FOUR of the five Fijians who remained in Bougainville are in police custody in Buka.
The four arrived in Buka from Siwai through the Panguna and Morgan junction at 9.30pm on Monday.
This was confirmed by our sister newspaper, The Post Courier of Papua New Guinea.
The four were being questioned by officers of Bougainville\'s Criminal Investigative Department, said the Post Courier\'s chief of staff Gorethy Kenneth.
She said one of the men, Maloni Namoli, was still in Siwai because he was fearful of travelling by road.
She said a Fijian delegate from the Fijian High Commission travelled to Buka from Port Moresby yesterday.
"Police are keeping a low profile on the situation and they do not want the people to know so that they can talk to the Fijians and get something out of them before exiting Bougainville safely," Kenneth said.
Last week the five Fijian in Bougainville were in hiding because a reward was offered for their capture, dead or alive.
Bougainville\'s self-styled king Noah Musingku, who had formerly employed the five, had alleged that the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) had offered K5million ($2.8million) for the kidnapping and killing of the Fijians.
"In an interview with Post Courier Buka office via satellite phone on Thursday, Mr Musingku highlighted the paramount obstacle to the "coming out" of the five Fijians is because they cannot trust the ABG to provide them safe passage to Buka," the report said.
Post Courier said Mr Musingku named an ABG member from the area who is alleged to have given K10,000 ($5675) and later K5000 ($2837) to some locals to kidnap the five.
But ABG Minister for Police Ezekiel Massat totally denied it.
He said ABG was a legal government and did not engage in mercenary tactics such as paying people to kill or kidnap.
Mr Massat said from day one ABG maintained its stand, which was for the Fijians to make their own choice.
"They either come out or the law will get them out," Mr Massat said.
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