A Member of Parliament from Madang Province has responded to statements made by the provincial police commander.
Chief Inspector Ben Neneo wanted an explanation as to why some leaders were seen with the people but were not able to stop them from protesting, which led to a number of deaths and injuries recently.
Neneo said leaders seen among the crowd were Bogia MP Robert Naguri, Usino-Bundi MP Jimmy Uguro and former governor James Yali.
In response, Usino-Bundi MP Jimmy Uguro said he and his colleagues were there to keep peace between the two parties, and advised locals to air their frustrations through proper forums.
Uguro said from the conversations he had, locals had no issues with police.
He pointed out that it was difficult to calm down the crowd of people when emotions were high and motives varied.
However, he said the deaths could have been prevented had police used other means of force to push the locals back.
Uguro said both parties should not be blaming each other right now.
He urged the PPC to work with local MPs as they were willing to assist with resources to solve the matter amicably.
(Usino-Bundi MP Jimmy Uguro filepic)