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The re-arming of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s guards is threatening to break up the Solomon Islands—as the fragility of the country is once more exposed.
Statements of cessation are emerging again as the rich Western Province threatens to break-away if the plan to re-arm the PM’s Close Protection Unit goes ahead.
Western Premier Alex Lokopio said his province would seek independence from the rest of the country if the government refuses to listen to the public’s demand to withdraw the proposal.
“If the government goes ahead with this plan, we have no option but to consider the process of independence for Western Province.
“Our government should not see us as a threat to its security when we contribute so much to our economy.
“Is our contribution to this economy rewarded with a government aiming to protect itself with guns? Is this the bottoms up approach in action?” he asked.
He said many Westerners had suffered in the hands of ex-militants and would not want to see that happen again.
The ethnic unrest which resulted in a pitted battle between ex-Malaitan and Guadalcanal militants drew the Western Province into the conflict after some Malaitans were displaced from the West.
Malaitans retaliated and attacked certain Westerners and their interests in Honiara.
Such memories are still fresh in Lokopio’s mind who demanded that the government withdraws the proposal.
Prime Minister Sogavare took the strange step by withdrawing RAMSI police personnel who were providing security for him in December and pushed for his own local officers to do so instead.
Sogavare eventually sent 12 of his officers to Taiwan to undergo arms training but were subsequently put off after Australia allegedly intervened through the Taiwan Office in Canberra.
Australia argued that it was too early to arm Solomon Islands police officers. The Solomon Islands police officers lost their reputation after rogue elements in the force colluded with ex-Malaitan militants to oust the country’s government under Bartholomew Ulufa’alu (2000) in a coup in Honiara.
One of the country’s peaceful provinces, Isabel, is supporting the Western Province.
Isabel Premier, Ruben Dotho said his province stands strongly at a crossroad of peace and harmony for the peaceful co-existence of the nation, therefore the point of rearming is of serious concern.
“Isabel province is gravely concerned about the idea of rearming our local police force because the issue of arms in the society and communities have always been an on-going concern towards peace in the Solomon Islands,” he said.
The provinces and non government organisations were further angered after a motion moved by Opposition Leader, Fred Fono for the parliament to vote against the rearmament was defeated in the chambers.
Prime Minister Sogavare said not a single group of concerned people had met with him to discuss the issue.
He said the re-armament was purely for a small group of disciplined force, who during the tension had not taken sides.
Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions (SICTU) agreed for its members to go on strike if the policy is implemented.
SICTU general secretary Tony Kagovai said his 40,000 members oppose the policy because guns had already ruined the country.
The Solomon Islands National Council of Women had also taken the same stand.
President Hilda Kari said they opposed the re-armament because during the crisis, women and children were the most affected.
Premier Lokopio said Western Province did not support guns back in the communities.
“We have given RAMSI the mandate to ensure there is absolutely no more guns in our provinces and country.
“Is rearmament a prerequisite for national reconciliation? Or does this mean the roll on effect of encouraging all national leaders to have armed personnel around them?
“We do not want to go back to the days of our near neighbour being drawn into the security of our province,” the premier said.
Prime Minister Sogavare had hinted in parliament that he will further discuss the matter with those concerned.
One political pundit believes the argument of re-armament would just be a trigger to further call for political independence by certain leaders.
Already, most of the provinces have expressed their desire to split from the rest of the country. — By Robert Iroga
Aid fosters corruption: think tank
An Australian think tank says there is a crisis of confidence in the aid Australia gives to the South Pacific, with growing evidence that aid fosters corruption. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute said planners and deliverers are deeply affected by this crisis of confidence. The author of the paper, Roland Rich, said Australia should use the taxation system to motivate private sector investment in the South Pacific by giving companies a 150 percent tax deduction for work in the region. Rich, a former diplomat, said Australian aid was not lifting standards of governance so it was time to take a new approach using private companies. “What we are seeing in a lot of these countries is a completely skewed sort of economy, very much in the public sector hands,” he said. “What we need to focus on are ways of strengthening the private sectors of these countries, and letting them play the role they must play in a successful society.” Rich said the 150 percent tax deduction must carry conditions so it attracts big Australian companies to the South Pacific, not Australian conmen.
HIV report damning for PNG
A new report on HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea predicts that a million people will die of the disease if the government does not tackle the problem head on. The report by the Australian think-tank, the Centre for Independent Studies, suggests the epidemic would affect a quarter of the population by 2020 but said the problem was not due to lack of aid.
The report’s author, research fellow Miranda Tobias, said there was enough money coming into the country to fight AIDS. But the lack of infrastructure means the money was not going where it is needed.
Instead, Tobias said the rapid rise of those infected is due to PNG’s low baseline of general health with a population debilitated by a variety of diseases. She said the low status of women is another factor and she believes it is up to the government to show political leadership in combatting the disease.
Samoas plan to tackle drug trafficking
The two Samoas have joined forces to tackle drug trafficking between the two countries. American Samoa’s Commissioner of Public Safety, Savali Sotoa Savali and his Samoan counterpart, Police Commissioner Papalii Lorenese Neru, recently outlined a general plan to tackle drug trafficking. A Radio New Zealand International report said more detailed discussions would be held.
Funafuti gets power
Frequent power breakdowns will become a thing of the past on Funafuti, the main island of Tuvalu, thanks to Japanese aid. Japan’s ambassador to Tuvalu, Masashi Namekawa, commissioned a new electric power supply system which was upgraded at a cost of US$7.5 million.
Wallis gets $50m
French aid for Wallis and Futuna has been earmarked at close to US$50 million for the 2007-2011 period. The financial package called “development contract” was to have been signed late last month between the French minister for overseas territories, François Baroin, and the Pacific territory’s political authorities, French High Commission officials said. According to Oceania Flash the new package is said to be largest ever and focussed on infrastructure projects that had been long overdue. These include the upgrading of Futuna’s airport and airstrip (about US$8.5 million) and the construction of a multi-purpose sports hall. Education and health remains another priority, with a US$8.5 million package to restructure the whole health and hospital system. Another US$10 million was allocated to social and community-targeted actions, including vocational training. In France’s two other Pacific dependencies, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, the yearly French direct assistance package was estimated to average US$2 billion respectively.
French territories change of status
The French parliament has approved changes to the status of its French overseas possessions. The change means the overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna and the overseas country of French Polynesia are now being classified as overseas communities. The realignment has also seen the atoll of Clipperton being excised from French Polynesia and added to the so-called Austral and Antarctic lands. The changes won’t affect the various forms of self-rule approved by Paris, which four years ago opted for a process of decentralisation.
Pacific interests can’t be compromised
Fiji’s Interim Prime Minister says the Pacific nations “interests” cannot be compromised by the wishes of Australia and New Zealand. Commodore Bainimarama comments came following remarks made by the two countries on the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Report which was leaked last month. The report will be tabled at this month’s Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers meeting. “We decided to engage with an open mind with the Forum Eminent Persons Group on the basis of mutual understanding and respect,” he said.
“However, this basis should not be used by Australia and New Zealand and others to push for and impose their own respective interest on Fiji, and thereby undermining my government’s roadmap for the return to parliamentary democracy as early as 2010.” Commodore Bainimarama also lashed out at the two Pacific neighbours for speaking out against Fiji when the EPG report was yet to be tabled at the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers meeting. He reiterated that Fiji was prepared to engage with countries and bodies based primarily on virtues of mutual respect and trust.
Charges dropped
Charges against an Australian man alleged to have plotted the assassination of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare have been dropped. In January, 61-year-old Australian expatriate Bill Johnson was charged with conspiring with four others to murder Sogavare. Director of Public Prosecutions Ronald Talasasa told the Magistrate’s Court the charges were being dismissed as evidence given by two of the investigating officers at the time of the arrest did not match the statements they later made in court.
Hunting for ocean wealth
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) says Pacific countries are making solid progress in their bid to extend their maritime boundaries. A number of Pacific states agreed to join efforts in a bid to secure potential greater ocean wealth that may include gold, silver, oil and gas after a three-day consultation with SOPAC in Brisbane late last month. The consultation examined SOPAC’s assessments which have identified strong grounds for some countries to extend their sovereignty over their continental shelves. Manager for SOPAC’s Ocean and Islands programme Mary Power said PNG, Solomons, Fiji, Tonga, Palau, Kiribati and FSM are making progress towards meeting a United Nations deadline.
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