The Vneproit

Riot rocks Port vila

By Patrick Decloitre

IT was one of the main features of Vanuatu’s first state of emergency, which was declared on January 13 and ended on February 10: some 500 were arrested in connection to the January 12 riot in the Vanuatu capital. Some were released after making statements, some were not so lucky. Half-way through the state of emergency, Vanuatu’s police Commissioner Peter Bong ordered an investigation within his own ranks after allegations that police officers beat up some of the alleged rioters arrested a few days earlier.

Police spokesman Pakoa Samuel said Bong went to Port Vila’s Central Hospital to visit two men who claim they were beaten up by policemen while detained.

Bong had ordered an internal Police inquiry on the matter.

“He’s very concerned, as he’s issued orders to his men that even under the state of emergency, police are not allowed to abuse their powers”, Samuel said. In the wake of riots - triggered by public anger over alleged misuse by politicians of the Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) - which broke out on January 12 in Port Vila, a two-week state of emergency was declared, then extended for another two weeks to allow police to carry on with a wave of arrests and give time for the VNPF to refund claims from angry contributors.

But the state, although it gives extended powers to the police and the Council of ministers, still protects individuals from inhumane treatment, Attorney General Ham Bulu explained earlier.

Up to 500 people were arrested. Some

were detained and made “statements”, then were released on bail, Samuel explained.

“These are those who caused serious prob lems, not only the leaders, but those who damaged buildings in town.

I’m talking about major damage and those who stole goods from shops and pri vate houses”. On January 12, the VNPF building had its windows smashed by stones and several offices, shops and resi dences were later looted by the mob.

A small 20-strong riot squad attempting to disperse the crowd was assaulted and several policemen were severely injured and taken to hospital. Samuel did not think “bad blood” was the best way to describe relations between the rioters and the police.

Dick laokas, 28, from southern Tanna island, lives in the archipelago’s capital and admits he took part in the riot. He was taken to hospital by police on January 28

with a broken jaw. He claims he was beat en by policemen after being arrested earli er at his home in the shanty town of Blacksands, home to this island communi ty. “They took me to the prison and they started hitting my hands with stones. I fell on the ground, then they hit me with their boots. I lost consciousness. Someone told them to stop, that’s not how you arrest someone.

Then they stopped and I asked the police to take me to hospital”, laokas said from his hospital bed. Gregoire Gedeon, 25, a few beds away, was also taken to hos pital by police and later diagnosed with a broken spleen. He said he was arrested at night, in the early hours of a 24-hour spe cial operation involving road blocks and house searches.

“They took me to the police station, then they beat me up, they kicked me in

the stomach with their boots, I fell on the ground, then I lost consciousness and they took me to hospital”, he said.

“I don’t know why they did that, I did n’t run away, 1 surrendered when they came to arrest me”, says Gedeon, who also admits he was in the crowd during the riots.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International called the Vanuatu police,

enquiring about reports of alleged police

ill-treatment of persons arrested.

Amnesty asked the Vanuatu police to provide information on the force’s internal investigation procedure, and whether the inquiry “will be supervised by an indepen dent body or person from outside the police service”.

Pakoa Samuel said in reply he believed Vanuatu’s internal investigation was “very effective” and “independent” and so was the police disciplinary organ, the Police Service Commission.

“The investigation will be conducted regardless of what rank those policemen involved may hold ... No one is above the law and that includes policemen as well”.

One officer had already confessed taking

part in brutality on people detained and a specific group within the police had clearly been identi fied. Samuel said the self confessed policeman belonged to the 20-strong riot squad that had been sent in the first minutes of the January 12 riot. The squad was outnumbered, tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas and was then assaulted by the mob.

Some policemen could run away, several others were severely injured and were later treated in hospi tal, some for legs broken with iron bars.

Samuel did not deny a possible link between the frustrated squad members and those who later could have caught up with their detained aggressors.

“It may be so, but the Commissioner made it very clear that they should not use injuries police

received on January 12 as an excuse to take the law into their own hands or to misuse their powers during the state of emergen cy”.

A few days later, Vanuatu’s ombudsman Marie-Noelle Patterson called on victims of police violence to testify to her office first, in spite of the internal police probe.

“Those who have complaints to lodge with the police should do it to my office if they want their complaints to be followed.

Then we’ll make sure those (policemen) who admitted offences are prosecuted”, Patterson said.

The Tanna island community was gath ering statements from those detained by police, even if they had not been treated to hospital, and intended to send them to the Ombudsman.

“Those two who had to be rushed to hospital, they may be only the tip of the iceberg, what people could see. But there are many more out there, some of them ter rorised and hiding after what they went through”, a source from this community said.

The state of emergency ended on February 10. ■

Gregoire Gedeon... they beat me up