Ex-army man appeals for balanced reporting

FORMER PNG Defence Force commander Commodore Peter Ilau said unsubstantiated stories have been made about him, and he appealed to the media to get both sides of the story.
He was referring to allegations in The National that he emptied Flagstaff House – official residence of the PNGDF commander – of all its contents as well as holding onto the official commander’s vehicle.
Cmdr Ilau said he was bewildered that a former PNGDF commander, Major-Gen Jerry Singirok, was leading the attack against him and feeding “rubbish” to the media when he was no longer a soldier.
He said any more unsubstantiated allegations against him would end up in court.
“I wish to appeal to the media, but more so to the press in particular, to please respect my 34 years of service and eight long years as commander of PNGDF through an extremely difficult time,” Cmdr Ilau said.
“My family and I persevered a long period of change in a complex organisation.
“It is not fair to my family to continue to suffer on my behalf.
“We have suffered enough of that rubbish during my term as commander PNGDF.”
He said his credibility and reputation was tarnished because people were spreading “rubbish”.
Cmdr Ilau said of Gen Singirok: “All I can say is that everything he is saying is totally misleading.
“I do not know where he got his information from.
“He (Gen Singirok) wants to take military matters into his own hands when he is no longer a soldier.
“He should not make statements like these which could end up in court.”