22 Jan 2008

PNG police close Arawa station amid trouble in central Bougainville

4:50 pm on 22 January 2008

The assistant police commissioner in Papua New Guinea's province of Bougainville, Peter Nessatt, has ordered the closure of the Arawa police station following trouble in the township.

The Bougainville administration in Buka and Arawa confirmed last week that the law and order situation in Central Bougainville cannot be controlled.

In the latest incident, armed members of the public seized a police operations vehicle.

The group was calling for police to pay for the damages of a car involved in an accident in which a person was killed.

The car had been driven by an off-duty police officer.

Mr Nessatt says the police are not responsible as the officer was off-duty.

He says his officers are frustrated and have had enough.

"I see that the attitude is a total disregard for the authority and the rule of law in Arawa and I will just have to withdraw the men from there and force them to Buka."

The assistant police commissioner in Papua New Guinea's province of Bougainville, Peter Nessatt.