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Agence France-Presse

Papua New Guinea police and soldiers stormed the country’s parliament on Tuesday, assaulting staff, smashing windows and demanding unpaid Apec bonuses just days after the international summit wrapped up, police and witnesses said.
The impoverished Pacific nation had rolled out the red carpet for visiting world leaders during the two-day conference and bought 40 Maseratis to ferry the dignitaries around.
The officers headed to parliament in the capital Port Moresby to express their dissatisfaction following a meeting with the police commissioner and the police minister over the allowances, PNG MP Bryan Kramer said in a video posted on Facebook.

Kramer said “numerous staff of parliament were assaulted during this confrontation” before the group left the building and gathered outside demanding an answer from the government.
A Facebook video he posted of the scene showed smashed pot plants, photo frames knocked to the floor and broken glass and furniture.
PNG police spokesman Dominic Kakas confirmed the incident and said they were “dealing with it”. He did not yet know how many police and soldiers were involved.
The scene outside parliament is very tense. There are dozens of police cars and army vehicle
Witness
A witness outside parliament said “hundreds of police and troops” had been standing on the building’s front steps complaining that they had not been paid the special Apec duty allowance of 350 kina (US$104).
“The scene outside parliament is very tense. There are dozens of police cars and army vehicles,” the witness said, adding that a nearby hotel was in lockdown and the protesters were blocking traffic. The group later marched down the street towards a nearby stadium.
The chief executive of PNG’s Apec Secretariat Chris Hawkins said the payment would “normally take a week to process at the end of a major event”.
“The meeting ended two days ago and the security operation is now winding down,” he added in a statement to Australian national broadcaster ABC. “The payment of individual allowances has already commenced and individual security force members should check with their banks as payments are made.”
Some locals in PNG, the poorest member of Apec, had expressed anger with the government’s lavish expense for the summit, which came at a time when the developing nation of 8 million people is battling a polio outbreak and the resurgence of malaria, while struggling to pay its teachers.


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Pacific nations

PNG police, soldiers storm parliament over unpaid bonuses after Apec summit concludes

Papua New Guinea police and soldiers outside the country’s parliament in Port Moresby. Photo: AFP

A group of policemen ride in the back of a police vehicle near the front of the country's parliament in Port Moresby on November 20, 2018. - Police and soldiers stormed the country's parliament on November 20, assaulting staff, smashing windows and demanding unpaid APEC bonuses just days after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit wrapped up, police and witnesses said. (Photo by STR / AFP)

Papua New Guinea’s purchase of 40 Maseratis for Apec raises eyebrows in poverty-hit country

Maserati vehicles on the tarmac in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Reuters

(FILES) This picture taken on September 14, 2018 shows the interior view of the International Convention Center, one of the venues for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Port Moresby. - Papua New Guinea will stage a massive security operation for next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with authorities determined Port Moresby's violent reputation will not overshadow the nation's moment in the spotlight. (Photo by VANESSA 'NESS' KERTON / AFP)

(FILES) This picture taken on September 10, 2018 shows workers cleaning a beach close to the venues of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Port Moresby. - Papua New Guinea will stage a massive security operation for next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with authorities determined Port Moresby's violent reputation will not overshadow the nation's moment in the spotlight. (Photo by VANESSA 'NESS' KERTON / AFP)

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Some locals in PNG, the poorest member of Apec, had expressed anger with the government’s lavish expense for the summit


Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)