26 Sep 2002

Solomons police commander calls for BRA member to be sent from Bougainville

4:26 pm on 26 September 2002

The Solomon Islands police in the Western Province are calling on authorities on the neighbouring Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville to return a Bougainvillean man to the province to face charges.

The Western Province police commander, Aloysious Ora says the man is known to be a member of the former rebel militant group, the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, or BRA. .

He says the man threatened a Solomon Islander with a gun and fired shots in the township recently.

It was the latest in a series of incidents involving former BRA members in Western Province.

Earlier this year several of the Bougainvilleans shot up the police station in Gizo, while others were blamed for the murders of two Solomon Islands special constables.

Commander Ora says he's disappointed that despite assurances from the BRA command that they have disarmed their members, there are still some armed and using weapons to terrorise citizens in Western Province.

He says the man must be sent back to Gizo to be face charges as required under Solomon Islands law.