Top cop slams media coverage in Southern Highlands

MEDIA coverage of events in Southern Highlands is poor and journalists are not getting information from the right sources, says outgoing assistant police commissioner (Western command) Mark Yangen.
He said the media has a vital role to play in telling the people real happenings.
Yangen told The National that when the province was beginning to witness peace and the people and stakeholders were working together to address the law and order problems, the media (TV, radio and newspapers) was telling the people that there was still uprising in the province.
“You (media) are not getting information from the right sources and collecting stories from the streets which in one way or the other, is not helping but
causing more fear and tension,” he said.
“A television company went ahead and reported that police were not working and running around in Mt Hagen in civilian clothes.
“They have their own reasons and to be accurate, the journalist should have called ACP or police commander and not people who know nothing about police work.”
Yangen said the closure of the bank in Mendi had forced many public servants and their families to travel to Mt Hagen to do banking. He said there were reports in the media that businesshouses in Mendi were operating
for only two hours which was not true.
Yangen said all business houses in Mendi were operating as usual and it was only the bank, post office and airport that were still closed.
“Yes the province had gone through a big problem since the declaration of the governor and that problem has slowly come to an end and people are working together to make the town a better place again,” he said.
“Problems are created by a minority and it comes and goes. It’s not permanent.
“Journalists must be mindful when reporting on issues that are affecting a province as sometimes poor reporting adds more fuel to tensions.”