Five shot dead in Jiwaka

By ELIAS LARI
SECURITY forces personnel have allegedly shot dead five men and wounded 15 others in an election-related violence in Anglimp-South Waghi electorate in Jiwaka on Saturday.
Those reportedly killed were taken with the wounded to the Mt Hagen General Hospital in Western Highlands.
It was also reported that they were mostly young men from Kuli tribe in Jiwaka.
The shooting took place on Saturday at around 10am following the declaration of the Jiwaka provincial seat.
It was claimed that the young men were not happy with the conduct of the election and took their frustrations onto the Highlands Highway at Anglimp junction.
Jiwaka regional candidate Patrick Nema said the security forces should have attempted to create an understanding instead of shooting at the young men.
He alleged that the election process was hijacked and when scrutineers raised their hands to address issues, the security personnel would tell them to keep quiet.
Nema said that they were also not happy that the returning officer (RO) Nuku Umar, who was ordered to step down by the Electoral Commissioner in a letter on Aug 4, was still carrying out his duties.
“When the declaration took place on Friday, my tribesmen took to the Highlands Highway just to express their frustrations,” he said.
“Protest is normal for the people to express their dissatisfaction and they were doing just that and when the first group of security forces arrived, they managed to calm the situation.”
Nema said it was the second lot of security personnel that arrived who fired at the protestors.
“Where is justice?” he said.
“They used three armoured vehicles and shot at our people.
“Some of these young men were students and they were not there to fight with government forces.”
Asst Comm of Police eastern end command Rigga Neggi could not be reached for comments but his deputy Joseph Tondop said he was aware of the killings.
Tondop said he also directed police in Jiwaka to have the matter properly investigated.
“In the meantime, I’m not sure of the number of casualties and what actually started the incident,” Tondop said.
Tondop said that police in Jiwaka would confirm the number of deaths and wounded and he was waiting for the full report including reports from the hospital.