Solomons accuse Downer of
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Foreign
Minister Alexander Downer is accused of interfering in Solomon Islands' domestic
affairs by criticising the appointment of two jailed politicians to its
cabinet. Charles
Dausabea was last week appointed police minister, and Nelson Ne'e, tourism and
culture minister, despite both being charged and in custody over last month's
riots which destroyed most of Chinatown in the capital
Honiara. Downer
says the Australian government is concerned and disappointed at their
appointments, especially given the amount of money Australia has spent trying to
restore stability to the Solomons. Dausabea
is charged with inciting a riot, intimidation and threatening to destroy a
hotel. Ne'e
is charged with organising an unlawful society and is alleged to have shouted
out "dynamite the parliament" after Sogavare's rival Snyder Rini was elected
prime minister by MPs on April 18. Ne'e
appeared in court on Monday for a bail application but the matter was adjourned
until Wednesday. New
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has defended the appointments, saying they are
innocent until proven guilty. On
Monday he said diplomatic relations between the Solomons and Australia were
governed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which formed part of
Solomons law. "The
critical comments of Minister Downer not only fall totally outside the terms of
that protocol but amount to a serious act of interference with the domestic
affairs of Solomon Islands," Sogavare said in a statement. His
comments are a further sign of deteriorating relations between Canberra and the
Sogavare government. Sogavare
has also made it clear he wants to reel in the Australian-led Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), particularly in key sectors such
as government finance. The
partnership between the government and RAMSI was not to enhance Australian
paternalism in the Solomons and the Solomons retained total sovereignty to
decide how it should conduct its own domestic and foreign policies, Sogavare
said. "Australia
seemed to have used the provisions of the current partnership as a licence to
infiltrate almost all sectors of the public sector," he
said. "By
their high level engagement in senior posts within the government we have a
situation where foreign nationals have direct and unrestricted access to the
nerve centre of Solomon Islands public administration, security and leadership.
This is an unhealthy situation." Downer
says he will discuss the appointment of the two jailed MPs with Sogavare and
RAMSI when he visits Honiara in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile,
Sogavare has backed away from a call to review Solomons' diplomatic recognition
of Taiwan, which after the riots was warned by Australia and New Zealand not to
engage in destabilising "chequebook diplomacy" in the
Solomons. The
prime minister said he considered Taiwan a reliable donor and good friend of the
Solomons which along had helped the island nation during its ethnic crisis in
2000. Sogavare
said his prime minister's office would no longer directly handle hundreds of
millions of dollars of aid from Taiwan but it would be diverted to other
ministries. Planning
Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo told the Solomon Star newspaper the funds would no
longer be used as a slush fund but be geared towards provincial development and
be properly accounted for. Mr
Downer again said he was deeply disappointed over the appointment in the
Solomons Islands of two jailed men as cabinet ministers. "All
we are saying (is) it's deeply disappointing that they have chosen people (in
cabinet) who are in jail facing charges for inciting the riots," Mr Downer told
Sky News. "One
of the problems of the Solomons Islands is that for years and years that country
has had a culture of corruption." New
Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said she was "aghast" at the
appointments. Mr
Downer highlighted the fact that Australia had been extremely generous to the
troubled South Pacific island nation. "The
people of Australia, through their taxes, are making an enormous contribution to
the welfare of that country ... we've helped to improve living standards for the
ordinary people of the country," Mr Downer said. He
is expected to discuss the matter with Mr Sogavare when he visits the Solomon
Islands in the next few weeks. "I
can't tell him how to run his country or his government," Mr Downer
said. "At
the end of the day, they ultimately have to help themselves, they've got to take
responsibility for their own affairs." Mr
Downer said although the islands had many deep problems, the Australian-led
Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was happy to provide
them with considerable support. "We
hope that RAMSI will continue ... RAMSI will only work if core issues are
addressed, issues like corruption, issues like
inefficiencies." Copyright © 2006 AAP
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