Posted By Staff Reporter
Commentary By David Lepi Those who could still remember the Sandline Crises, an event that shook Papua New Guinea in 1997, may also remember the heroes who stood up to the call. They say history remembers kings and not soldiers but among those brave men one soldier, arguably an unsung hero, worth mentioning is Captain Belden Namah of the Papua New Defense Force. A student studying at the University of Papua New Guinea at that time recalls in a published article supported by Phil Fitzpatrick Writing Fellowship, "..there were five defence force officers heading the protest: Major Walter Enuma; Captain Bola Renagi; Captain Belden Namah; Lieutenant Michael David; and Second Lieutenant Linus Osaba." "These soldiers played a crucial role in stopping the mercenaries from going to Bougainville to kill and murder the BRA high command." "Every time Namah took the podium in his full military regalia to deliver a speech he looked like the Napoleon Bonaparte that we had read about in history books." "He could truly talk and had the students, the soldiers and everyone standing on their toes with their adrenaline soaring."
"That was the first time I had heard and seen Namah, albeit from a distance. At the time I didn’t realise he would end up where he is now.." Namah is among the first of the country's elite soldiers to pass out from the Long Range Reconnaissance Unit or PNG's special forces after its inception. He is renowned among his men for daring operate led and executed in search and rescue missions. Rightly in the military parlance of an officer and a gentleman Honourable Belden Namah is now a Member of Parliament representing the people of Vanimo Green in West Sepik Province and is the leader of opposition. He brings in his assertiveness and flare to politics and I would say no one surpasses Hon Namah in stretching the bounds of our constitution to its limit and tests the strength of our democracy. He stands tall as a game changer in our political history and he alone contributed more that will be remembered as precedent. Belden Namah could make a good Prime Minister if given the chance. Not all great leaders are cut from the same cloth. Great leaders like Fidel Castro, Che Ernesto Guevara, Nelson Mandela, Hugo Chavez were once revolutionaries who changed the course of their countries with their radical attributes. Or if you doubt a soldier could make a good prime minister in a democracy, then I will give you America the icon of democracy. 29 presidents of the United States of America were former soldiers or served in one of the many US armed forces. Among them are the famous names we often hear like John F Kennedy, Goerge W Bush, George HW Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S Truman, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington etc. Soldiers make good leaders in politics and civilian life. This is what Sir John Keegan, an English military historian, lecturer, writer and journalist who wrote many published works on the nature of combat between prehistory and the 21st century, covering land, air, maritime, intelligence warfare and the psychology of battle said about the leaders capabilities of a soldier, “Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done.” Honourable Belden Namah is no uncertain terms a national hero and his loyalty and dedication to the country is beyond question. Next : Engan Leaders Become Sacrificial Lambs For PNG Note: Let Your Views be heard : Send all your Political Commentaries to us through our email : pngfacts@gmail.com Share this Comments are closed.
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