SIR PETER KENILOREA INTERVIEW - Wednesday 19th April, 2006
GEORGE NEGUS: Sir Peter, under the circumstances, thank you
very much
for your time. I have just taken a report off the wire services which
suggested - it was about an hour ago - that a 2,000-strong mob have
marched on Government House in the Solomon Islands and threatened to
"tear up the capital" unless the new Prime Minister, Snyder Rini,
stepped down within an hour. Is that an exaggerated report or is that
actually happening as we speak?
SIR PETER KENILOREA, SPEAKER, SOLOMON ISLANDS PARLIAMENT:
Well, I've
seen maybe part of them passing through my residence - not through my
residence but a road that passes through my residence. I do not know
quite how many they were, but they were marching through the street
towards the Government House, but I understand they have never actually
GEORGE NEGUS: It does sound, though, that Honiara is in more
dire
straits today than it was yesterday, the commercial district closed
down, etc. Has the situation deteriorated?
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Yeah, I think that would be correct. A
lot more
houses have been burnt down. About 5 o'clock, also, this afternoon,
another hotel has been burned down again and the looting continues, I'm
afraid, and the arson work - another important residence by one of our
local business Asian gentleman has also gone down.
GEORGE NEGUS: Yeah, from this distance it sounds like anarchy,
to be
honest.
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Well, I suppose in terms of numbers, they
could
have outnumbered our law enforcement officers here at this point in
time and I'm very pleased that I've heard over the radio that there are
reinforcements coming from Australia this evening some time.
GEORGE NEGUS: That's right. I think they are probably in the
air as we
speak, about 100-odd troops from Townsville, so you believe that they
are seriously needed?
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Very much so, in my view at this time,
just to
bring back the law and order situation. Also, at 6 o'clock today, his
Excellency the Governor-General has proclaimed that the police have
given the right for a curfew, a 12-hour curfew from 6pm to 6am over
Honiara streets, so I'm sure that we will help our reinforcement
efforts - I mean law enforcement efforts.
GEORGE NEGUS: Sir Peter why is this happening? If you could
give us a
potted version at least, of the explanation. Why has this occurred? We
hear it's because people are totally dissatisfied with the idea of Rini
becoming the new prime minister, but what's the politics behind this?
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Yes, I think - it's not so much the
person of
Rini, in my view. I think it's the same regime - that the country has
been with over the past four years is back again, and I suppose they
wanted a change. There has been so many public comments about the old
regime - it seems to be associated with corruption, although there have
not been any proven cases of those kinds of public comments.
GEORGE NEGUS: What about the suggestion that, as somebody
described it,
these were racially inspired riots because the Association of
Independent Members, of which he is a member and the previous prime
minister, are backed by Chinese money. Any truth in that?
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Right, yeah. Right. I suppose that some
racial
connotations can be given to it but it is very much directed at our
Chinese business friends here who, as you said, the public believes
they were behind the victory of Rini because of money - they paid
people to vote for this particular person for a leadership.
GEORGE NEGUS: So we're talking about political corruption at
the root
of this?
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Right, that is the belief of the public,
they were
saying. It is Chinese money that brought you into that position and
they seem to see that the kind of corruption they were concerned about
for the past four years or so will continue.
GEORGE NEGUS: Sir Peter, thank you very much for your time.
Unfortunately we have to leave it there but we will stay in touch.
SIR PETER KENILOREA: Thank you very much indeed.