Editing Sandline affair (section)

==Affair becomes public==
The immediate public stir in Australia was larger than Chan had expected.The international furor also hardened the dislike that Jerry Singirok had for the Sandline deal. By the time he returned from a visit to the Philippines on 27 February, his mind was made up. He condemned the government for leaving him, as head of the [[Papua New Guinea Defence Force]] (PNGDF), out of the loop, and condemned the fact that Spicer had more access to the government than he did. Over the next week, he made plans for "Opareisen Rausim Kwik" ({{langx|tpi|"get rid of them quickly"}}). On 8 March, he asked Major Walter Enuma to command the operation. Enuma agreed.

Over the next few days, the Australian government tried in vain to persuade the Papua New Guinean government not to proceed with the mercenary deal. On the night of 16 March 1997, the revolt began. PNGDF soldiers were approached by leaders of the NGO Melanesian Solidarity (MELSOL). Jonathan O'ata and Peti Lafanama wanted to consolidate a military-NGO civil protest against the Chan-Haiveta decision to engage the Sandline mercenaries. By the time the night was over, the entire band of Sandline mercenaries had been disarmed and arrested. Prime Minister Chan did not find out until the next morning. That morning, Singirok accused Chan, Ijape, and 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 controversial Colonel Alfred Aikung.<ref>[https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/132682/1/PPP_30.pdf Background], openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au. Accessed 24 June 2023.</ref> The NGOs activated a nationwide protest in support of General Singirok.

The weapons, including [[Mil Mi-24]] helicopter gunships, piston engined light aircraft, military small arms and 600 crates of ammunition,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandline.com/hotlinks/Australian_chopper-sale.html|title=The Australian: Chopper sale grounded|date=8 December 2003}}</ref> were shipped in an [[Antonov An-124 Ruslan]] strategic airlift aircraft. The Antonov had been impounded in Thailand for a week after Papua New Guinea authorities refused to allow the aircraft to land. Australian diplomats and defence and intelligence chiefs had been involved in secret negotiations for days with Sandline and the governments of PNG and Thailand before agreeing to accept the weapons for storage in Australia. The Antonov was allowed to fly to Tindal RAAF base, near [[Katherine, Northern Territory]],<ref>"Tug-of-war over PNG arms", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 29 March 1997.</ref> until the government of PNG arranged for the materiel to be returned to Sandline.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/s2351.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=23 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115205718/http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/s2351.pdf |archivedate=15 January 2011}}</ref> 

The two attack helicopters remained in storage at [[RAAF Base Tindal]] until 2016, when they were buried at the Shoal Bay Landfill site near Darwin due to their dilapidated condition and possible contamination, for example with asbestos, and the cost of shipping them anywhere.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gibson |first1=Jano |title=Russian-built Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters buried in Darwin dump |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-29/russian-attack-helicopter-buried-in-darwin-dump/11637448 |accessdate=27 November 2019 |work=ABC News |date=29 October 2019}}</ref>