NORTH Malaita MP Jimmy Lusibaea says now is the time to forgive and let go of the past.
He was speaking in parliament this week on the motion Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare tabled to thank and farewell RAMSI.
Mr Lusibaea said forgiveness and letting go of the past can lead to true freedom to realise one’s full potential.
“I resolutely believe the only way to walk forward together as one people and one nation to our promised land, the only way to ensure our survival as a people and a nation, is to follow the pathway of reconciliation,” the Minister for Infrastructure Development said.
He said Solomon Islanders must seek peace and stability that can only come from reconciliation.
The former Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) commander also used the occasion to share his personal story as one of those RAMSI arrested when it first arrived here in July 2003.
“I was arrested by RAMSI on 16 October 2003 and imprisoned for six years until my release in 2009,” Mr Lusibaea said.
“The arrest and imprisonment that I suffered with great pain and humiliation has impacted me enormously,” he added.
“I toiled through it all for six years of the 14 year RAMSI was here.”
Mr Lusibaea said when he was arrested, the people of Solomon Islands, the region, and world, thought it was the end for him as an individual.
“But they did not realise that God had a plan for my life then.
“Today, my story as ‘Joseph the son of Jacob’ in the Bible seems to be manifested.
“I can stand tall this day to say that what I went through in my personal journey will become part of RAMSI’s short history in Solomon Islands.”
Despite his brush with RAMSI, Mr Lusibaea thanked the regional assistance mission for restoring peace and civil order in the country.
He also paid tribute to the six officers who died while serving under RAMSI here.