New Provincial Police Commander to Hela Province, Chief Inspector Joseph Tondop is set to meet with tribal elders today concerning the recent violence at the Hides LNG plant a week ago leading to two confirmed deaths and an undisclosed number of injuries.
Tondop stated that at the moment, situation surrounding the area is quite tense but he has men on the ground to contain an outbreak of violence.
Earlier on today, villagers from the surrounding area took the initiative to look into the incident alongside the police, but Tondop has assured that he will personally visit the villages to speak with the elders and find out the root cause of the violence and arrest those responsible.
“I have directed CID in Tari to put the case together. The villagers are doing their own enquiries into how the incident came about. I am also in the process of talking to the parties so this does not escalate into something big,” he said.
He advised that all is calm in the surrounding areas of Hides after villagers entered the site to collect their dead.
Two people were killed in the attack on the site after an alleged drunken brawl incited the violence.
He added that for now, they are in a period of mourning as both bodies of the deceased were taken by their tribesman and returned to their home villages.
“They have taken the bodies back home and put them through the normal customary rites and they are talking to each other,” Tondop side.
To avoid more violence, Tondop is urging villages surrounding the site to not take up arms and let the law takes its course.
“We’ve lost two lives already as a result of this incident and we don’t want to lose more lives and cause more inconvenience to operations in Hides and the livelihood of the people in the province,” Tondop said.