Teouma Community to request reinstatement of suspended Police officers
Up&running Siaraga
- Members of the Teouma Zone 3 community have spoken out in defence of the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF).
George Tukrou who owns the yard and the nakamal where the incident happened, is also the Chairman of the Teouma Zone 3 community.
“The boys were beaten, but if the police had not taken them away, they may have been killed by the many community members they have terrorised over the years. We do not want them back here,” Mr. Tukrou said.
He informed Daily Post that the community is looking to write a letter to the VPF to ask for the reinstatement of the suspended officers.
Tukrou said the video was posted without a back story, and that people whose communities who have not experiencing the havoc caused by this group and do not understand the situation could easily shun the VPF for their action.
“The community here has been dealing with these boys for many years, they have cause a lot of trouble, even though there have been efforts made to put them on the straight and narrow road we have not succeeded,” he said.
The Chairman said the VPF have been called to help the community many times over the years because of trouble brought on by these boys. Every time Police came to the area the boys would run and hide, but the events of Easter Monday was the last straw as the police were called and managed to apprehend some of the boys.
The short video took Vanuatu social media by storm on Thursday afternoon, as Police officers were seen beating some boys who were handcuffed and sitting in the back of a police vehicle. Many took to the internet to say the beating was brutal and the boys did not deserve it.
Different members of the community share their recounts of what brought on the apprehension of the boys and the beating.
The Daily Post summarises this to be that the boys had been drinking since the beginning of the Easter weekend on Friday. On Easter Monday, they had gone to the Nakamal where the mothers sold their food items and VT20 wanting to advance on kava and food but they would not allow it so the boys began throwing rocks and stones at the people in the Nakamal.
Mothers and children barely dodged being hit by the stones being thrown, and Tukrou was struck on the head, with damage to one of his ears.
James Michelle, a community member said Police have wasted resources such as time and fuel without apprehending any of the boys over the years.
Marimon Renevier, Tukrou’s wife, shared that she and her husband were selling kava that day and when the boys started throwing stones, she barely managed to dodge a stone.
“I grabbed my bucket of kava and rushed out of the nakamal just in time to avoid a stone that hit the wall where i was standing,” she said.
11-year-old Jesika Natau shared that she was with the mothers as well and was not spared from the flying stones thrown at the nakamal and had to flee.
Cathy Thomas, a vendor selling her VT20 stated that when stone sand bottles were being thrown, she had grabbed her infant and fled from the nakamal leaving the tray of food she was trying to sell.
“The public who condemned the beatings of the police officers don’t know what we have been facing,” she said.
“We cannot sleep at night because they have even threatened us in our own homes, not only at the kava bar. Those who are talking on social media should come and live here to face what we are facing.”
Jamie James who is also a Nakamal owner in this community expressed that he has sympathy for the boys and understands what the Police were doing.
“My business is affected by this group as well, but the Police already had them handcuffed and beat with the baton,” he said. “The kicks to the head and face were too much.”
According to members of the Teouma Zone 3 community, for many years the boys reportedly terrorised people on the road for money, they threw rocks and stones at vehicles on the road with their hands and catapults. They have beaten members of the community and have chased off customers for many businesses.
These are just some of the ways they affected the community.