Capital: Honiara
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Capital: Honiara Print | Close |
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Introduction The Solomon Islands, one of the four Melanesian independent states of the Pacific, is a country where tradition and custom still play an important role. Ethnic conflict in the late 1990s and a coup in 2000 has led to a breakdown in law and order and a collapse in the economy, prompting the arrival of an Australian-led regional assistance mission in July 2003.
Issues
History According to archaeological research, Solomon Islands has been inhabited for at least 3,000 years. The first European to sail to Solomon Islands was the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana who was sent in 1567 by the Governor of Peru to search for the mythical Islas de Salomon (which was supposed to be overflowing with gold and silver). Numerous visitors reached the islands in the following decades, among them the French explorer La Perouse who, after calling at Botany Bay in January 1788, was shipwrecked on the island of Vanikolo. During the later part of the 19th century, labour recruiters known as 'blackbirders' raided the islands to supply indentured labourers for the plantations of Queensland and Fiji. A total of 30,000 Solomon Islanders are believed to have been taken to these foreign lands between 1870 and 1911. Alerted to the abuses committed by the blackbirders, Great Britain established a protectorate on the main islands in 1893 - the other islands being added in 1898 and 1899. During the next 40 years, the only development in the Solomons was the establishment of coconut plantations by a few foreign companies. Solomon Islands, in particular the island of Guadalcanal, became the scene of some of the most violent battles of World War II after it was invaded by the Japanese in 1941. After the war, the capital, which was previously on the island of Thulagi, was transferred to Honiara on the north coast of Guadalcanal. Independence was declared on 7 July 1978. In 1998, tensions erupted between local inhabitants of the island of Guadalcanal and more recent arrivals from the neighbouring island of Malaita. The fighting resulted in numerous deaths; caused about 20,000 Malaitans to flee from Guadalcanal and brought all economic activity on the island to a standstill. The conflict intensified in 2000 with violent confrontations opposing two rival militia groups, the Isatabu Freedom Fighters (from Guadalcanal) and the Malaita Eagle forces. Mediation from Australia and New Zealand led to a ceasefire and the signature in October 2000 of the Townsville Peace Agreement. An indigenous monitoring council was set up to implement the peace process with the assistance of international peace monitors. The Solomons government made a formal request to Australia for assistance in 2003, and in July of that year Australian and Pacific Island police and troops arrived in Solomon Islands as part of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The mission, comprising police with military back-up, aims to restore law and order to Guadalcanal and assist in nation building, law reform and economic management. Troop numbers were boosted in April 2006 after riots in the capital following the election of Snyder Rini as prime minister. Mr Rini stepped down eight days later and was succeeded by Manasseh Sogavare. Government Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with Britain's monarch as head of state. The monarch is represented in Solomon Islands by a governor-general, who is appointed by the parliament for a five-year term. The National Parliament is made up of 50 members elected by popular vote ('first past the post' system) for a four year term. The prime minister, elected by the members of parliament for a four year term, selects a ministry who are officially appointed by the governor-general. The country is divided into nine provinces, each with a local assembly elected by popular vote and a premier. The provincial assemblies have local responsibilities in the fields of health, education and communications. Economy An estimated 5 per cent of the population of Solomon Islands is employed in the formal sector of the economy. Over three quarters of the population are primarily rural subsistence cashcroppers. Unrest and lawlessness on the island of Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands between 1998 and 2003 caused extensive damage to the country's economy and it is struggling to recover. The violence associated with the ethnic conflict resulted in serious damage to personal property, transport infrastructure, schools, water supply and sanitation systems, government buildings, and the health sector. The economy contracted by 25 per cent in 2001, and export earnings have fallen by 80 per cent since 1997 as a result of a decline in activity in the timber, gold, fisheries and plantation export industries. Social unrest led to a 70 per cent drop in international assistance to the Solomons between 1998 and 2001. As a consequence, 85 per cent of the country's revenue now comes from the export of timber. The other main source of revenue is the sale of fishing licences to Japanese and Taiwanese fishing vessels. Public debt is estimated at more than $US400 million, including substantial debts to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. |
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