![Jerry Singirok for Red Cross (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Jerry_Singirok_for_Red_Cross_%28cropped%29.png)
Jerry Singirok (born 5 May 1956) was the commander of the
Papua New Guinea Defence Force
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into be ...
throughout the
Sandline affair
The Sandline affair was a political scandal that became one of the defining moments in the history of Papua New Guinea, and particularly the conflict in Bougainville. It brought down the government of Sir Julius Chan, and took Papua New Guinea t ...
of 1997.
Military career
Jerry Singirok was a career soldier who had risen through the ranks of the Papua New guinea Defense Force (PNGDF), including a time as commander of the forces on
Bougainville. He began his Career at Moem Barracks in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) as an Infantryman on The 1st Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (1RPIR). After military service there he was rotated to Lae, Morobe, Igam Barracks Joint Officer Service College where he trained as a commissioned officer. Singirok trained and lectured in Duntroon military academy in Australia on Land Warfare Tactics in Military Science before being requested back to the PNGDF on strict orders during the height of the sandline crisis with the rank of captain. In the mid-1990s, he was promoted to Brigadier-General, and given the rank of commander. He was later promoted to the rank of Major-General of the PNGDF in the late 1990s during his second stint as commander.
In 1996,
Tim Spicer, an ex-Colonel in the Scots Guards, who had recently founded the mercenary firm
Sandline International
Sandline International was a private military company (PMC) based in London, established in the early 1990s. It was involved in conflicts in Papua New Guinea in 1997 and had a contract with the government under then-Prime Minister Julius Chan, ...
, met with Singirok. Spicer attempted to persuade Singirok to support a package of military support that Spicer had negotiated with then-defence minister
Mathias Ijape. Singirok declined, but the deal went ahead anyway, with the support of Ijape, Prime Minister
Sir Julius Chan
Sir Julius Chan (born 29 August 1939) served as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1980 to 1982 and from 1994 to 1997. He is Member of Parliament for New Ireland Province, having won the seat in the 2007 national election. He is also the c ...
and Deputy Prime Minister
Chris Haiveta.
It is unclear just how much Singirok knew of the events in between that meeting and the leaking of the affair to the international media on 10 February 1997. When the story broke in ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper, Singirok was in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and the mercenaries were already in
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
. When he returned on 27 February, his mind was made up. He condemned the government for leaving him, as head of the PNGDF, out of the loop, and condemned Spicer for having more access to the government than he did. Over the next week, he made plans for
Operation Rausim Kwik (
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...
for 'get rid of them fast'). On 8 March, he asked Major
Walter Enuma to command the operation. Enuma agreed.
Sandline affair
On the night of 16 March, Singirok's soldiers swooped. They arrested Spicer, the mercenaries, and their support staff. The next morning, Singirok went on national radio, and accused Prime Minister Chan, Defence Minister Ijape, and Deputy Prime Minister Haiveta of corruption, and gave them 48 hours to resign. He also fiercely denied allegations that he was aiming to take power himself. Chan refused to resign, and the same day, sacked Singirok as Commander of the PNGDF, replacing him with the controversial Colonel
Alfred Aikung.
That was the end of Singirok's direct role in the crisis that followed. However, Enuma carried out Singirok's plans in his absence. In the days that followed, the mercenaries were deported, the parliament was surrounded, and Chan, Ijape and Haiveta were all forced to stand down.
Following Sir Julius Chan's decision to stand down, Singirok went public with several serious corruption allegations against Chan's government. Chan stood again at the following election, but in the wake of the affair and Singirok's allegations, not only lost power, but also his seat in parliament.
Dismissal and subsequent inquiry
Following the affair, Singirok was dismissed from his position. He faced several inquiries into the events. He was subsequently reappointed in 1998, but dismissed again in 2000 over the same events, after another inquiry.
The 2000 inquiry found Singirok guilty of secretly receiving $US52,000 through his Visa card account in the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-based
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...
. He was also found guilty of failing to obtain an exemption from the Ombudsman Commission for the payments he received.
Singirok also faced criminal sedition charges, stemming from his radio broadcast of 17 March 1997, stating that he had launched a military revolt to get the mercenaries out of the country. Finally, in March 2004, he was cleared of all other charges.
In recent times, he has spoken out against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n intervention in the Pacific, particularly the deployment of forces to the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
, accusing the country of imperialism. He has also suggested that Papua New Guinea risks becoming a failed state.
Legacy
Though his name has been sullied somewhat by the bribery allegations, many still credit Singirok with the end of the
Bougainvillean war, which occurred soon after the ousting of the Chan government. In a June 2004 interview with the Port Moresby newspaper ''
The National'', he stated "Even to this day, I believe strongly as a professional military officer that there was no military solution to bring an end to the civil war on Bougainville."
Singirok now operates a taxi company & security firm in
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
. He has suggested that after taking a break, he may return to public life.
He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the
2007 general election, in the
Sumkar constituency in
Madang Province
Madang is a province of Papua New Guinea. The province is on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea and has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capital is the town of Madang.
D ...
, where he was defeated by
Ken Fairweather
Ken Fairweather (27 September 1945 – 24 October 2022) was a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2017, representing the electorate of Sumkar Open. He was Minister for Housin ...
.
"Triumphant Somare"
''Islands Business
''Islands Business'' is a "multimedia publishing company" established in the 1970s in Suva, Fiji.
ABC Radio describes it as an "influential regional publication".
With correspondents throughout Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singirock, Jerry
Living people
Papua New Guinean military personnel
Commanders of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force
1956 births