Men threaten trainee journalist on duty in Enga

A TRAINEE journalist from the University of Papua New Guinea has been threatened by members of the Talyul clan of Wabag  in Enga.
Albert Kamani, who is from Wape­namanda, Enga, was surrounded and threatened by a group of young men from Irelya village allegedly involved in a roadblock and the burning down of a police vehicle belonging to the criminal investigation division in Wabag.
Kamani said he had been covering the roadblock and the burning of the police vehicle when clan members surrounded him and asked him where he came from.
He told them he was from The National office in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands.
He told them he was there to file a report on why they had retaliated at police and blocked the road.
“They grabbed my hand and asked me which part of Enga I came from.
They then pulled my camera,” he said.
He said they grabbed his camera and deleted all the pictures he had taken before releasing him.
Kamani said people must learn to respect journalists.
He said journalists highlighted issues affecting people by educating, disseminating, informing and entertaining people on what was good and  not good for them.
Kamani said threatening an innocent journalist in Enga painted a bad picture of the province.
He said if Engans started to threaten media personnel for what they did without a good reason they should be ashamed of themselves.
“I am appealing to those young men not to take the law into their own hands,” Kamani said.