By SHIRLYN BELDEN – The National, July 19
DRASTIC measures are being taken to combat
sports related violence in PNG, Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko (right) told
Parliament yesterday (last Thursday).
He also blamed the violence on alcohol
consumption.
Tkatchenko was responding to West New Britain
Governor Muthuvel Sasindran who asked if the sports ministry was serious in
fighting the increasing sports related violence.
“All these problems of violence in sports and
violence related to sports are alcohol related. I have started to take drastic
steps to address this problem and I will ensure that it is addressed
effectively,” he said.
The minister said he had asked SP Brewery to
assist with strategic ways to deal with the problem by diverting the idea and practice
of alcohol consumption during sports matches in a clear and benefiting approach
for players and spectators.
Tkatchenko also condemned the recent incident
in Wabag where a man was killed and two vehicles burned, saying it was “an
absolute disgrace” to sports and a disaster to the community.
“I will effectively deal with this issue. It
is a problem and will grow if we don’t address it properly. Alcohol cannot go
along with sports, that is very wrong. We are looking at ways to ensure such
problems do not recur. I will talk to the different sporting foundations and
arms, partners and departments to work with us to solve this. The sporting
fraternity and government do not tolerate such and I assure the House that the
problem will be fixed,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment