Political Reviews • Melanesia 401 Tarcisius Tara
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political reviews • melanesia 401 between the government and the Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati, 27–30 Solomon Islands Public Employee October. Union, which started in September, ___. 2003. Forum Communiqué. 34th was still unresolved. Public employees Pacific Islands Forum, Auckland, New had requested a pay rise, which was Zealand, 14–16 August. approved by Cabinet, but then turned sibc, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Cor- down by the prime minister. This poration. <http//:www.sibconline.com.sb> issued spilled over into 2004. While much of the media coverage sig, Solomon Islands Government. 2003. and commentaries on Solomon 2004 Budget Speech. Honiara: Ministry of Finance. Islands concentrated on the negative impacts of the civil unrest, the events undp, United Nations Development Pro- of the past five years have also had a gram. 2003. Human Development Report positive twist: they have forced 2003. New York: undp. Solomon Islanders to come to terms with the challenges of building a nation-state out of culturally and eth- Vanuatu nically plural societies, and reflect on the social, political, and economic At the beginning of 2003 Vanuatu was challenges for the future. Governor- governed by a coalition of the Vanua- General Sir John Lapli, for instance, ‘aku Party (vp), headed by the prime said that among the “pillars of minister, Edward Natapei, and the national unity and nation building” Union of Moderate Parties (ump), must be “good beneficial reasons for headed by the deputy prime minister, people of diverse and scattered islands Serge Vohor. Politics in Vanuatu were of Solomon Islands to want to belong dominated by events in three main to this country.” The reasons for stay- areas during that year: the manage- ing together, the governor-general ment of the Vanuatu Commodities said, “must be sound, attainable, sus- Marketing Board (vcmb); the man- tainable and tolerated by these diverse agement of the Vanuatu Maritime people” (sibc, 23 Sept 2003). Authority (vma); and the fortunes of Barak Sope, the former prime tarcisius tara kabutaulaka minister who was jailed for forgery in 2002. These events generated References increasing dissatisfaction with the Union of Moderate Parties as a aspi, Australian Strategic Policy Institute. governing party and contributed to 2003. Our Failing Neighbour: Australia another change of national govern- and the Future of Solomon Islands. ment in December 2003. Canberra: aspi Publications. Before considering these events, cbsi, Central Bank of Solomon Islands. three postscripts to the police com- 2003. Annual Report 2002. Honiara: missioner affair, which dominated Central Bank of Solomon Islands. politics in 2002, should be mentioned. pif, Pacific Islands Forum. 2000. Forum To briefly recap, problems arose over Communiqué. 31st Pacific Islands Forum, appointments to the post of police 402 the contemporary pacific • fall 2004 commissioner that were improperly men were manifestly inadequate.” The made. While the first such appoint- Court of Appeal upheld the appeal on ment was challenged peacefully in the grounds that “there can never be court, the second appointment, in any justification for anyone in a free mid-2002, resulted in police arresting and democratic society taking the law that commissioner and fourteen high- into their own hands. After their years ranking officials who were thought of service, training and discipline in to have been involved in the appoint- the Police, each of these men knew ment. In reaction to this, a number that they were bending the rules. of armed Vanuatu Military Force There is nothing more corrosive or officers came to the police station damaging in society than that sort of to arrest these police, and an armed behaviour by police officers” (Public standoff ensued. Rumors that a gov- Prosecutor v Simon 2003). The third ernment-funded militia had also been postscript is that the government formed gave rise to fears of another reportedly made a payment of over armed faction. This militia was 1 million vatu to a “civilian backup thought to be made up of young force” made up of men from Tanna, men from Tanna, a group blamed, which had briefly been formed during justifiably or not, for much violence the instability of August 2002 (VDP, and crime in Vanuatu. By the end of 9 Jan 2003). Whether members of the year, tensions between the Vanu- this group were armed at any point, atu Military Force and the police or still have arms, is not known. force had eased, and four high- The fortunes of Barak Sope in ranking police officers involved in the 2003 are less a postscript on events of arrests of the officials had been given 2002 than the unfolding of another two-year suspended sentences for chapter in this prominent politician’s inciting mutiny, mutiny, kidnapping, career. The leader of the Melanesian and false imprisonment. Progressive Party (mpp) was sen- The first postscript to that story tenced to three years’ imprisonment is the appointment of Robert Diniro for forging government guarantees in Obed as police commissioner in Feb- mid-2002. As the result of this con- ruary 2003. He remained stable in viction Sope lost his seat in Parlia- that position throughout the year. ment. In November 2002 Sope was A large AusAID-funded project aimed pardoned by the president and imme- at strengthening police capacity and diately made known his intention to restructuring the Vanuatu Police Force challenge the loss of his parliamentary has also been implemented and will seat in court. In February 2003 the contribute to stability and increased Supreme Court heard the case and efficiency in the police force. The sec- rejected Sope’s challenge. Although ond postscript involves the four police the court acknowledged that a presi- officers who had been given suspended dential pardon has the effect of mak- sentences for their involvement in ing “the offender a new man,” the events of 2002. The prosecutor wording of the Members of Parlia- appealed their sentences “on the basis ment (Vacation of Seats) Act [Cap that the sentences imposed on the four 174] were taken into account. Under political reviews • melanesia 403 that act, once a member of Parlia- human-interest story: straightforward ment is convicted and sentenced to and easy to understand, something at least two-year imprisonment, his for people to shake their heads at and or her seat becomes vacant after a have a wry chuckle over. vcmb events period of thirty days. Because the dominated in the first half of the year. presidential pardon occurred outside The board is a statutory body that, at of this thirty-day limit, Sope’s seat the beginning of the year, had respon- was vacated before he was pardoned. sibility for the purchase, sale, and A pardon cannot be retroactive, so export of prescribed commodities, the pardon did not restore Sope’s seat particularly copra. As copra is the to him. However, as a result of the primary cash earner for most of the pardon, Sope was allowed to run in rural Vanuatu population, vcmb the by-election for the seat that he operations directly affect many peo- previously held. In May the Court of ple. Problems with vcmb manage- Appeal rejected Sope’s appeal against ment have been going on for some the Supreme Court decision (Sope v time. Improper use of funds, unsound Speaker of Parliament 2003), thereby investments, political interference, and opening the way for a by-election later general mismanagement have been in the year. The by-election was held documented as far back as 1996, in on 27 November. Four candidates one of the first reports by the Vanuatu stood: Sope (mpp), Foster Rakom Ombudsman (Vanuatu Ombudsman (vp), and two independent candi- 1996). vcmb financial problems were dates. Voter turnout was a low 46 compounded in 2001 when the world percent, and Sope was reelected by a price for copra fell. The ump-domi- comfortable margin, winning 2,524 nated government of the time, as a votes, with Rakom, his nearest rival, ploy to ensure popularity and gain polling 1,915 votes. No clear votes in the upcoming election, response to this outcome has come instructed the marketing board to pay from aid donors, investors, or others, higher prices to farmers than they in part, perhaps, because the result could sell the copra for. As a result, was unsurprising. As reported earlier the board was losing about 6,000 vatu in the year, “jailing has increased (us$45) per ton (Reid 2003). By early [Sope’s] popularity among local ni- 2003, vcmb problems became more Vanuatu, who regard him as strong prominent as the local copra market on land issues and Vanuatu national- ground to a halt. vcmb agents were ism” (VDP, 14 Jan 2003). not paying producers, with the result If the reelection of Sope had that the cash basis of rural island occurred in a different year it might economies was being eroded. Inter- have attracted more commentary. island shipping companies were not However, with events concerning being paid, either. In February a notice the Vanuatu Commodities Marketing was filed to table a no-confidence Board and Vanuatu Maritime Author- motion in the government, although ity dominating political news, stories a motion did not arise at this point. of Barak Sope’s return to power This was largely prompted by concern became the political equivalent of a over involvement of the Union of 404 the contemporary pacific • fall 2004 Moderate Parties with the marketing rather than a vcmb account, and board. Also fueling dissatisfaction another story in April alleging that were recently revealed details of a the board had issued copra export 67 million vatu (approximately licenses to two private companies. us$574,000) “redundancy payment” This issuing of licenses was in breach package that had been paid to vcmb of an agreement with shipowners in staff in early 2002, although most of Santo, who had agreed to late pay- them continued to work for the mar- ment of vcmb debts in return for a keting board.