Manner of Speaking
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:15 pm Post subject: Australia Sends Troops to Solomons:ABC |
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MORE AUST TROOPS FOR SOLOMONS
19.4.2006. 12:52:55
Australia is sending additional troops to the Solomon Islands, which have been hit by rioting over a disputed election result, with at least 17 Australian police and two New Zealanders injured as they tried to quell the violence.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced that another 110 soldiers will arrive in the Solomons on Wednesday night on four air force transport plances, and will be followed by 70 police officers. Mr Howard said the commitment follows a written request from the Solomon Islands government.
The Solomon Islands' capital of Honiara has been gripped by riots following the appointment of the South Pacific nation's new prime minister, Snyder Rini. Angry mobs torched businesses in the capital's Chinese district.
"When they were chanting in front of the parliament when they were not satisfied with the result of the vote for prime ministership, they were yelling out that this government, that Snyder's going to lead is a Chinese-influenced government and as a result they've gone round town targetting Chinese shops and Asian-owned businesses," said ABC Radio Australia reporter Dorothy Wickham.
Protesters accuse Chinese businessmen of bribing members of the government and backing Tuesday's election of Mr Rini. It was the worst unrest in the capital since Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific governments intervened in 2003 to end years of bloody ethnic gang wars.
Rival supporters clash
Australian peacekeeping police serving in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) used tear gas to block rock-throwing protesters from storming the islands' parliament after it chose a new prime minister. About 500 supporters of rival candidate, Job Dudley Tausinga, took to the streets of the capital Honiara, claiming the election was fixed and votes bought.
The 50 MPs who took part in the vote for prime minister were kept in the parliament buildings for safety reasons for more than four hours after the ballot. Nine Australian police cars were torched and others damaged while the parliament was besieged and MPs trapped inside for hours.
Police blamed
A key Solomon Islands MP claims the police aggravated the civil unrest. The Speaker of the Solomon Islands Parliament, Sir Peter Kenilorea, said the officers ignored his instructions and acted hastily when using tear gas on the protesters. "I specifically spoke to the RAMSI police officers not to take hasty actions, as they did," he told ABC radio.
"They should (have) allowed time for us to keep talking to the protesters at the parliament house and not to use tear gas on them, because it would simply aggravate the situation and it would simply take the parliament situation, or scene, out to the streets. In my view it was just misjudgment of the action of the officers concerned."
Downer defends police actions
Mr Downer rejected reports that Australian officers did little to stop the violence. "The priority is given to the Royal Solomon Islands Police. They are, if you like, the first line of defence, the first line of action, and if they can't handle the situation then the international force dominated by Australians will come in and help," he said.
The Australian Federal Police currently has 282 officers in the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands.
SOURCE: AAP/BNA/NZPA |
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