Papua New Guinea has banned all reporting and public discussion of controversial environment law amendments which could allow a Chinese miner to pump waste out to sea, outraging a civil rights group.
Justice Minister and Attorney-General Ano Pala sent a two-page statement to the impoverished South Pacific country's media on Friday, saying he was putting a halt to public debate on the laws.
"There shall be no more discussion, comment or reference in the media to the Environment Act amendments," he said in the statement, published in part by The National newspaper.
"This mean there will be no talkback radio programmes or interviews, no more advertisements, no more letters to the editor and above all no more protest meetings, no public demonstrations, and no public marches."
Pala's office refused to comment on the statement, saying only that the minister was unavailable.
Critics argue that the amendments reduce landowners' legal rights to oppose projects approved by the government.
The changes to the law are being contested in court by landowners from the Madang coast, who are against a pipeline which will dump millions of tons of waste into Basamuk Bay.
Pala warned the public there was to be no discussion of the case, given that a court was determining whether the amendments were constitutional.
In March, the courts ordered a halt to work on the Ramu nickel mine, operated by the Chinese Metallurgical Construction Group (known as MCC), as it prepared to blast away corals to make way for the pipeline.
Papua New Guinea civil society group Act Now accused the government of acting like "an African dictator" over the issue.
"This is an utterly outrageous attempt by a draconian government to stifle public debate and deny citizens their constitutional rights," it said in a statement.
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