Fiji is the latest regional country to announce it is sending security forces to Solomon Islands where major unrest rocked the capital.

Days of rioting in Honiara by mobs who torched buildings and looted shops prompted the government to call for outside help.

In what’s shaping up as a Pacific regional response, Fiji yesterday deployed 50 soldiers to help keep the peace in Honiara, with 120 more troops on standby.

They follow last week’s deployment of more than 100 Australian defence force and police personnel, as well as 37 Papua New Guinea police and correctional service forces.

Canberra has been playing a co-ordinating role with the other Pacific nations. New Zealand is also part of the conversation, although its role appears minimal at this stage.

Signs from both Australia and PNG indicate that, provisionally, their forces are expected to be in Solomon Islands no longer than a month.

The Fiji military unit is deploying as part of a reinforcement platoon embedded with the Australian contingent in Honiara.

120 troops on standby
According to the Fiji government, another 120 Fijian troops are on standby if required.

Over three days last week, many buildings were torched in Honiara’s east, particularly its Chinatown area — leaving at least three people dead.

The unrest had spiralled from a protest against Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare last Wednesday.

By the weekend, law and order was largely restored in Honiara due to the reinforcement of local police capabilities due to the peacekeepers from Australia and Papua New Guinea.

On Monday, the Solomons Parliament met briefly — amid tight security — to pass two motions. One was for the routine extension of the State of Public Emergency in place since the start of the covid-19 pandemic.

The other was to authorise expenditure for the massive loss and damage caused by the riots — estimated at US$28 million.

Despite the resignation of four government MPs last week, and calls for him to stand down to restore control in the country, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare still commands a clear majority in the House.

‘Melting pot of the country’
The MP for Central Guadalcanal, Peter Shanel Agovaka, who is also Communications and Aviation Minister, said each time a group of people from outer provinces who were unhappy with the government, they tended to come to Honiara and destroy local business houses.

“I think people from other provinces should respect that as hosts of this capital we allow people of all provinces, and all denominations and all races, to come here.

“This is the melting pot of the country, and to see it in ruins like this is really very sad.”

According to Shanel, a lot of households had been affected.

“Eighty to 90 percent of Chinatown is burnt down. This is really sad, because these are innocent people,” he said.

“The way to remove a prime minister is through the parliamentary process. It’s not through the burning of businesses or private properties and looting them.”

Capital’s schools close
All schools in the Solomon Islands capital have been ordered to close early as a result of the widespread destruction caused by last week’s unrest in Honiara.

Education Secretary Dr Franco Rodie said the decision was reached after consultation with the heads of various schools and taking into consideration parents concerns for the safety of their children.

Dr Rodie said thankfully most major exit examinations had already been conducted and in class assessments will have to be taken into consideration for everyone else.

State of emergency
Forty-one out of 49 members of Parliament on Monday yesterday voted in favour of the four-month-extension, as proclaimed by the Governer-General, Sir David Vunagi.

Opposition leader Matthew Wale asked for clarification on the covid status of emergency personnel from Australia and Papua New Guinea brought in because of last week’s riots.

Health Minister Culwick Togamana said all foreign security personnel were double vaxxed and tested negative for covid-19 upon departure and again on arrival in the country.

Togamana also expressed disappointment in the poor uptake of vaccines with less than 20 percent of the population fully vaccinated.

Clean-up underway
The clean-up in Honiara is underway and church and community groups are turning up to clear the wreckage from last week’s rioting.

However, the riots have created a shortage of food and RNZ Pacific correspondent Elisabeth Osifelo said there had been long queues for the shops that were open, as well as for petrol and at ATMs while banks remain closed.

“The prices have sllightly gone up with rice and so it just depends on where the shop is,” she explained.

“I found out towards the eastern parts of Honiara because I think the shops are very limited that the prices have gone up and varying on different items as well.”

Solomon Islands police have confirmed the identity of the three bodies recovered from a building burnt in Chinatown during the violence — an adult and two children.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale has announced that he is filing a notice of a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare after three days of rioting has rocked the capital Honiara.

Wale said today he still did not have enough numbers for such a motion to pass, after only three resignations from Sogavare’s government so far.

The confirmed resignations are Member for West New Georgia/Vona Vona Silas Tausinga, Member for North Malaita Levi Senley Filualea, and  Member for Malaita Outer Islands Martin Kealoe.

At least 11 more MPs would need to resign for the motion to succeed.

However, Wale said he had sought a political solution to the current situation as the Prime Minister’s “lack of humility” had resulted in great loss and suffering for Solomon Islands, especially in the capital Honiara.

“No one in Honiara is spared the suffering and loss caused by the tragic events of these past few days,” he said in a statement.

“Now we have been informed there has been a tragic loss of lives.”

Leaders ‘must decide’
Wale said that without a political solution this tragic situation would remain, even with foreign forces supporting the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) to regain control and maintain order in Honiara.

“The leaders must make a decision, they cannot avoid it or postpone it. This is the moment for leaders to stand up, and not run away and hide,” Wale said.

“The level of anger in the public has reached levels worse than in 2006, and if leaders are deaf and insensitive to it, they will condemn us to more trouble.

“The anger is still here.”

Wale said he has reached out to as many MPs as he can to seek dialogue on ways forward.

He said he had decided that in the search for a political solution he had lodging the notice of the motion of no confidence so that MPs would have to decide which side they are on.

“This is a crucial motion as it calls on all Members of Parliament to do what is in the best interest of our country and people,” he said.

Plea for no more violence
Wale also called on protesters who had engaged in violence and looting to stop.

“Let us now allow the political process to resolve the situation in our search for a solution,” he said.

Wale called on the people of Solomon Islands to call on their MPs to resign from Prime Minister Sogavare’s government.

The opposition leader also expressed “great dismay” at the burning of the Prime Minister’s private residence at Lunga.

Wale said that even if people were angry with the Prime Minister, they must respect him and his family and their properties.

This level of violence not seen before was unacceptable.

Three dead bodies
Three dead bodies have been discovered in one of the burnt out buildings in Chinatown, but two have yet to be removed, SBM Online reported earlier.

The RSIPF Media Unit confirmed to SBMOnline today that the discovery was made yesterday and fire officers were called to assist clearing the building that allowed police to locate the dead bodies.

However, because of debris in the razed shop only one was removed, two others will be moved today.

Police said they were not able to identify the bodies.

Robert Iroga is editor of SBM Online. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Rioters described by Papua New Guinea police as “opportunists” taking advantage of the death of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare have looted shops and destroyed cars in three provinces – Morobe’s Lae, National Capital District (NCD) suburb Gordon and New Ireland’s Kavieng.

Shots were fired and people ran helter-skelter, scurrying for cover, as police were stretched to bring the looters under control on Monday.

Police Minister William Onglo sternly warned opportunists not to take advantage of the loss of PNG’s founding father to riot or cause public disorder.

“Rioters and looters will be dealt with in the strongest term possible,” he said.

“Rioting and looting will never be the way the Melanesians resort, please show respect and honour during mourning.”

Onglo said the PNG and Melanesian way was to take the loss of Sir Michael Somare on Friday to heart.

Lae’s metropolitan commander Chief Inspector Chris Kunyanban said a crowd had gathered at 2-Mile outside Lae with the intention of marching to the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.

Police confront crowd
“Police confronted the crowd at 2-Mile and told them they were not allowed to stage such a march,” he said.

“The crowd started pelting the policemen with whatever they could get their hands on.

“Several shots were fired from the crowd at the policemen and we had to fire tear gas into the crowd.

“The crowd was dispersed, however, another group started gathering at Bumayong and Bumbu.

“Both areas were contained by police.”

Across to Kavieng, the largest supermarket, Joe Tong, was raided by opportunists who waited for police to leave after an awareness programme on the public holiday.

A crowbar was used to open the doors and the rioters rushed in to loot the supermarket.

Raiders in and out
Station commander Chief Sergeant Gabriel N’Drihin said the raiders were in and out in seconds.

Policemen arrived when they had already left.

In Port Moresby’s Gordon, a shop was looted after it was alleged that the shop owner tried to open its doors and looting was also reported at 2-Mile.

Assistant Commissioner of Police NCD/Central command Anthony Wagambie Jr said citizens would have access to basic necessities throughout the mourning period.

“We will be out in full force to ensure people moved about peacefully,” he said.

Later in the afternoon, The National’s Lae reporter Jimmy Kabele reported several attacks on PMVs, private vehicles and stores in Lae.

Kalebe went to the area and said several roadblocks were set up by people and sticks and stones were strewn across the road.

The situation on the ground in Lae was tense and police were out on main roads to tell people to go home while vehicles were told to get off the roads for the day.

Chief Superintendent Kunyanban said some police vehicles were stoned.

Asia Pacific Report republishes The National articles with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Koroi Hawkins in Honiara

Police in Solomon Islands remain on high alert after Wednesday’s riots which broke out across the capital Honiara shortly after Manasseh Sogavare was announced the country’s prime minister.

So far 50 people have been taken into custody in connection with the unrest which saw opportunists taking advantage of the chaos to continue to loot and destroy public and private property up until the early hours of Thursday morning.

The police commissioner Matthew Varley said the situation was now under control and he is urging residents of Honiara to go about their daily lives.

LISTEN: The full Koroi Hawkins interview with Police Commissioner Matthew Varley

Varley said he was disappointed in the individuals who decided to take part in the lawlessness and reassured the wider Solomon Islands community that police will be working around the clock to protect them and to keep the peace.

“Anyone who comes out tonight and continues with this sort of behaviour I say is being opportunistic, looking to cause trouble, looking to loot and steal and to get into a fight,” Commissioner Varley said.

-Partners-

“And police are trying to send a message out through chiefs and leaders in communities today that we don’t want to see a repeat of what occurred last night but at the same time we are taking precautions to make sure police officers are highly visible and ready to respond to anymore issues that might arise.”

This article is published under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Matthew Varley updates media on election security operations. Image: Koroi Hawkins/RNZ Pacific

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Sally Pokiton in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s mayhem in the Southern Highlands capital of Mendi earlier this month caused destruction of 42,000 vaccine innoculations meant for children aged under 5.

The innoculations were ruined when the Air Niugini Dash 8 aircraft was set alight at Mendi airport.

A disgusted Emergency Controller of the Emergency Disaster Restoration Team, Dr Bill Hamblin, said the rampage also saw supplies stored in two warehouse in Mendi looted.

“Not only were supplies stolen up there and resold on the streets, but the plane that was destroyed was carrying vaccines for under 5-year-old children – 42,000 vaccines destroyed,” he said.

“Now we have no replacement for those in the country where UNICEF is trying to replace those at the moment.

“The people who do those sorts of acts don’t belong in our society, they belong behind bars,” Dr Hamblin said.

-Partners-

“I’ m looking forward to the arrest of those people and that they get to see the full force of the law.”

He thanked all development partners and countries in the region which supported the Emergency Disaster Restoration Team.

“We wholeheartedly thank them for the support they’ve put in, without them, the scale of disaster would have been much worse, people could have died needlessly,” Dr Hamblin added.

Sally Pokiton is a reporter for Loop PNG.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

A former Papua New Guinea military commander has warned that he is “concerned, if not frightened” that the PNG Defence Force may be deploying police and soldiers in the troubled Southern Highlands province facing a deadly weapon.

Ex-Brigadier-General Jerry Singirok , a former commander of the PNGDF who arrested mercenaries deployed by the Sir Julius Chan government for the Bougainville war in the so-called Sandline crisis in 1997, has made his views known in independent media.

In an item published by PNG Attitude and EMTV journalist Scott Waide’s blog, Singirok described Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government response to last week’s Mendi riots as a “premature state of emergency” and a “cheap, reckless and knee-jerk option”.

His comments have come at a time when the nation has been shocked by the display of high powered assault weapons by protesters since last week’s Mendi rioting.

It is clear that the government’s guns amnesty last year did little to encourage people to surrender their weapons, reports Loop PNG.

Defence Minister Solan Mirisim said that talks of weapons surrender or disposal would be part of discussions as leaders continued to discuss solutions to the Southern Highlands unrest.

-Partners-

Deadly weapon
Jerry Singirok wrote about his fears of how police and soldiers may be pitted against the MAG 58 Model 60-20 machine gun which he described as one of the most robust, deadly and effective weapons of its type ever manufactured.

The MAG 58 Model 60-20 machine gun … “robust, deadly and effective”. Image: My Land, My Country blog

He added:

“It is an air cooled, piston and gas operated weapon manufactured in the US and Belgium that uses a 7.62mm NATO belt-fed round and can effectively engage targets from 200-800 meters and – in open country – up a kilometre.

“In 1996, after trials, the PNG Defence Force under my command purchased them.

“Then, a few years ago, some went missing. I have recently seen photographs of them on social media.

“They have been installed on cabin-top trucks in the Southern Highlands province.

Ready for the fight
“I am very concerned, if not frightened, that the PNG government is deploying police and soldiers to the Southern Highlands who are likely to come face to face with the MAG 58.

“A premature state of emergency in the face of this combat power appears to be a cheap, reckless and a knee-jerk option by the government.

Machine guns mounted on a cabin-top truck in the Southern Highlands. Image: PNGAttitude

“In 1989, the then PNG government reacted to a security situation on Bougainville similar to Mendi today which brought PNG to its knees for ten years.

“A solid province was depleted of it minerals for that period and denied a generation of the blessings they would have brought.

“This seems to be yet another irresponsible decision along a similar path.

“How can the government sustain the PNGDF at a prolonged high level and intense military operation if it has not invested in air mobility and cannot buy the most basic uniforms, boots, field gear, ammunition, rations, fuel and so on.

“The country is stuck and doomed.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

Community leaders from the troubled Southern Highlands province have welcomed the Papua New government’s decision to declare a State of Emergency and plans to suspend the provincial government.

Speaking in Port Moresby, they urged political leaders to visit the province and talk to people, reports EMTV News.

They also apologised for the violence that has drawn concerns and criticisms by all levels of society.

In other developments yesterday:

• Prime Minister Peter O’Neill clarified that Cabinet did not have the power to suspend any provincial government, reports Loop PNG. He said this would be a parliamentary decision.
• Provincial police commander Chief Superintendent Joseph Tondop has urged all political leaders from Southern Highlands province to return home and unite with their people to apologise to Air Niugini, the judiciary and the country.
• Acting Public Solicitor Lesley Mamu said the rioting was a “wakeup call” for those in the law sector to assess the effectiveness of the procedures, approaches, and systems they were using.
• Writing in PNG Blogs, Opposition Leader Don Polye said he condemned the destruction of state property but the solution to the situation in Mendi or elsewhere was not through “emotions and blaming each other”.

Angry march
Following reports of the suspension of the Southern Highlands government, angry supporters aggressively showed their disapproval by marching through Nipa with weapons and placards, demanding that the prime minister lift it, reports Loop PNG.

But it seems there has been a misunderstanding as Prime Minister O’Neill said the National Executive Committee (NEC) did not have that power.

He said newspaper reports were “pre-emptive”, meaning they were anticipating the move to suspend the Southern Highlands provincial government.

Chief Superintendent Joseph Tondop said it was time to apologise to the country as leaders of the province joined hands with their people in remorse. This would also provide a venue for reconciliation, reports the PNG Post-Courier.

Tondop said the public apology was due for the burning of Air Niugini Dash 8 aircraft, the courthouse and the governor’s residence last Thursday.

Meanwhile, security operations for the Southern Highlands State of Emergency started yesterday.

Soldiers and police personnel started patrols along road links into Mendi and the National Highway as well as providing security for government assets.

Mendi town quiet
Mendi town was unusually quiet as most shops and the Bank South Pacific remained closed.

Chief Supt Tondop visited the hospital and assured staff that they were safe, urging them to continue to provide services.

Acting Public Solicitor Lesley Mamu said: “It calls for us to sit together and gather our minds to start looking at improving the systems so that we find a way out this scenario and bring back rule of law to its position; currently rule of law is trampled upon and tarnished and it’s a concern.”

Mamu said the upcoming Law and Justice Summit in Lae, Morobe Province, next month would provide an opportune platform to address this concern, reports the PNG Post-Courier.

“It will bring together all the law offices and all the participants in the justice administration of this country to try to find a way forward in fighting crime and crime prevention,” he said.

Rioting ‘tainted PNG image’
The rule of law which was a concept embraced in “civilised and orderly societies” such as PNG also requires respecting agencies that were established by the laws of this country, Mamu said.

The rioting had tainted the nation’s image, he added.

Opposition Leader Don Polye said the solution was to “analyse and dig out the root cause of such unprecedented insanity in Mendi”.

“The need to root out the main cause of such a chaotic situation must be the National cry,” he wrote in PNG Blogs.

“Applying the security forces against the civilians is not a panacea. Deploying security to appease volatility is good but only a temporary and band aid solution.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

Papua New Guinea’s Opposition has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill over this week’s rioting in the Southern Highlands capital of Mendi.

Opposition Leader Patrick Pruaitch, flanked by fellow members, made the call yesterday following the torching of an aircraft, and the burning of the Mendi courthouse and other buildings, reports EMTV News.

The Opposition claimed that what happened in the previous 24 hours in O’Neill’s home province was a demonstration of lack of confidence in the government under Prime Minister O’Neill’s leadership.

RNZ Pacific reports that frustration over alleged corruption sparked the unrest in Mendi with reporter Melvin Levongo saying police were outnumbered and unable to stop a mob armed with high-powered weapons destroying an Air Niugini Dash-8 aircraft at the provincial airport.

After this, the protesters burned down the governor’s residence, the local courthouse and other buildings.

Police said Thursday’s National Court ruling upholding Governor William Powi’s 2017 election had sparked the rampage.

The election result had been challenged by losing candidates Joseph Kobol and Bernard Peter Kaku.

Loop PNG reports that security is being strengthened for doctors working in Mendi.

The president of the National Doctors Association, Dr James Naipao, said the doctors were near or in the Mendi hospital.

“If the civil unrest gets out of hand, they will be evacuated,” he said.

Authorities said 200 PNG Defence Force troops would be deployed to Mendi.

The soldiers had already flown to Mount Hagen and were on their way to Mendi.

PNGDF chief-of-staff Philip Polewara said the situation was tense. Other reinforcements had been sent from Tari to guard the hospital, police station and state property.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz