Appeal to officers to return staff’s personal effects

CLERK of Parliament Vela Konivaro has appealed to police and prison officers who were involved in Tuesday’s rampage in Parliament to return personal effects and other properties taken from staff and others in Parliament.
These included mobile phones, machinery and drones belonging to a company engaged by the Parliament.
Konivaro also wants heads of police and Correctional Services to take control of their wayward officers.
Still reeling from the effects of Tuesday’s incident, staff of Parliament will today wear black attire to express their sadness at an event they said was totally unacceptable and should never be repeated.
Parliament staff who were attacked and assaulted by members of the security forces will need to undergo trauma counselling, Konivaro said.
He said Parliament was an innocent Government institution which had bore the brunt of frustration by the security task force and its staff had been traumatised. “It’s very unfortunate that we got the brunt of the frustration by the disciplined forces,” Konivaro said.
“It’s a national institution that needs to be protected and not damaged in the manner.
“Parliament is an icon and a tourist attraction. We receive lots of people, including students from schools, who attend the sessions or come for visits.
“People are always coming to visit Parliament every day.
“This damage has put us in an awkward position.
“We don’t want to expose a damaged Parliament to the visiting public so we have to repair it first.”
Parliament legal counsel Richard Whitchurch said there may be some compensation required for trauma, anxiety and stress that came about as a result of the attack.
“Some of our staff were severely traumatised and some were physically assaulted, so that also is a consideration we are taking into account,” he said.