Apologies need proof

I write to acknowledge the efforts by the Southern Highlands leaders, especially Southern Highlands Governor William Powi and Joseph Kobol, to apologise publicly for the recent unrest at Mendi town.
But such unprecedented actions taken by those angry mobs is uncalled for and should not go unpunished.
Such primitive ways of addressing grievances should be discouraged so they don’t happen ever again.
We are living modern times now.
The concerned State law enforcement agencies should go down to the root of it to make sure such events don’t ever happen again in future, even if it means severely punishing the perpetrators with the full force of the law.
Let me remind everyone that the burning down of the courthouse, which is the custodian of our Constitution, and the burning of the Link PNG plane, which we take pride of as a symbol of our nation’s sovereignty, are an insult to the eight million people of this country. It has left so much pain in every Papua New Guinean.
Therefore, the leaders of Southern Highlands should not just apologise but they should make every effort to rebuild the burnt courthouse and help Air Niugini buy a new Dash 8 aircraft to replace the burnt one.
Only then will your apologies be seen as genuine.

Paul Bawidi Etiric
Lae