Robert@PNG

Story as it appeared in The National newspaper yesterday…

A PMV bus owner showing two of the many rocks that were hurled into his
bus from all sides smashing windscreens and causing thousands of kina
in damages. He stayed inside his bus with rocks and glass flying
everywhere, but came out unscathed. “I thought they were going to kill
me,” he said.

Riots hit Lae

Speeches at law forum blamed for violence

LAE became the
scene of yet another violent riot yesterday as youths returning from a law
and order forum went on a rampage.

By PETER KORUGL and YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI

LAE became the scene of yet another violent riot yesterday as youths
returning from a law and order forum went on a rampage.

Businesses in Top Town came to an abrupt halt yesterday afternoon and
police went on full alert following the rampage.

A business manager suffered injuries to his head and was rushed to
hospital, a restaurant was smashed open and food and the till taken by
the crowd.

Many vehicles were stoned and suffered damages and other business houses
quickly shut their doors, fearing more violence.

PMV buses also vacated the main town bus stop.

The riot appeared to have been sparked by rousing speeches at a law and
order forum, which incidentally targeted such unlawful acts.

Morobe Governor Luther Wenge told the crowd at the forum he will
allocate money to police by Friday to “fight the idiots” and gave
permission to police to “run them up the wire, strip them and finish
them off for good”.

It was the police presence in town that saved the Lae city widespread
looting and rioting.

Police moved in and fired several tear gas canisters into the unruly
mob, which also affected many people who were heading home from work.

As the crowd moved towards Eriku, the police followed them and
maintained surveillance around the shops to prevent a similar situation
from erupting.

Many PMV operators have threatened to pull their buses off the road
today in protest over the attack.

About a dozen buses were stoned and had their windscreens and windows
shattered by rocks and missiles hurled at them by the mob.

The rioters were part of a 5,000-odd crowd who were returning from the
forum, organised by the Morobe Community Welfare and Justice Group, at
the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.

The Golden Rooster fast food shop on Second Street was forced open and
the mob rushed in and grabbed food and the money till.

Further down, they smashed the Sentry Lock Smith shop with rocks and one
of the rocks hit the general manager on his forehead.

Staff said he was rushed to the Angau Memorial Hospital. Two of his
company vehicles were also smashed.

The mob was allegedly incited by the anti-Highlands sentiments expressed
by many of the speakers and the victimisation of Morobeans at the hands
of people from other provinces.

Other issues raised included unfair business practices, lack of
employment opportunities for Morobeans, lack of political leadership and
lack of Government attention to their plight.

“Morobeans will continue to suffer because Lae is centrally located.

“People from all over the country come into the city and they bring with
them all types of problems,” women spokesperson Naomi Wilkins said.

She spoke of the need for parents to discipline their children, gambling
and its effects on family life and the need for Morobeans to work their
land.

As the crowd chanted “rausim ol, rausim ol” (evict them, evict them),
the speakers called on the leaders from Morobe to take steps to address
the problems that their people were facing.

“The Morobe provincial government must allocate money to fight crime; it
must give about K2 million to fight against crime,” former premier Jerry
Nalau said.

Momase police chief Assistant Commissioner Giossi Labi said Morobeans
were also responsible for crime in the city.

“Look who tried to rob the Best Buy supermarket recently?

“Who killed the University of Technology student recently?” Mr Labi, a
Morobean himself, asked the large gathering.

Mr Labi said police were faced with serious manpower, logistic and other
problems that hamper their work and they require the help of everyone in
the community to fight crime.

Governor Wenge, who had listened to all the speeches and witnessed the
reaction from the crowd, declared that Morobeans were good people and
Lae would not allow crime.

“By Friday, we will give you K300,000 to fight the idiots.

“Next week, you should start. Where ever you come from, you should make
your way out of Lae as you are going to feel the force of the law,” Mr
Wenge told the crowd.

The governor told the police: “I am giving you permission to run them up
the wire, strip them off and finish them off for good.”

The money was part of a K2 million commitment by the Morobe government
to police to fight crime in Lae.