Students at the University of Papua New Guinea have been boycotting classes in protest at the Prime Minister refusing to stand down. Photo: Supplied / UPNG4PNG
There's been praise for the conduct of Papua New Guinea university students in their organisation of a mass petition for the prime minister to resign.
Students at the University of PNG in Port Moresby have been boycotting classes for three weeks and last week issued Peter O'Neill an ultimatum to step down over a major fraud case he is implicated in.
The prime minister hasn't acceded to the demand, but commended the students on the mature manner in which the petition was presented to the government delegation at UPNG.
The delegation included the National Capital Governor, Powes Parkop, who commended the over 15-thousand students for their commitment to PNG's future.
A woman who observed last week's rally, Dr Fiona Hukula, says she was impressed with how the event was organised so peacefully.
"They were able to control quite a big crowd of outsiders, and they had a lot of respect from people who were there," said Dr Hukula.
"And I think that was a really good thing, and it was a positive thing to see our young people coming up and showing such strong leadership."
The university's student representative council is now pondering its next move, which could include a mass withdrawal from courses.
In the meantime, the general boycott of classes continues.