Solomon Islands Prime Minister Snyder Rini denied yesterday that his election was influenced by back-room bribes bankrolled by Taiwan or China.
Rumors that Taiwan or China helped fund bribes that secured Rini the prime minister's job last week in a secret ballot of the troubled South Pacific nation's 50 lawmakers have abounded in the capital, Honiara, and have been blamed in part for a rampage by looters and rioters in the city's Chinatown.
But in an interview, Rini challenged his opponents to take such claims to the police.
PHOTO: AP
"That's what they may think. That's why I say to them, `If you have evidence bring it up to the police.' We have a law to deal with all this," he said. "But it's just hot air in the street and [has] no base," he said.
Rini also said that his new administration -- a coalition of lawmakers cobbled together following April 5 parliamentary elections -- would maintain its diplomatic links with Taiwan, despite overtures last year from China to switch sides.
Taiwan pushes its claim for sovereignty by seeking diplomatic links with countries. The Solomons is one of only 25 countries that have formal links with Taiwan. In return, it receives millions of dollars in aid each year from Taipei.
Rini said that Taiwan had come to the Solomons' assistance during the worst period of its communal strife, providing cash to pay compensation to people who had lost their homes and land during an insurgency that peaked with a coup in 2000.
"That's why we treasure our relationship very much. It's more than just a political relationship, it really goes deeper -- into our hearts," he said.
"We are committed to this relationship with Taiwan," Rini said, "as without Taiwan this country would no longer be a country."
He said China had made an approach to the previous government last year, but "we just say to them we are with Taiwan. That was the end of the connection."
Rini also insisted that Taiwanese aid money was being properly spent, not squandered by senior lawmakers.
"All the Taiwanese assistance is in the aid and development budget," he said.
"Nothing comes to the prime minister's office. Even that last prime minister -- he didn't have that bag of money," he said.
Meanwhile, a leading opposition lawmaker was refused bail yesterday on charges of inciting last week's riots. His allies also boycotted a sitting of parliament a day ahead of a crucial confidence vote today.
Charles Dausabea, a senior member of the opposition alliance, was remanded in custody for two weeks after appearing in Honiara Magistrates' Court on charges of inciting a riot, threatening violence and intimidation.
The court was told Dausabea, 46, incited an angry crowd outside parliament on Tuesday last week when Rini was elected prime minister, telling a waiting crowd of 200 people: "We lost, you people go do what you like now."
The crowd started throwing rocks and five vehicles belonging to government and security forces were smashed and burned.
After the demonstration outside parliament, crowds set on the capital's Chinatown district, leaving more than 50 buildings in ruins after a burning and looting rampage.
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
‘NO INTEGRITY’: The chief judge expressed concern over how the sentence would be perceived given that military detention is believed to be easier than civilian prison A military court yesterday sentenced a New Zealand soldier to two years’ detention for attempting to spy for a foreign power. The soldier, whose name has been suppressed, admitted to attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and knowingly possessing an objectionable publication. He was ordered into military detention at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch and would be dismissed from the New Zealand Defence Force at the end of his sentence. His admission and its acceptance by the court marked the first spying conviction in New Zealand’s history. The soldier would be paid at half his previous rate until his dismissal
RSS