Alotau fire victims petition govt for compo

THE people of Kitava Compound are asking the Government to compensate them for the destruction of their homes and want police removed from Alotau.
Alotau MP Charles Abel, who received their petition on Tuesday, said he was taking on their views and would respond in due course.
“We will certainly be responding to that in a financial sense and resourcing sense to help them rebuild their homes,” Abel said. “There’re different aspects to this.”
Abel said he has asked for some independent assessment on what actually happened.
“This will be a process. It’s going to take some time,” he said.
“The first thing to do is to deal with the humanitarian issue —make sure the people are sheltered, being fed and are not suffering.
“To look at the people in hospital, that they’re also being looked after and also police accountability.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Kitava compound, Samuel Luguna, described the incident as a “terrorism exercise”.
“We were stunned,” he said. “Houses were burnt to the ground, loss of properties, this is truly a state of emergency.
“Police have never given us the opportunity to give them any information. People were very fearful.”
Luguna said the community had gathered and decided to mourn as a way of a sit-in protest.
He said those affected were sheltered under tents, receiving relief supplies from nearby communities as well as from Red Cross.
Noah Kay, Kitava Compound youth elder, said they did not accommodate unnecessary people or harbour criminals as speculated in the media. “We have a very strict community,” he said. “We do not allow unnecessary people entering into the community.”
Kay said young people were preparing to go on a Christmas outreach programme and were also gearing up for Christmas sporting competitions when the incident happened.
Police and a gang had a shoot-out. Gang members were chased and they ran into the compound.
Police, believing the members entered a few houses, set fire to two houses, according to Police Commissioner Gari Baki.
About 20 other houses were razed as well.
Meanwhile, Abel called on the police to behave in a manner that was sensitive when they were going about conducting their duties.
“Everybody believes that police are necessary for law and order but they have to behave in a responsible manner,” Abel said.