Peace process in Hela not sustainable

HELA Ghimbu Association chairman Damien Arabagali used to say: “Do not throw away the baby with the dirty water”.
I have heard him say this many times well before Hela became a province.
I believe his statement is meaningful today in our province.
Hela’s elected leaders are throwing away the baby with the dirty water.
We are doomed and definitely slipping fast into organised and orchestrated anarchy and chaos.
The type of peace process currently initiated by Governor Philip Undialu is not based on law and established systems of governance and law enforcement.
How can you make real and lasting peace without surrendering weapons and high powered guns used in the fights?
How can you make real and lasting peace without arresting law breakers?
How can peace come into the communities when the innocent loved ones are killed, buried and unaccounted while their killers roam freely because of so-called peace process?
I am well aware that our law enforcement systems are weak and do not have the capacity to maintain peace in Hela.
Given that scenario, why don’t we push to surrender guns first before any provincial government funds are given out?
Why don’t we buy back the guns from warring tribes?
We all know that the same guns are being hired and moved around the province for various wares.
My version of peace process is using the heavy arm of government.
As the head of a province, I will not bow down to any criminal, thug or bloodsucking vampires.
I will empower police and make them move in and stop the fight and ensure that lawbreakers are arrested.
Wrong is wrong.
A murderer will murder again if you let him go free in the name of peace.
Police will then force parties to sign peace agreements after weapons are surrendered and lawbreakers are arrested. The current peace process is in void of law.
This process has a huge potential to encourage severe bloodshed in the future.
Police Minister William Onglo and Police Commissioner David Manning should come to Hela and address the people.
What is happening in Hela is serious than it appears to be.
My Hela people, let us rise up and tell our elected leaders “do not throw away the baby with the dirty water”.

Francis Potape,
Former Hela Governor and
Komo-Margarima MP