The Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Technology have advised that in the coming days, they will be hosting an election to gather the collective views of over 3,000 students in the campus to come to a decision on whether to hold a marching protest against the signing of the U.S-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).
Speaking on behalf of the SRC, Events Coordinator Mr. Arthur Kondon stated that a forum was held on Tuesday by the SRC and the student body to determine their next plan of action.
Kondon stated that amidst all the pressure that they have gone through, they want to ensure that they act as the voice for all those that are not able to speak up against the signing of the DCA.
“We held a gathering this morning in the campus with the students and the stakeholders of the school to determine our next step now that the DCA has been signed.”
On Monday a sitting protest was staged by the “Big 4” Tertiary institutions in the country.
The University of Papua New Guinea, The University of Technology, The University of Goroka and the Divine Word University to petition the office of the Prime Minister to halt the signing, stating that proper awareness was not done to the people regarding the contents of the agreement.
“We do not know the contents of the agreement. Yes, there have been leaked documents but proper consultation and dissemination of the information should have been done with the people. Without information, how can we make rational decisions on where or what we want to achieve as a nation.”
For the University of Technology, an election will be held in the coming days to establish whether they should make their voices known outside the campus in Lae.
The SRC has advised that should 51% or more of the student population elect to stage a protest outside the campus, then they will look to doing that in a couple of days.
He mentioned that they have yet to consult with the Lae police regarding the protest.