By Alice Osii
The Aitape Lumi District Police Station Commander, Senior Sergeant Rodney Malken, appealed to the citizens of his District to respect each other’s rights to move around freely without fear during the festive season.
Sergeant Malken made the statement during the Children’s Rights Day event celebration last Friday in Aitape town.
Malken, said everyone has the right to move around freely and enjoy themselves freely, without fear, and that it is important to in order to maintain peace in society.
“If we respect ourselves, our little town would be much more developed because people bringing services into our District would not be afraid of violence erupting unexpectedly and causing chaos in town and neighboring communities,” Malken added.
“Youths often abuse their rights and do not uphold or respect others,” Sergeant Malken said
He also mentiond that, violence against parents and children often goes unreported to the police, with only 10 % cases being reported while 90% are settled out of court in customary ways.
“I appeal to everyone to respect your own rights and the rights of others, and to not abuse your rights or harass others in order to maintain peace in our society,” Malken said.
He added that the Department of Correctional Services is working on building a rural lock-up for Aitape Lumi District itself.
