Solomon Islands: Angry riots set buildings on fire in Solomon Islands capital.
Honiara, Solomon Islands:
The furious riots that set buildings on fire in the Solomon Islands capital on Thursday were the latest outbreak in two decades of tension in the Pacific nation that has often plagued Chinese businesses.
The recipe for the crisis is a complex interweaving of youth unemployment, anger over anti-coronavirus controls, historic island disputes and intense disputes over whether the Solomon Islands should transfer diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.
Here are the key facts to help explain the facts:
‘Stresses’
The Solomon Islands have struggled with inter-island tensions and political violence since gaining independence from Britain in 1978.
The roots of the latest crisis are traced back to a period of civil unrest between 1998 and 2003 known as the “Stress”.
Residents of the main island of Guadalcanal protested against the influence of settlers from other islands, especially Malaita, the most populous province.
Guadalcanal fighters launched attacks on settlers in 1998, giving way to five years of tit-for-tat sectarian unrest that brought the country to its knees.
Peace was finally restored in 2003 by the Regional Support Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) consisting of troops and police from Australia, New Zealand and 15 Pacific nations.
RAMSI maintained a presence until 2017 but even after their departure stresses have never been below the surface.
2006 Chinatown riots
Riots broke out in April 2006 after Snyder Rini was elected prime minister by lawmakers. Dozens of Chinese-owned businesses were looted and burned in the capital, Honiara.
Local resentment has grown at the domination of foreign business figures – mainly Chinese from Taiwan, China, Malaysia and the Philippines – as well as anger over corruption, injustice, and discontent. equality and exploitation of resources.
Chinese businesses have been targeted in part because of allegations that they and Taiwan – which has diplomatic relations with Honiara – helped Rini finance to bribe lawmakers backing the prime ministerial vote. .
China had to send planes to evacuate its citizens. Australia and New Zealand have sent peacekeepers to quell the unrest.
Diplomatic transformation and riots in 2019
In 2019, the historic rivalry between Guadalcanal and Malaita converged with international geopolitics when veteran politician Manasseh Sogavare was elected prime minister, sparking another wave of violent protests.
One of the cornerstones of Sogavare’s campaign was to convert diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, which he did five months later.
Taiwan and China have for years been engaged in a diplomatic tug-of-war in the developing world, with economic support and other aid often used as bargaining chips for recognition. diplomatically.
Sogavare’s transformation has paved the way for the opening of huge amounts of Chinese investment, but it is not yet unanimous, especially in Malaita, where people benefit from aid projects. of Taiwan and maintain deep links with Taipei.
Plans for a Chinese state-owned company to lease an entire island – announced just days after the diplomatic transition – were soon abandoned as it was unpopular.
Responding to a new crisis
The political violence that erupted this week was a continuation of all of the above.
Writing in the Solomon Times, Transform Aqorau describes it as “the culmination of several overlooked hotspots”, citing the China-Taiwan split, as well as tensions between provincial and national governments.
Local reports say many of the protesters in Honiara this week have come from Malaita, where anger is growing over perceived lack of central government investment and decision to abandon Taiwan as a co bright.
“It was a planned peaceful protest … What happened was tensions flared up,” Mihai Sora, a Pacific expert at Australia’s Lowy Institute, told AFP.
Malaita Prime Minister Daniel Suidani has been a strong critic of shifting diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
Suidani has maintained relations with Taiwan, despite the directives of the central government, Sora said. Earlier this year, he was treated at a hospital in Taiwan.
Nicholas Coppel, a former Australian ambassador and special coordinator for RAMSI, told AFP that most of the grievances in the Solomons ” stem from a feeling of inequality in the distribution of resources”.
“The majority of people in the Solomon Islands live semi-subsistence in rural areas and have little interest in foreign policy decisions.”
“However, they are concerned that the projects in Malaita that Taiwan once sponsored are coming to an end and the preference that China has given to sports facilities centered in Honiara,” he added.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
