Source: The National

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has expressed concern at the treatment by police towards the landowners of the Ramu Nickel mine in the Usino-Bundi district, Madang. “I’m aware of the issues at that mine where some of the disgruntled landowners have gone and damaged some properties at the mining site, causing the mine to shut down for a few days,” he said. “Some of the actions of the landowners are understandable, the frustration that they go through but the last thing that we want anyone to do is to try and burn and destruct properties and assault people.” He was responding to questions from Usino-Bundi MP Anton Yagama in Parliament yesterday, who asked if the Prime Minister could direct the police and mining minister to meet him and resolve the matter. He said police have arrested the wrong people. Yagama said the core problem was that the Government and the company had failed to fulfil the Memorandum of Agreement with the landowners. He added that the landowners were frustrated that the resource on their land had been taken away by foreigners and they have not benefited from that.