dictatorship of the criminals

The lady sitting behind me looked at me with sympathy and said "I'm sorry; Criminals." Well why didn't you say something? And she shrugged and looked away - in shame or embarrassment or fear - I don't know. But when a country's supposed democracy prevents people from signing their name to letters to the paper owing to fear of reprisal, when the papers report only what is in the courts and therefore public, the media in PNG does no investigative reporting - It might write an occasional editorial about wrong but it does not keep the public pressure up to rid the country of the criminals. How can 27000 rounds of ammo get stolen without its being an inside job? PNG's GNI per capita is $US 2100 compared with Somalia nil -surviving on aid, Ethiopia's $US 720 and Tanzania's $US 470 and its life expectancy is 10-15 years longer than the African countries'. I don't know if Ausaid is conditional on improving law and order which is holding back democratic development but with the gold and copper and primary products of PNG the Somalis and Tanzanians must wonder why we are giving aid to such a country when they are eating leaves and roots. You can only be babied for so long and then you have to take responsibility for yourself. If this was a political dictatorship there would be outrage. A dictatorship of the criminals who prevent democracy from happening has the same anti democratic anti government by law and order effect and yet it is condoned. PNG has so much it ought to be an aid giver.