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Australia troops land in SolomonsRiots on islands protest election of prime minister
![]() Sir Peter Kenilorea, Speaker of the Solomon Islands Parliament, appeals for calm following election results. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSHONIARA, Solomon Islands (Reuters) -- Australian troops have landed in the troubled Solomon Islands to quell two days of rioting and looting sparked by the election of a new prime minister in the South Pacific nation. Four military transport planes Wednesday began delivering 110 troops and 70 police to reinforce an Australian-led, multinational peacekeeping operation which has been unable to stop the violence against Chinese businesses in the capital Honiara. "There is a lot of fear. People are just hoping the military will calm things down," government spokesman Johnson Honimae said, adding that mobs of drunken youths were roaming the streets of the capital Honiara. The Solomons head of state announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Honiara as black smoke rose above the capital from burning buildings and as looters continued ransacking buildings. Rioters claimed the new government of Snyder Rini, elected by secret parliamentary ballot on Tuesday, would be heavily influenced by the Taiwan government, which the Solomons recognizes diplomatically, and local Chinese businessmen. "Some of this rioting was sparked by allegations made by Snyder Rini's political opponents that he was in receipt of Chinese, meaning I think largely Taiwanese, money," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Australian television. Crowds have called for Rini to resign and his swearing-in has been postponed until the unrest eases. "There is no influence at all by outsiders," said Rini late on Wednesday, the Solomon Star newspaper reported on its Web site. "The best way to deal with these issues is not outside in the streets. They should come and we will have dialogue," said Rini, who is in an undisclosed location for protection. Police in riot gear looked on as a crowd of about 1,500 people looted and burned shops and buildings on Wednesday. Schools, banks, supermarkets, post offices and other government buildings were close. The Pacific Casino Hotel and three other Honiara buildings were in flames after they were attacked by stone-throwing protesters. Police evacuated about 150 hotel guests, Honimae said, while others were seen fleeing by boat. Chinese targetedHoniara's Chinatown district was mostly razed in the violence. Chinese families living above their stores jumped for their lives from burning buildings and swam across a nearby river to escape rioters late on Tuesday, the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) reported. There were some minor injuries among Chinese residents. China and Taiwan have long battled for diplomatic recognition from South Pacific nations. A recent Australian Senate report on China said the diplomatic competition could hurt political stability and economic development in the South Pacific. It described the rivalry between Beijing and Taipei as a "Pacific Cold War", with both using "check book diplomacy". "Some Solomon Islanders have been resentful of the Chinese. (The Chinese) were taking up all the businesses in town and all the staff and prices were increasing unreasonably," Honimae said. Governor-General Sir Nathaniel Waena urged Solomon Islanders not to take the law into their own hands even if they were unhappy with the outcome of this month's election. "There is a curfew put on to address the situation, that is all we can do from the point of view that peace and tranquility is provided for those concerned," he told Reuters. The Solomons, a chain of 992 islands covering 1.35 million sq km (520,000 sq miles) of ocean, teetered on the brink of collapse in 2003 when armed gangs fought over Honiara. Australia led a multinational force into the Solomons to restore peace in what was the biggest military deployment in the South Pacific since World War Two as part of its new interventionist policy in the region over concerns of terrorism. Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ![]()
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