Villagers and settlers clash
By PORENI UMAU
KOKOPO’S Omorong beachfront turned into an ethnic battle ground yesterday morning.
Machetes, stones, crowbars, fishing spears, sticks and homemade guns disturbed the Sunday peace of the tourist hub of East New Britain’s provincial capital Kokopo, as a fight erupted between Ramale villagers and residents of Omorong’s Faul Pes Compound.
The fight was a result of drunken youths from the Faul Pes Compound who attacked and slashed an elderly man from Ramale on Saturday afternoon.
The victim was with others who were loading sand at the Takubar Sports Ground area when they were set upon by the stone-throwing drunken men from Faul Pes Compound, who were watching a soccer match nearby.
The elderly man was trying to stop the drunks when he was slashed with a knife. He was soon after rushed to the hospital and was treated for his wounds.
In retaliation, the Ramale villagers regrouped and raided the Faul Pes Compound in an early morning raid, sending men, women and children scurrying for safety yesterday.
The villagers slashed one of the settlers at the Vunapope Compound who was nursing knife wounds at the hospital.
They burned down 13 houses, leaving 13 families homeless. Quick action by Kokopo police saved other homes from going up in flames
Another elderly man, also from Ramale, was hit with an iron rod on the elbow and the window glass of his bus smashed by the Faul Pes settlers.
Provincial police commander Joseph Tabali was at the conflict scene to address the villagers who set camp on the other side of the road near the Takubar netball courts.
Police were at the Omorong Roundabout to control traffic and quell the situation. Mr Tabali said that his men would be in the area 24 hours, monitoring the situation.
He appealed to the villagers not to disturb peace and let traffic flow.
The villagers later left for their homes after being addressed by Mr Tabali. The ward member for Ramale, Joe Warapik told the representative of the Rabaul Catholic Archdiocese who supposedly own the land the Faul Pes settlers were residing on to evict the trouble-makers.
He said that the leaders from the village have had enough of the harassment from the settlers and had asked for the eviction of not only the Faul Pes Settlers but also those at the Banana Block at Seaview and at Vunapope Compound.
Mr Warapik said that the Faul Pes settlers had caused a lot of trouble on many occasions, including a series of breaks and entry at Vunapope Hospital forcing the hospital to close down or limit services many times.
He said that his people could no longer tolerate being victims on their own land citing that their youths would no longer listen to them. He said that to prevent more bloodshed, the settlers must leave the area, giving an ultimatum for the next two days. The representative from the Rabaul Catholic Archdiocese invited the Ramale leaders and the police to meet with the Bishop at Vunapope yesterday afternoon to discuss the matter.
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