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Solomon Islands sidelines jailed ministers
CANBERRA (Reuters) - The Solomon Islands has sidelined two cabinet ministers who remain in jail for their links to riots, easing international concerns ahead of a visit on Friday by Australian and New Zealand foreign ministers.
Australia had expressed concerns after Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare appointed Charles Dausabea as police minister, and Nelson Ne as tourism minister, although the two were in jail on charges of inciting last month's violent riots.
A government spokesman said Sogavare had appointed acting ministers to run the portfolios while the two remained in jail, a move welcomed by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer ahead of his visit to the Solomons capital, Honiara.
"Two other ministers are now acting in those positions," said government spokesman Johnson Honimae, adding that the two ministers could later return to their jobs if acquitted.
Nearly 400 troops and an extra 120 police from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea were sent to Honiara in April after two days of riots and looting prompted by the election of Snyder Rini as prime minister.
The riots and looting destroyed mainly Chinese businesses in the capital and forced Rini to step down. Parliament elected Sogavare in his place on May 4.
Downer and New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters were due to hold talks with Sogavare on Friday to discuss the future of the Australian-led regional peacekeeping and aid mission, which has been in the Solomons since 2003.
Downer said peacekeepers could be in place for some time in the Solomons, which had a long way to go to restore an economy that would not return to 1980 levels of activity until about 2025, despite returning to growth.
"I think there is a long way to go," Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Friday.
"There is a history of corruption in the Solomon Islands -- that's not a secret -- and it's very important that that culture of corruption be broken down and that it be destroyed," he said.
Dausabea and Ne have been refused bail on charges of inciting the destructive riots and looting in Honiara. Most of the city's Chinatown was destroyed because of rumours that aid money from Taiwan had been used to help elect Rini.
The Australian newspaper said there had been a huge public backlash in the Solomons against the ministerial appointments. It said Dausabea was considered a prime architect of ethnic tensions that led to a coup in June 2000.
The paper said Solomon Islands Governor-General Nathaniel Weana has refused to swear the two ministers into office while they remained in jail.
Downer has said the nation of about 500,000 people spread over 992 islands covering 1.35 million sq km (520,000 sq miles) would struggle to end corruption and political instability.
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This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest_international.cfm?id=744452006
Last updated: 19-May-06 04:04 BST
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