nonsense. If I'm wrong on questions of law, I admit it. I was not wrong.' ¶3. (C) In response to Ambassador's question as to circumstances of Moti's departure from PNG, the Prime Minister stated that his office had not ordered or authorized Moti's flight to the Solomon Islands via a PNG military aircraft. Regarding suspensions of PNG officials, Somare stated 'We have done our part. We are allowing the courts to deal with the matter.' Somare stated that he has instructed Foreign Minister Tiensten to meet with Australian Foreign Minister Downer the week of December 4 during Pacific Islands Forum meetings in Sydney. Somare added that it was time to move ahead in resolving the stalemate in PNG-Austalia relations. Australia canceled the bilateral ministerial meeting scheduled for November over the Moti issue. However the mining and petroleum meetings scheduled for Sydney in December will go ahead as planned, and PNG officials will be in attendance. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: Despite the Prime Minister's posturing, he appears to want to put PNG relations with Australia back on track. He has astutely tasked newly appointed FM Tiensten (who has been trained in Australia) to patch up the relationship. Whether the recent suspensions of three high-level PNG officials connected to the Moti investigation is sufficient to pacify the government of Australia remains to be seen. Two of those officials (PM Chief Secretary Joshua Kalinoe and Acting Police Chief Tom Kulunga) are challenging those suspensions in court. END COMMENT ¶5. (C) FPOTUS CLINTON VISIT: Somare expressed pride in the fact that former President Clinton is visiting PNG on December 3 and that the Clinton Foundation has opened an office in Port Moresby. Somare highlighted new HIV/AIDS awareness programs in PNG and the importance of traditional leadership at the village level in encouraging voluntary counseling and testing. He said that traditional authority structures are, however, breaking down and that stigma attached to people who are HIV positive is a growing problem. ¶6. (C) 2007 PNG NATIONALS ELECTIONS: The press has reported that Somare plans another bid as prime minister. He did not comment on his reported plans for seeking another term but expounded at length on his support of the idea of a two-term limit. ¶7. (C) US-PNG RELATIONS: Ambassador presented the Prime Minister with a photograph of him with President Bush, taken at the UN General Assembly meeting. Ambassador also discussed the Pacific Island Forum October meeting and noted Assistant Secretary Hill's interest in increasing engagement with Pacific SIPDIS states. Somare commented positively on the contributions the Fulbright and Peace Corps program have made in PNG and requested that they be re-introduced. He also shared personal stories PORT MORES 00000479 002 OF 002 about several visiting scholars and Peace Corps volunteers (PCV),and informed Ambassador that he had named his son after a PCV who had taught law at the University of Papua New Guinea. Chief Secretary Pepson and Ambassador Paki asked about the status of the Millennium Challenge program. Ambassador stated that very few new countries qualified for the program this year, but that if MCA indicators improve for PNG it will be more competitive in the future. ¶8. (C) COMMENT: The Prime Minister was very relaxed and the meeting lasted a full hour. He clearly has very positive views of the United States and seeks to increase U.S. engagement with Papua New Guinea. The country's leaders (especially Somare) play a strong political role among Pacific Island nations. In comparison with many of its island neighbors, Papua New Guinea is a stable democracy with a burgeoning population of 6 million (representing 73% of the population in the Pacific Islands). It has 55% of the GDP of the island nations, an epidemic HIV/AIDS rate and serious internal and regional security concerns. After Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea has the richest bio-diversity in the world, which is threatened by logging and mining interests. Embassy is currently reviewing possible activities to enhance relations and U.S. interests in this important Pacific nation. END COMMENT. ROWE