Front Gate of Parliament House Not Safe

jackaroo15:36 UTC09 Jan 2009

I was robbed last week right in front of the National Parliament front gate - in the afternoon. It's a dead end road and there is not a lot of traffic. The parliament gate was closed (there was no security personnel there) so my friend (a foreigner working in PNG) and I got off the car and tried to take a picture of the building when 4-5 young males arrived suddenly with gun and bush knife... Opposite the Parliament is a big bush area that makes the robbers easy to hide/escape.

The next day a local guide told me that she almost got robbed once in the same area. She said that the front gate of the Parliament is permanently locked and people use the back door all the time (we actually entered the back door and took some nice photos there).

When I reported my passport loss later at the Australian High Commission I found the Parliament area is listed as a no-go zone - but it's never mentioned in the LP book!

I urge the Port Moresby authorities to do something about it: put a note to direct visitors to the right direction, build fences in the bush area as in the back door, etc. - it shouldn't be that hard.

For now the bottom line is: If you have to see the Parliament, use a local guide who knows the right way and never get off the car unless you are inside the compound!

globaltourist22:43 UTC09 Jan 2009

How about sending a copy of this to the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority?

They would have the clout to lobby for your very sensible & cost effective recommendation

Try

info@pngtourism.org.pg

Thank you again for the tip

thedeep03:29 UTC15 Feb 2009

When I went there I had no trouble, but the local guy who I went there with was robbed the week before in that exact spot! He was driving a bus of tourists to see the parliment house and the robberers jumped onto the bus and got away with money and jewelery and .... the local guys (the drivers) shoes. He was feeling very bad because he was due to go back to the village the following week but felt ashamed thet he would be arriving without shoes. He did not initially want to take me to the Parliment building at all because of this incident. In the LP guid it says you can walk to the PArliment building. Although I think that the stories you hear about Port Moresby being dangerous are largely exagerated, I would personally NOT recommend walking to the Parliment building - its just asking for trouble.

Edited by: TheDeep

Front Gate of Parliament House Not Safe - Even Daytime Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Papua New Guinea
jackaroo15:36 UTC09 Jan 2009	I was robbed last week right in front of the National Parliament front gate - in the afternoon. It's a dead end road and there is not a lot of traffic. The parliament gate was closed (there was no security personnel there) so my friend (a foreigner working in PNG) and I got off the car and tried to take a picture of the building when 4-5 young males arrived suddenly with gun and bush knife... Opposite the Parliament is a big bush area that makes the robbers easy to hide/escape. The next day a local guide told me that she almost got robbed once in the same area. She said that the front gate of the Parliament is permanently locked and people use the back door all the time (we actually entered the back door and took some nice photos there). When I reported my passport loss later at the Australian High Commission I found the Parliament area is listed as a no-go zone - but it's never mentioned in the LP book! I urge the Port Moresby authorities to do something about it: put a note to direct visitors to the right direction, build fences in the bush area as in the back door, etc. - it shouldn't be that hard. For now the bottom line is: If you have to see the Parliament, use a local guide who knows the right way and never get off the car unless you are inside the compound!
globaltourist22:43 UTC09 Jan 2009	How about sending a copy of this to the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority? They would have the clout to lobby for your very sensible & cost effective recommendation Try info@pngtourism.org.pg Thank you again for the tip	1
thedeep03:29 UTC15 Feb 2009	When I went there I had no trouble, but the local guy who I went there with was robbed the week before in that exact spot! He was driving a bus of tourists to see the parliment house and the robberers jumped onto the bus and got away with money and jewelery and .... the local guys (the drivers) shoes. He was feeling very bad because he was due to go back to the village the following week but felt ashamed thet he would be arriving without shoes. He did not initially want to take me to the Parliment building at all because of this incident. In the LP guid it says you can walk to the PArliment building. Although I think that the stories you hear about Port Moresby being dangerous are largely exagerated, I would personally NOT recommend walking to the Parliment building - its just asking for trouble. Edited by: TheDeep	2

Front Gate of Parliament House Not Safe - Even Daytime