Lawyer says media comments were for police

A LAWYER, whose son was stabbed to death in a robbery in Wewak town on May 13, has urged the police to bring law and order back to the area.
Alois Jerewai, who is based in Port Moresby, said his comments to the media was intended to draw attention to the police’s “apparent and total inability to maintain law and order; not only in Wewak but the entire East Sepik”.
“It was not my intention to draw attention to the illegal use of soldiers here (Makon settlement which is within the Makon village and its neighbouring land area).
“The police commissioner must take note and do something about it,” he added.
He said law and order must be maintained by the police and if this was not happening, “something must be done about it quickly”.
On the military’s presence in the settlement, Jerewai said: “I have nothing but praise for their (soldiers) conduct which was disciplined, restrained; and in not interfering with the villagers who were torching the houses in the settlement.
“The villagers were retaliating to the killing of my son Kelly (aged 31 and a father of three young children).
“The soldiers restricted their presence to protecting the defence commander’s house.
“At no one single occasion throughout the incident did my villagers feel threatened by the presence of the armed soldiers in uniform,” he said.
He added that they (soldiers) were sent into the settlement to defend PNGDF commander Francis Agwi’s house, which is a semi-permanent building, built in the settlement “without my permission” as the landowner.
“They stood by, protecting Agwi’s house while the angry Makon villagers torched other settlement  houses.
“The soldiers stood by, saying Agwi’s house must not be touched,” he added.