Boera leaders not happy with report

THE report in yesterday’s Post-Courier that police had apprehended the nine Boera suspects linked to the killings in Porebada last January is misleading and has no regard for the close and positive cooperation between Boera and police so far to help with criminal investigations.
A spokesman from Boera (named withheld) yesterday told The National that the suspects had voluntarily given themselves up to village leaders who took them to police.
He said the suspects were never apprehended or “picked up” by police as reported in the paper.
He said this had angered the community leaders adding that a lot of biased publicity had been done also in the media in recent weeks after the incident as most of the news was only centred around the people of Porebada and did not give a fair coverage of the situation faced by the general Boera population and never considered the views by leaders there.
Meanwhile, it was also claimed yesterday that there had been some “political involvement” in the whole saga during the aftermath of the clash which had downplayed the interests of the Boera people and was interfering with police investigations to uphold law and order.
The spokesman said Boera had given its full commitment to police investigations which had resulted in nine suspects being brought in before police for questioning.
The first four of the suspects who were charged with murder on Wednesday appeared briefly for mention at the Waigani National courts yesterday.
Meanwhile, Boera leaders are working closely with lawyers to ensure there is an amicable solution reached through the courts to restore peace between the two communities and for justice to prevail after the incident.