POLICE have turned down an application by a group of youth to stage a peaceful protest in Honiara in the lead up to the election of the prime minister on April 24.
The decision was made in the interest of “public safety”.
Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Gabriel Manelusi also stated police will not accept any application seeking permit to stage any public gathering in the city.
The youth group claimed they represented the youth of Honiara. And they wanted to stage a peaceful march through the city in connection with the election of a new prime minister.
Manelusi said they met members of the group yesterday at Rove police headquarters after they received the letter from them.
“We want to thank the representatives of the group for agreeing to meet with police to discuss their application,” Manelusi said.
“We explained to the representatives of the youth that to ensure there’s public safety, police will not be permitting any procession or public gathering from now until the election of the prime minister on 24 April,” he added.
“We proposed to the youth representatives that they should take up whatever issues they have in connection with the election of the Prime Minister with their Members of Parliament.
“They agreed with our suggestion.
“We call on members of the public to respect the process that is underway towards the election of a new prime minister.
“Police are mounting visibility patrols and traffic checks during the day and night to ensure there is peace in our capital city.
“We call on the public to also respect the liquor ban from 23 – 24 April 2019,” Manelusi said.
– Police Media
