As the pro-Chinese emphatically exclaimed “Its China”, Island Sun headline last Tuesday said it all; “September 16 – A sad day”. Yes, I agree, it’s a sad day indeed. A relationship that we worked hard together to develop over nearly four decades had abruptly disappeared, taken away by a government that…
TESS NEWTON CAIN* Civil society voices concern about West Papua CIVIL society groups are voicing their concerns about the situation in West Papua. Across the region, there have been numerous displays of support for self-determination for West Papuans and calls for action to protect human rights. This comes as the Indonesian authorities have deployed…
FIRST, if you think you would find justice in China, sorry; their justice system is nothing but a big bluff rubber stamp of the Communist Party of China(CPC). An article by one Vincent Gale on Solomon Times about the protests going on in Hong Kong more than meets the eye. It is only a tip…
Why is Transparency Solomon Islands so concerned about good governance, focusing its advocacy activities on [1] civic awareness, [2] active citizenship/citizens, [3] fight against and rolling back corruption, [4] people engagement, [5] democracy, [6] empowering citizens with information on their relationships and linkages to the three arms of the government, [7] supporting people’s activism, [8]…
As we celebrate to Easter Vigil, we are entering the most crucial and mysterious period of time. On the part of the disciples and those who were close to Jesus, it was a time of confusion, a time of loneliness, doubts, and uncertainties. But more than this, it is a time of darkness and death.…
THE Chief Electoral Officer, Mose Saitala, announced on Tuesday’s paper that the Governor General will make the Proclamation/Announcement of the date of election on the 5th of February 2019. There is now a flurry of activities and a buzz in the voters of this country, political parties intending to contest the elections, supporters, and oppositions…
TRANSPARENCY Solomon Islands is deeply concerned that the Traditional Governance and Customs Facilitation Bill 2018 is currently in its second reading before the Parliament. When the Traditional Governance and Customs Facilitation Bill wasfirst introduced a few months ago, there was ahuge outcry from the public opposing this Bill and the shallow policy or no policy…
OVER the last two years, I have had the pleasure of meeting many Solomon Islanders during my travels outside Honiara. Approximately 80 per cent of Solomon Islanders live in rural areas, making Solomon Islands a “country of villages”. I am always impressed by the resilience of these villages. Many people in Solomon Islands, particularly those…
MANY Solomon Islanders and even the court have been led by hired QC lawyers of APID to believe that APID mining lease of West Rennell has merit; but where did that merit comes from? If the merit of APID mining lease comes from some politicians in the Government Executive that manipulate the administrative system to…
BROADCASTING can touch the heart, inspire the mind and set ideas into action, but in the Pacific it is struggling. It has been four years since the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC’s) respected voice in the region was almost silenced by budget cuts. Now China is using former ABC radio frequencies and the Australian government is…