PNG SOLOMONS BORDER: FAMILY DEMAND RETURN OF THEIR FATHER

 

Kerekere border patrol post. Picture courtesy of Sarah Kaue-Bana.

OLD PNG FISHERMAN STILL IN CUSTODY IN GIZO, SOLOMON ISLANDS

BY PETERSON TSERAHA in ARAWA
 
He is 65 and has lived all his life in Sirovai village in Central Bougainville.

Grandpa Navala Banei Kuka is an old salt. For as long as his legs would move, Kuka has walked the sands, swum the sea and paddled far out to sea in search of the big red one - his favourite fish - snapper.

That has been his daily routine until March when, according to Solomon Islands police, lapun Kuka went too far.

As a result of his long line, which they said went from the Bougainville side into the Solomons side, he is languishing in a police cell in Gizo in Solomon Islands.

His worried relatives are demanding the return of the old man and want the PNG Government to act fast on his repatriation.

The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force regularly patrols the international border between Solomon Islands and PNG's Bougainville province and regularly apprehends Bougainville fishermen.

What the SI police don't quite understand is that most fishermen have traditional fishing and border crossing rights to islands and reefs on the border.

Border commander Jeffrey Osikore at the beach where fishermen sort their gear before heading out to fish on the border reefs and islands.

The SI border police have also been accused of heavy handed tactics in the past, where apprehended suspects were allegedly beaten at the border.

Meanwhile, the Immigration and Citizenship Authority of Papua New Guinea has assured that it will be working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Solomon Islands High Commission in Port Moresby to have old man Navala Kuka repatriated home.

He  was arrested by Solomon Islands police and border patrol at Nunuari or the Pigeon Island in March and has since been detained in Gizo to be prosecuted for illegal trespassing.

While Nunuari is just 5 kilometres off the coastline of Sirovai and Koromira and a traditional fishing ground for locals, it is in Solomon Islands territory.

Banei Kuka's son, Kennedy Polosovai, has been appealing to authorities to help get his father back, arguing that he should be considered a traditional border crosser, since their people have blood and land ties with those on the other side of the border, and should not be seen as a threat to the Solomon Islands.

Team Leader of the Kerekere Border Processing Post of the PNG Customs, Jeffery Osikore, says while he understands the issues of sovereignty and the COVID-19, authorities along the borders must be lenient on traditional border crossers who are only living their daily lives, and pose no threat to either side.

Bougainville fishermen out at sea. In the background is Pigeon Island.

Mr Osikore says border authorities and the governments of PNG and the Solomon Islands are proposing an upcoming meeting, where the issue of traditional border crossers is hoped to be effectively addressed.

Meantime, the Chief Migration Officer of Papua New Guinea, Stanis Hulahau, has responded to the appeals, saying his office will be collaborating with the office of the Foreign Affairs Secretary Elias Wohengu, to work with the Solomon Islands High Commission to help get Kuka back home.

According to the son and the family who visited the Post-Courier office they are more concerned about their father’s health considering his age. 

The family says if anything happens to their father while he is imprisoned who will be responsible?