Aust troops to quell Solomons riots

Aust troops to quell Solomons riots

Australia is sending 110 soldiers to the Solomon Islands after a night of rioting and looting in the capital, Honiara.
An extra 66 Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers, equipped with riot gear, are also heading to the region.Prime Minister John Howard says the troops will arrive in the Solomons tonight.

"Starting at about 2.30pm this afternoon from Townsville, 110 soldiers of a unit that has been in readiness for just this eventuality will go to the Solomon Islands," Mr Howard said.

"They will be joined by ... additional Australian Federal Police officers and that will represent an immediate and needed injection of additional security forces to the Solomon Islands."

Mr Howard says the commitment follows a written request from the Solomon Islands Government.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has backed the extra measures.

"The job these people are doing is immensely important and it must be supported and seen through successfully," he said.

The swearing-in yesterday of the new Solomons Prime Minister, Snyder Rini, sparked widespread riots and looting in the capital.

The protesters say Mr Rini's coalition Government is funded and influenced by the owner of the Honiara Hotel, Sir Thomas Chan, a naturalised citizen of Chinese origin.

Mr Rini has issued a statement denying that his Government is heavily influenced by Chinese businessmen and accusations that he bought the votes of MPs before the election ballot.

Chinese interests targeted

Honiara residents have been asked to stay indoors as the looters target shops and businesses in Chinatown.

Fred Olsson, an Australian education and health adviser in Honiara, lives in a flat above a

Chinese-owned business in the centre of town with three other expatriates.

He says they were aware that ethnic tension in Honiara would make the shop below them a target for looters.

"We could sense that danger and we said, 'Oh please not us'," he said.

"We didn't even think that Chinatown would go up or the restaurants close by, but it became very apparent and our staff and security said, 'Well look, the position is anything Chinese has to go'."

Seventeen Australian police serving in the country as part of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission (RAMSI) have been injured in the violence.

Two of the officers need surgery and will be evacuated to Australia for medical treatment.

Labor's Bob Sercombe says Australia's thoughts are with the officers.

"We all extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery," Mr Sercombe said.

RAMSI began in 2003 after the country plunged into ethnic violence.

It will be the second deployment to Honiara in 18 months for Townsville troops.

They were called in two days before Christmas in 2004 when an Australian policeman was killed in civil unrest.
Curfew
The commissioner of the Solomon Islands Royal Police, Australian Shane Castles, has met the Solomons Governor-General for talks about the unrest.

Commissioner Castles has suggested that the Government invoke a declaration under the Preservation of Public Security Act to help lock-down the capital Honiara.

"That will see a potential curfew come into play at 6pm this evening that will be effective until 6am tomorrow morning," he said.
"There's other other strategies also being developed to lock down the city and allow us to restore law and order"