Papua New Guinea's minister for finance and education and the MP for Tari-Pori, James Marape, has strongly condemned Tari police for a stand-off against soldiers in the Hela Province town over the weekend.
The Post Courier newspaper reports tension between police and the military arising over an allegation that two Tari police officers were caught with alcohol in their vehicles and beaten up by soldiers attached to the LNG project.
Police in Tari retaliated by assaulting two other military officers resulting in a stand-off between the two forces.
Mr Marape has condemned the police officers for carrying alcohol if that turns out to be the case and is calling for an investigation into the issue.
The paper reports him asking both parties to respect each other and the law, in order to restore sanity to the situation.
