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Rioters indulge in Chinese takeaway, fireworks

Riot squad officers at a roadblock near the Taiwan embassy in Honiara. Chinese-owned businesses were targeted by looters and rioters after the election of a new prime minister.
Photo: Luke Johnston

April 20, 2006

A blaze at Honiara's Pacific Casino Hotel follows the looting and burning of Chinatown, writes Ian Munro.

ONE of Honiara's newest hotels, which had earlier sheltered Australians and New Zealanders from hundreds of drunken rioters, was burning fiercely yesterday as police surrendered the streets of the Solomon Islands capital.

An Auckland businessman, Ray Vuksich, said 500 locals attacked the Pacific Casino hotel about 2am yesterday: "It was unbelievable. They were trying to get up the stairs with machetes and batons …They were waving their machetes around. Women were screaming," Mr Vuksich said.

Robin Deamer, 33, an Air Vanuatu employee based in Honiara, said the hotel was occupied by Australian tourists and international aid officials. "What happened was a wave of rioters moved up from town basically targeting any Chinese-owned business," he said.

"It was pretty scary. You hear small rocks coming through, and then they got bigger and bigger.

"There was one room that caught fire because they pelted a petrol bomb through one of the windows."

Hotel secretary Lyndall Helen said several rooms were looted. "All the windows and things are broken. They stole all the computers and the bedding."

Mr Vuksich said the rioters were driven off after about 30 minutes by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) police force.

But yesterday afternoon a police spokesman confirmed that the Pacific Casino hotel was ablaze. After the rioters "finished off" Chinatown they had turned their attention elsewhere.

"By looking at the pall of smoke going up, it's quite an aggressive fire. I am about three kilometres from it, the smoke is pretty black and it's completely blotted out the sky … it's a fairly big fire," the spokesman said.

Locals said the hotel came under repeated attack because it was owned by an ethnic Chinese investor.

Quality Motel manager Lesley Nakada said rioters had also set fire to buildings in the Ranadi industrial area. At the height of the riot, he said, close to 1000 demonstrators gathered at Chinatown, where they were only briefly confronted by police.

"When the crowd was here there were three RAMSI vehicles that drove straight through and fired some tear gas and, from what we could see, they left." He said the rioters went ahead with their attack on Chinatown.

"Chinatown is, like, almost completely burnt. Along the main street here, the shop below the motel is burnt … all of them have been looted."

In an email to friends, an expatriate Australian lamented the lack of police response. "Looters are still in the streets helping themselves. Where on earth are the overseas police officers and our local police officers? We have in Honiara hundreds and hundreds of overseas police officers, and what the hell are they doing in here? Anyway, the looters are going towards Ranadi now!" she said.

Rock-throwing demonstrators injured officers, most of them Australian Federal Police, who suffered fractures or cuts during 24 hours of riots and looting. Several were injured by broken glass as rocks were thrown through windows of police vehicles.

About 50 Chinese shopkeepers were under Red Cross protection as the rioters returned to completely raze the city's Chinatown precinct.

The police spokesman said there had been no lessening in the rioting that broke out around midday on Tuesday. "There's still a lot of looting and burning down in Chinatown. There's still some looting in the main street. Out towards the National Referral Hospital there's a large group (of about 400) — that's about a kilometre from the Pacific Casino (Hotel)."

Even in residential areas not directly affected by the riots, residents reported chaos.

Lawyer Andrew Radclyffe, a resident for 25 years, said the lack of police response was disturbing. "I have been downtown a couple of times today — one time to see friends in Chinatown who said they had been there all night calling police and there had been no response," Mr Radclyffe said.

"People were just wandering off with bagfuls of stuff taken from the stores. There's been no problems in the residential suburbs, but what we have seen (here) is women, children as well as men, walking back past where we live with obviously stolen property, exhibiting no shame at all."

Mr Radclyffe said that unless police were to increase their presence on the streets there was no point to the 6pm-6am curfew announced yesterday.

Dr George Kabwere said government services were not functioning. "It's totally chaotic around here. The situation is still pretty serious and I think it's going to worsen," he said. "We are not expecting a return to normalcy any time soon."

STATE OF INSTABILITY

 

JULY 2003Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands arrives and halts the country's slide into lawlessness. This follows more than a decade of ethnic violence and instability that threatens to make the Solomons the region's first truly failed state.

DECEMBER 2004One hundred more Australian troops sent to stop the spread of violence after the killing of Australian Protective Service officer Adam Dunning in Honiara.

APRIL 2006Seventeen Australian peacekeeping police injured as violence is sparked by the election of unpopular former deputy prime minister Snyder Rini as Prime Minister.

Solomons MPs chose Rini as their leader despite a big swing against the Government in the April 5 election.

The Age is keen to hear from anyone in Honiara. Email your details to newsdesk@theage.com.au

 

Copyright © 2006. The Age Company Ltd.

 In an email to friends, an expatriate Australian lamented the lack of police response. "Looters are still in the streets helping themselves. Where on earth are the overseas police officers and our local police officers? We have in Honiara hundreds and hundreds of overseas police officers, and what the hell are they doing in here? Anyway, the looters are going towards Ranadi now!" she said.

Rock-throwing demonstrators injured officers, most of them Australian Federal Police, who suffered fractures or cuts during 24 hours of riots and looting. Several were injured by broken glass as rocks were thrown through windows of police vehicles.

About 50 Chinese shopkeepers were under Red Cross protection as the rioters returned to completely raze the city's Chinatown precinct.

The police spokesman said there had been no lessening in the rioting that broke out around midday on Tuesday. "There's still a lot of looting and burning down in Chinatown. There's still some looting in the main street. Out towards the National Referral Hospital there's a large group (of about 400) — that's about a kilometre from the Pacific Casino (Hotel)."

Even in residential areas not directly affected by the riots, residents reported chaos.

Lawyer Andrew Radclyffe, a resident for 25 years, said the lack of police response was disturbing. "I have been downtown a couple of times today — one time to see friends in Chinatown who said they had been there all night calling police and there had been no response," Mr Radclyffe said.

"People were just wandering off with bagfuls of stuff taken from the stores. There's been no problems in the residential suburbs, but what we have seen (here) is women, children as well as men, walking back past where we live with obviously stolen property, exhibiting no shame at all."

Mr Radclyffe said that unless police were to increase their presence on the streets there was no point to the 6pm-6am curfew announced yesterday.

Dr George Kabwere said government services were not functioning. "It's totally chaotic around here. The situation is still pretty serious and I think it's going to worsen," he said. "We are not expecting a return to normalcy any time soon."

STATE OF INSTABILITY

 

JULY 2003Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands arrives and halts the country's slide into lawlessness. This follows more than a decade of ethnic violence and instability that threatens to make the Solomons the region's first truly failed state.

DECEMBER 2004One hundred more Australian troops sent to stop the spread of violence after the killing of Australian Protective Service officer Adam Dunning in Honiara.

APRIL 2006Seventeen Australian peacekeeping police injured as violence is sparked by the election of unpopular former deputy prime minister Snyder Rini as Prime Minister.

Solomons MPs chose Rini as their leader despite a big swing against the Government in the April 5 election.

The Age is keen to hear from anyone in Honiara. Email your details to newsdesk@theage.com.au

 

Copyright © 2006. The Age Company Ltd.