The year of 2021 is special to Solomon Islands people. While countries in the world are fighting together against COVID-19 pandemic, riots and looting overtook Honiara and razed Chinatown to the ground, as well as other business districts. When we enjoyed family reunions and friends gatherings during Christmas a few days ago, let us also…
Speech by Ambassador Li Ming During a handing over ceremony The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China strongly condemns the recent riot in Honiara, which left Chinatown and other areas in ruins, resulting in huge property loss and social panic. Hundreds of Chinese families, including kids and women were homeless and displaced in distress.…
Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:7 NIV) The Bible says that money is the root of all kinds of evil, right? WRONG. What the Bible says is: the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10 NIV). It is…
ON the afternoon of November 25th 2021, I decided to contact a senior Malaita Government Minister to suggest a pathway that would ensure a smooth transfer of power that would allow the Prime Minister to step down without losing face, and be seen to succumb to the pressures from the looters. I knew that the…
Who owns the foreshore? This is a very big and “hot” topic and I’ll attempt in this article to summarise it as much as possible. It’s a vexed question and even the High Court has made different conclusions, that land covered by water, below highwater mark (what we would call “the sea”) is either vested…
The words of wisdom from the drafter of the Independence Order 1978, which turned this nation into a unified Solomon Islands with decentralized provincial governance powers in a master-servant relationship of shared rule, still linger in my ears to this day. The learned professor from Kenya who was also instrumental in brokering the independence package…
Thank you again for your response for assistance for the sake of peace and normalcy in Solomon Islands. After two days and two nights of destruction and looting of offices and Asian business men by disgruntled demonstrators and criminal elements still in Honiara who have been living in a poverty ridden society since year 2000.…
Last week there occurred wide scale violence in Honiara resulting in arson, looting, damage to properties and loss of homes and possessions, particularly amongst the Chinese residents of the city, mainly shop keepers and business owners. I have only read reports of the destruction and viewed online videos of the public disorder and resultant damage,…
Summary of SP position As a commercially operated SOE with established governance and financial procedures, SP’s legal position on the matter has not changed to date. While SP respects Guadalcanal land and culture, SP’s position is that it had legally bought the land from the registered owner. It has since registered the land, fenced the…
By Graeme Dobell The Strategist Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI’s) first big policy impact was arguing that Australia must intervene to save Solomon Islands. The institute’s 2003 description of Solomon Islands as ‘a failing state’ was one element in the Howard government’s policy somersault. The key factor in the U-turn was a cry for…