Thursday, March 8

YIKES!

It must be the weather.

Just the other day there was a land dispute in Lenekal, the main town in Tanna, and a land-owner destroyed a Rural Taining Center situated on his land, including all the donated computers (he smashed them with a bat). Then there was a fight between two villages up by Matt's house that sent a dozen guys to the hospital with bush knife wounds. It was some silly shit over a girl.

And then I check my email and got this message from our Country Director:

To: Peace Corps Vanuatu Volunteers and Staff
Fr: Kevin George Country Director
Re: Advisory - Exercise Caution in Port Vila Pockets of Civil Disturbance in Port Vila Area Involving People from Ambrym and Tanna Islands
Dt: Sunday, 4:00 pm, 4 Mar 2007

CC: Pacific Desk, Washington
CC: U.S. Embassy, Port Moresby
CC: MCC Office, Port Vila

In the afternoon of Saturday, March 3, Peace Corps Vanuatu received reports of a civil disturbance emanating from the Black Sands Area (between Tusker Brewery and Mele Village). The disturbance, which now appears to have subsided but perhaps not ended, appears to involve only persons from the islands of Tanna and Ambrym. Fighting between groups from these islands involved the use of fists, sticks and knives. There are reports of several houses being burnt [update: 12 homes burned] belonging to either Ambrym or Tanna families at the Ohlen, Malapoa and Black Sands areas. Unconfirmed reports indicate that up to five people have been killed [update: 3 confirmed deaths] with a significant number of injured persons at the hospital. The disturbance appears to have started over an allegation that a woman from Tanna died because of “black magic” performed by others allegedly from Ambrym. Reported violence has been limited to the members of these two groups. It may be further limited to families within these groups, but the general perception is that the dispute has been generalized to any person from these islands. The violence has not been widespread, but in isolated pockets of communities. For example, a home and minibus were burnt in the Ohlen area near the Jungle Juice Nakamal. The home belonged to a well-known family from Ambrym. Nearby businesses remained in operation and people were walking about without any apparent fear for their security.

As of Sunday mid-day the situation appears calm. The Police are guarding the hospital and the Vanuatu Mobile Force has been activated and has a significant presence at the Black Sands Area. The VMF is apparently armed (an order that can only come from the Prime Minister). A large gathering of people from Tanna occurred in the Man Ples area this morning. Reports later confirmed that this was a gathering facilitated by the police for the funeral of one of the young men from Tanna who was killed on Saturday. [update: over 100 arrests have been made and preparations have been expedited to return people to their respective islands if they want] It is very rare in Vanuatu for there to be violent disputes involving people from different islands. It appears as of Sunday that this flare-up is being contained by the police.

There have been no direct threats to Peace Corps Volunteers, the general population or commercial establishments. Supermarkets and other stores remain open on Sunday. Tension though is likely to continue until there is reconciliation among the two groups. Chiefs Day, a national holiday on Monday, will hopefully provide the opportunity for this reconciliation to start. It is believed that a meeting of all the islands chiefs in Port Vila is taking place on Sunday afternoon at the Chiefs Nakamal. This is a very positive sign that the traditional conflict resolution process has started.

Action by Peace Corps Vanuatu:

Notified all Volunteers in Port Vila about the disturbance. Adam Brzezinski and Julie Beierlein, and Volunteers with houses/apartments in higher risk areas were relocated on Saturday to a guest house (Whispering Coral) near the Peace Corps Office and will remain at the guest house until at least Monday. Higher risk areas are likely to be areas where there are concentrations of people from either Tanna or Ambrym. Caution to be exercised by Volunteers and Staff. There has been no indication that the general population or foreigners are being targeted.

The greatest risk to the general population would be to be caught in an area that suddenly becomes violent. There is also the risk that persons predisposed to criminal activity may take advantage of this situation. Therefore, Volunteers and staff are advised to exercise caution over the next twenty four hours when traveling in Port Vila especially in or near the areas of Black Sands, Mele Maat, Ohlen, Agatis, Man Ples-Tabakor, Freswota and Beverly Hills.

Travel by night is not advisable in any part of Port Vila until we can confirm that the risks associated with this civil disturbance have been resolved through conflict resolution and police action. Please report any unusual activity to Kevin at 43057 (backup’s are Relvie and\nJane) and, if necessary, take measures to reduce your risk. A Volunteer believing themselves at risk may contact Kevin at 43057. If telephone contact is not necessary and the Volunteer’s current location is unsafe then please proceed to Kevin’s home near the Peace Corps Office or the Volunteer Resource Center. The following staff should be contacted if you have questions or if you have information that you would like to report.



And then I found this on another news site after I learned the President had actually declared a State of Emergency. Remember, this all started from reports of black magic - a.k.a. local religion. Religion!! (oh, and I love the closing quote)

State Of Emergency Declared After Witchcraft Claims A state of emergency has been declared in the capital of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu after clashes between islanders over claims of witchcraft killed two men and wounded 10 people, police said on Monday.

Some 200 people from Tanna and Ambrym islands clashed in Port Vila on Saturday after the recent death of a woman, married to a Tanna man, was blamed on witchcraft, police Superintendent Willie Ben told Reuters by telephone from Port Vila.

One man was stabbed to death in the initial fighting on the outskirts of Port Villa and another was killed and houses razed in retaliation later on Saturday night.

“A woman was killed a few weeks ago and some people blamed it on witchcraft,” said Ben. “Ethnic fighting broke out on Saturday … and two people died and another 10 were injured.”

Police said Port Vila had been quiet since the fighting on Saturday and 140 people had been arrested. A state of emergency covering the capital was declared by the president late on Sunday and will continue for two weeks, banning any public assemblies, said police.

“At the moment we do not impose a curfew or road checks but that will depend on the situation,” said Ben.

Vanuatu’s National Council of Chiefs said the government overreacted in declaring a state of emergency. “The State of Emergency is like preparing for a cyclone that has already passed,” the council’s secretary general, Selwyn Garu, told reporters on Monday.