The police commander in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville is rejecting a newspaper report that a blanket ban has been imposed on Fiji citizens entering the province.
A report in the Post Courier newspaper says police will screen every aircraft and vessel travelling to the region and refuse entry to any Fiji national.
This comes amid the continuing failure of local authorities to remove five former Fiji soldiers who have been in the province illegally since late last year.
The report says any Fiji passport holder wanting to travel to Bougainville must be authorised by the autonomous Bougainville government, the administration or police.
The paper says police also have reports another 300 Fijians are on their way to Bougainville.
But the police commander Paul Kamuai says he has not imposed any ban but he says they do want to speak with any Fijian entering the province.
