But they wanted to return home
SOLOMON Islands students studying at University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) were evacuated from the university campus on Wednesday to a hotel after police opened fire on protesting students.
And they told the Solomon Star although none of them took part in the protest or was injured in the shooting, they wanted to come home.
“We just wanted to come home,” student spokesman Paul None told the Solomon Star.
“It’s no longer safe here,” he added.
“Witnessing police opened fire on unarmed students is very distressing. We are so scared.
“Fear has gripped the UPNG campus. You don’t feel safer here anymore,” Mr None said.
The students were evacuated with the help of the Solomon Islands High Commission in Port Moresby.
About 60 local students are studying at the UPNG Waigani campus.
Many other Solomon Islands students are studying at different universities in PNG.
According to Mr None, none of them took part in the protest, nor was any local student injured in the shoot-out.
Twenty-three PNG students were injured in the incident.
The shooting came when they were ready to stage a protest march up to the parliament demanding PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to step down.
But police stopped the students at gun point and dispersed them from marching to parliament.
Students retaliated later yesterday by setting on fire a dormitory and damaging other university properties.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Education said the country’s high commissioner to PNG Barnabas Anga is monitoring the situation for them.
By BIRIAU WILSON SAENI
