Justice for Sheena is Justice for Bougainville

OPEN LETTER TO

The new National Government Member for North Bougainville,

The Honourable Fransesca Semoso

Pangu Party, NCD

Papua New Guinea

8 November 2023

Dear Honorable Member Fransesca Semoso,

My daughter, Sheena Cook, is currently at serious risk in a “safe” house in Bougainville (now ARB).

This my urgent request to you for your intervention, at your earliest possible opportunity.

This is urgently needed to acheive JUSTICE FOR SHEENA, my daughter, and help ensure her safety.

But first please let me congratulate you on your heartening election as the first ever woman to be elected to represent any region of Bougainville, now ARB, in the National Parliament. Great work!

Let me also congratulate all those good, wise people of ARB who elected you.

Your extensive background in public communication (with the NBC), 8 years representing your electorates in the Regional ARB Government, your advocacy for women’s rights and obvious integrity, hard work ethic and your vision, just to name a few of your many good traits, make you an obvious choice as a leader.

In a recent interview you gave, you stated your priorites are to achieve more development for your region and to help ARB become ready for the ratification of the constitution to facilitate the region’s independence.

Clearly good, law-abiding citizens do not wish to live in an independent state where ALL their police force operates in the manner described in the 7th Operation Challenger Grievance Petition of 23 August 2023!

I am confident the vast majority of police in the ARB force are good, hardworking oficers who are NOT corrupt.

A minority, including, but not restricted to those named in the Operation Challenger Grievance Petition, signed by 11 community leaders, have brought

• shame to the entire Police Force,

• shame to ARB and on the international stage,

• and now shame to PNG.

Bad news travels fast, especially on Facebook!

ARB cannot hold its head up on the world stage and claim to be ready for ratification of its independence until the corrupt cops are rooted out of the system.

This will help prevent what has happened to my beloved daughter from ever being allowed to happen to anyone again.

May I give you, as a mother, a brief introduction to our family’s present nightmare? This introduction is presented in a recent interview with the ABC News.

I respectfully invite you to listen to this 5 minutes 33 second broadcast aired on 6 November 2023.

It is just a few parts of much longer interviews between our lawyer, Desmond Aigilo, me and Award-winning ABC Pacific Correspondent, Marian Faa.

So far I have not named and shamed the bad cops.

I am happy not to do so for as long as my daughter remains unharmed.

Sheena took up a life devoted to service in her motherland when she could have taken up Australian citizenship.

Should this be the way ARB rewards their loyal daughters? Obviously not!

How seriously will Sheena’s story deter future fathers from encouraging their daughters to join the police?

How will it effect current serving female officers?

Female officers will certainly be deterred from ever turning whistle blower on continued, severe sexual harrassment by senior police officers … so they may just give up their job, resign, rather than follow Sheena’s brave example.

Ms Semoso, with our full respects, we really need your active and urgent intervention to resolve this nightmare.

Sheena is at immediate risk from the bad cops.

Your immediate intervention will help ensure my daughter’s safety.

Your intervention will help set and demonstrate new ground rules for the police … or rather re-establish the old legitimate rules of conduct.

This will of course demonstrate to not just your consituents, but also to the rest of the world that you are serious about women’s rights.

You will of course, also be setting ARB on track to a more rational and safer route to Independence.

Your intervention at your earliest opportunity is respectfully requested, please!

As a father to a mother, I should love to hear back from you.

Thank you in anticipation of your valued assistance.

Respectfully yours,

David Cook

Proud to be Sheena’s dad

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL

IN THE FACE OF EVIL, WHEN GOOD WOMEN DO NOTHING, EVIL PROSPERS

TO LEAD IS TO SERVE … NOT DOMINATE BY FEAR

Originally posted on Dave Cook’s facebook, November 8th 2023