OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands

[deccan]

*Ahem* Just to get things a little bit back on topic.

Continuing my story...

While being held under house arrest, the Prime Minister Ulufalu was forced to resign under duress. After the TPA was signed, there was some doubt as to the legality of the resignation, but the S.I. Parliament eventually decided to name a new P.M., Sogavaere and organize new elections. This happened in 2002, and the Sogavaere government was kicked out and Allen Kamekeza was named P.M., continuing till today.

In practice, both Sogavaere and Kemakeza followed the same policy towards the militants. Where Ulufalu held firm and refused to bow to their demands, the policy of the Sogavaere and Kemakeza governments was one of appeasement. Basically, whatever the guys with guns asked for, the government gave it to them.

For example, following the TPA, the government decided to compensate the displaced Malaitans with money which the Ozzie and NZ governments rather stupidly lent to the S.I. government. Naturally, the families of the cabinet members and senior members of the supposedly defunct MEF got first priority.

Many former MEF members were also recruited into a sort of semi-legal paramilitary group called the "Special Constables" (SC). They were also offered sums of money in return for giving up their guns. They took advantage of the offer by giving up only the oldest and broken down guns, but held on to the big, bad, automatic weapons. Their excuse: Harold Keke is still somewhere out there in the jungle. Disarm him first, and then we'll disarm. All the while, the "Special Constables" (SC) make all sorts of spurious claims ("danger allowance", 'family allowance" etc.) and the government keeps paying them off. After all, it's all someone else's money.

Naturally, the government's finances are a big mess, and the wages of ordinary government employees keep being delayed for longer and longer periods of time. A couple of weeks ago, one of the judges of S.I., a pretty good guy I might add, courageously announced in the newspapers, that with the constant delays in his wage payments and the very low level of his wages, he was in real and serious danger of being bribed, and he warned of the consequences to the country should this continue. Of course, the P.M. makes sure that the wages of the SC are *never* late.

In the meantime, Harold Keke is making a nuisance of himself to the Gualais, his very own people. He doesn't dare show his face in Honiara, where the Malaitans will gun him down on sight, but out in the bush, he's king, happily raping, robbing and murdering and no one to stop him. His people supported him at first, because they thought he'd stand up for them against the Malaitans, but it turns out he's not so good against Malaitans and they hate him with a vengeance.

Pretty much the same thing in the Western Province (WP). The BRA came and then refused to leave, terrorizing the towns and villages all over the western side of S.I. The BRA thing is now under control though, which is a credit to the WP people, but that certainly isn't the doing of anyone in the federal government.

Right now, it's every man for himself in the government departments. Each Government department wants fees paid to them directly and not the Ministry of Finance. You get the idea. The idea that the government should compensate the people for any losses whatsoever that they have suffered, no matter how spurious, has filtered down to the general Malaitan populace as well, so that the Ministry of Finance building is in a constant state of siege.

The more obviously corrupt the Government becomes, the less relevant it becomes to the people of S.I. Currently, the Government has very little influence outside of the capital.

And that's about all I can say about the state of the country right now. I could go on, but then I'll have to name specific people and practices, and I could get into trouble for that.