Hard to solve ongoing tension over land: MP

By SAMUEL BARIASI
THE tension between the Mambuan and Sepa villages in Bogia is an ongoing issue and is becoming harder to resolve, Bogia MP Robert Naguri says.
Naguri said the recent murders in Bogia were part of an ongoing conflict over land that was owned by the Madang Catholic Archdiocese (MCA) which covers parts of Bogia station, Sepa and parts of Babangawa village towards the south of Bogia station.
“MCA’s lease over the land has expired but it is cautious to give the land to either village because of serious concerns that conflicts over land might worsen,” Naguri explained.
Naguri told The National that even though MCA did not specify the village in which the land was acquired from in the first place, Mambuans felt that they always had a genuine claim over the land.
“If MCA gives the land to the Mambuans, they will chase the Sepas away,” he said.
“If the land is given to the Sepas, Mambuans will not accept it.
“It is a very complicated issue.”
Naguri said the recent murders were the worst compared to incidents that had occurred between the two villages over the years.
“Nowadays, it is really hard to control the youths who are mostly involved in the fighting because they do not respect each other and their elders,” he said.
He said talks were underway for the Bogia development authority (DDA) to buy the land from MCA.
“It has been agreed that Bogia DDA will purchase the land and develop it and try to ease the tensions between the two conflicting communities.”
Meanwhile, Naguri expressed concern that the number of police personnel in the district was not enough to control the tension.
“We have only seven police officers in Bogia station who would definitely be outnumbered and overpowered at any point.”
He said plans to increase police presence in Bogia station were underway.