Solomon Islands
Australia's New 'Burden'
Solomon's Scholar Says The People Want Change
Australian and New Zealand peacekeeping forces will find themselves welcomed when they deploy to the Solomon Islands, but the presence of foreign troops alone will not bring long-term stability to that troubled country. In fact, says Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka, a Solomon Islands academician conducting research at the East-West Center's Pacific Islands Development Program, a return to peace and stability will require a change in some of the country's leadership.
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"We need some kind of intervention from outside. But it must be done in such a way that encourages a capacity for change from within the country. The problem is, some of the people who are in a position to make changes have themselves been involved in criminal activities," Kabutaulaka says.
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"There is a lot of support for the intervention by the Solomon Islands' people," Kabutaulaka adds. "They're fed up. They want to get rid of the guns, get rid of the criminals."
While he is on a two-year research assignment at the East-West Center, Kabutaulaka is based at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. He is a lecturer in history and politics, and holds a doctorate from the Australian National University. He was raised on the isolated Weather Coast of Guadalcanal.
Kabutaulaka says recovery in the Solomons must be a threefold process. Justice must first lead to reconciliation. Then, the nation must focus on the rebuilding of relationships. And relationships need to be rebuilt at all levels-in families, in villages, in tribes and, finally, at the national level. The trick, Kabutaulaka thinks, will be how to rally the good people.
"I traveled around the Solomons for two months this year and I met wonderful, talented, honest people. And they're all saying 'we've had enough!' This is what always makes me hopeful."
Establishing the first step, justice, will be difficult. "Justice could mean people going to jail, and that can be expensive, so we need to discuss the kind of justice that is appropriate for Solomon Islanders."
Solomons Prime Minister Allen Kemakeza recently spoke of the need to forget past wrongs. Kabutaulaka believes that could be code for ensuring that the PM and his allies are not held accountable for wrongs they may have committed.
"If he has wrongdoing in his past, he should be made accountable for it. When the peacekeeping forces go in, he should be asked to step aside and I'd recommend the country be governed for a time by a committee that would include current members of Parliament, the private sector and civil society people."
"Then let investigations take place. People in government, the civil service and the police who have committed crimes should be dealt with. The public disorder we've seen in the Solomons is a symptom of a larger, structural disorder," Kabutaulaka says.
He believes that if Solomon Islanders know there is a high probability they will not be caught or punished for crimes they may have committed, then lawlessness can take root. That's because, he says, the country has a culture where police and public service workers act as if what belongs to the government belongs to them. There has also been an absence of consequences for wrongdoing.
"There are some very good public servants who have worked on despite not being paid, but there are other civil servants who believe they can just take what they want. It's our own version of the tragedy of the commons," Kabutaulaka says.
That's the situation that faces foreign peacekeeping forces, particularly Australia, which is leading the operation. Kabutaulaka urges the peacekeepers, but particularly Australians, to be mindful of the problems inherent in Solomons leadership and governance. "If you listen to the comments of Australian officials, you realize that there's an assumption that if we get rid of the criminals in the larger community, things will get better." Kabutaulaka fears that intervention could end up legitimating and consolidating the power of people within government and institutions such as the police, "the very people who have con- tributed to wrecking the country."
Kabutaulaka hopes Australian leadership of the peacekeeping operation signals a renewed commitment by that country to the Pacific Islands. And the Solomons engagement builds upon Australia's active role in peacekeeping duties in East Timor, and that country' heightened attention to its immediate neighbors following the terrorist bombing in Bali that killed scores of Australian tourists.
For almost a decade, Australian foreign policy has concentrated on expanding trade with Asia. Yet Australia cannot view itself as an Asian nation, Kabutaulaka says.
Canberra's engagement in the Solomons, however, needs to be conducted in a way that reduces the chance of Australia being viewed as a returning colonial power. In fact, Kabutaulaka notes, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer referred to the Solomons operation this way: "This is a problem we must shoulder." Australians need to be mindful of the act that theirs is an "inherently unequal relationship" with the Solomons, and the islanders know that, Kabutaulaka says.
