Police with hand grenades threaten newspaper journalists

Reporters Without Borders condemns death threats Patrick Tarroua journalist The Courier Police brandished guns and grenades and threatened Tharu during a meeting of officials and landowners opposing the controversial gas pipeline project in the capital, Port Moresby, yesterday. “Urgent steps must be taken to stop this abuse of power and ensure that the news media does not face any danger while carrying out their job of providing information to the public,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The government must not only condemn such threatening behavior by the police and take steps to ensure those responsible are punished, but must also refrain from making statements that could exacerbate the atmosphere of suspicion and lead to more threats and self-censorship against journalists.” Tharu was threatened as he headed to Unagi Oval in the capital to attend a meeting between a group of angry landowners and officials from the Hela Transition Authority, chairperson James Marape and chief executive William Bando, about the proposed pipeline. The pipeline will be built in Hela, Southern Highlands and Western Highlands provinces. According to the New York Times, The CourierDuring the meeting, police chased some landowners and shot at them. When Tarrou started filming, officers confiscated his camera, asked for his press card, shoved him and asked him to leave. One officer snatched his phone. Another, brandishing an M-16 rifle and a grenade, said, “Go away, I’m going to blow you up,” referring to a photo that had appeared on the front page the day before. The Courier In the video, a police officer holding a rifle points at Tarrou and says: “You newspapers have painted a terrible picture of our police.” After the incident, Tarrou called on Police Commissioner Kulonga to disarm the rogue officers and sack those who threatened him. He also said he was concerned about the government’s tolerance of police abuse of power. A week ago, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Ben Mika issued a notice in all newspapers warning against “subversive” comments online that endangered the “overall security of the country” and urged “patriots” to remain vigilant. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill issued a statement yesterday to distance himself from his aide’s warning, which was condemned by a New Zealand news agency. Pacific Media Center.