PM responses with fire
PM's fires another verbal bullet
In the war of words between Honiara and Canberra, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare comes out firing another verbal bullet.
Mr Sogavare seems to be saying, catch this if you can, John Howard. My government cannot take your bullying tactics laying down. Mr Government has information to prove that the latest decision taken by Taipei to remove the firearm shooting from the CPP training program was pressured by the Australian Government.
Solomon Islands must be been dealt another blow with the Taiwanese government quashing the armed training of Solomon Islands Close Personal Protections, CPP Unit officers. And Prime Minister Sogavare warned Australia and their sympathizers both here and abroad saying that Solomon Islands Government will not bow to Australia's continuing bullying tactics. He vows to implement what he describes as a sovereign decision to re-armed the CPP Unit.
Mr Sogavare says his Government is disappointed to learn that the RAMSI controlled development of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, SIPF, has neglected the training of officers attached to the CPP Unit. He says it only after he insisted that the Unit must be localized with appropriate training to be undertaken by the officers in Taiwan that the former Commissioner in consultation with RAMSI reluctantly whipped up a training package for the unit. That he says consisted of all the programs that most of the officers have undertaken minus arms training. This was totally unacceptable.
The Prime Minister says RAMSI had three and a half years to put up an appropriate training and localization program for the unit but failed miserably to do it. He says no training has been done by RAMSI to returning the Force to its original strength and effectiveness. Mr Sogavare says right now it is a force that depends on foreigners for its strength.
He says the government cannot continue to allow people who have other agendas in this country to systematically destroy the SIPF. Mr Sogavare says, the Government is determined with the help of the new Commissioner of Police who will be appointed very soon, to re-establish very important units of the force that were irresponsibly abolished by RAMSI. These include the Rapid Response Unit, the Protection and Guarding Unit, and the Police Field Force.
The Prime Minister says the abolishment of these units was a serious mistake, which costs the country dearly during the April Riot. Mr Sogavare says if that is a reflection of the kind of law enforcement agent RAMSI would like the Solomon Islands Police Force then it has no place in Solomon Islands.
MyBlog comments
That was a very strong statement by the Prime Minister.
The statement shows that Mr Sogavare does not mince word with his opponents. MyBlog could hear him saying Solomon Islands is a sovereign country, and his government is the legitimate authority to decide what is good for the people.
All MyBlog can say is that events in the weeks or days ahead would reveal the truth about this war of words between Honiara and Canberra. The Sogavare-led government will table Solomon Islands 2007 budget in the Parliament meeting starting Wednesday next week. The passing of the budget would activate the implementation of government's much awaited "Bottom Up Approach" development. Others describe it as the rural development policy.
But can Solomon Islands do it alone in this global village....and without its traditional friends and partners? And Taiwan, Solomon Islands' best friend too has limits. Taiwan's quashing of the Solomon Islands' armed personals training should be a sign of things to come. It should get the PMO's political appointees to review their advice to the government on the stand-off between Honiara and Canberra.
Long live Solomon Islands. Long live Australia.
In the war of words between Honiara and Canberra, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare comes out firing another verbal bullet.
Mr Sogavare seems to be saying, catch this if you can, John Howard. My government cannot take your bullying tactics laying down. Mr Government has information to prove that the latest decision taken by Taipei to remove the firearm shooting from the CPP training program was pressured by the Australian Government.
Solomon Islands must be been dealt another blow with the Taiwanese government quashing the armed training of Solomon Islands Close Personal Protections, CPP Unit officers. And Prime Minister Sogavare warned Australia and their sympathizers both here and abroad saying that Solomon Islands Government will not bow to Australia's continuing bullying tactics. He vows to implement what he describes as a sovereign decision to re-armed the CPP Unit.
Mr Sogavare says his Government is disappointed to learn that the RAMSI controlled development of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, SIPF, has neglected the training of officers attached to the CPP Unit. He says it only after he insisted that the Unit must be localized with appropriate training to be undertaken by the officers in Taiwan that the former Commissioner in consultation with RAMSI reluctantly whipped up a training package for the unit. That he says consisted of all the programs that most of the officers have undertaken minus arms training. This was totally unacceptable.
The Prime Minister says RAMSI had three and a half years to put up an appropriate training and localization program for the unit but failed miserably to do it. He says no training has been done by RAMSI to returning the Force to its original strength and effectiveness. Mr Sogavare says right now it is a force that depends on foreigners for its strength.
He says the government cannot continue to allow people who have other agendas in this country to systematically destroy the SIPF. Mr Sogavare says, the Government is determined with the help of the new Commissioner of Police who will be appointed very soon, to re-establish very important units of the force that were irresponsibly abolished by RAMSI. These include the Rapid Response Unit, the Protection and Guarding Unit, and the Police Field Force.
The Prime Minister says the abolishment of these units was a serious mistake, which costs the country dearly during the April Riot. Mr Sogavare says if that is a reflection of the kind of law enforcement agent RAMSI would like the Solomon Islands Police Force then it has no place in Solomon Islands.
MyBlog comments
That was a very strong statement by the Prime Minister.
The statement shows that Mr Sogavare does not mince word with his opponents. MyBlog could hear him saying Solomon Islands is a sovereign country, and his government is the legitimate authority to decide what is good for the people.
All MyBlog can say is that events in the weeks or days ahead would reveal the truth about this war of words between Honiara and Canberra. The Sogavare-led government will table Solomon Islands 2007 budget in the Parliament meeting starting Wednesday next week. The passing of the budget would activate the implementation of government's much awaited "Bottom Up Approach" development. Others describe it as the rural development policy.
But can Solomon Islands do it alone in this global village....and without its traditional friends and partners? And Taiwan, Solomon Islands' best friend too has limits. Taiwan's quashing of the Solomon Islands' armed personals training should be a sign of things to come. It should get the PMO's political appointees to review their advice to the government on the stand-off between Honiara and Canberra.
Long live Solomon Islands. Long live Australia.
posted by Myblog | 8:44 pm
2 Comments:
Australian PM outlines indefinite military agenda in South Pacific
By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia)
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has revealed the real motivations behind his government’s interventions in the South Pacific and foreshadowed permanent military operations there. Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph on December 31, Howard acknowledged his concern that hostile rival powers, such as China and Taiwan, could “take over” the region. The prime minister also pointed to Washington’s expectation that Australia would take responsibility for maintaining “stability” in an area US imperialism regards as its own sphere of influence.
Howard’s comments are intended to signal that his government will not back down in the face of mounting hostility to its activities in the region, and will be prepared to utilise military force to suppress opposition. The Telegraph interview confirms that Australia’s recent interventions in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Tonga, and Fiji are only the beginning of its long-term plans.
Howard’s Pacific agenda is marked by recklessness, arrogance and complete disregard for international law. The government—and behind it the entire Australian political establishment—aims to politically and economically restructure the South Pacific in line with the strategic and economic interests of Australian imperialism. National sovereignty and the basic right of ordinary Pacific Islanders to determine their own future are regarded by Howard and his accomplices as totally irrelevant.
The emergence of Australian neo-colonialism in the Pacific occurs amid the eruption of US militarism and the re-surfacing of bitter inter-imperialist antagonisms, comparable to those that dominated world politics in the 1930s. Under the banner of the “global war on terror”, the Bush administration has torn up international law and conventions, embarking on pre-emptive wars of aggression in an attempt to overcome America’s declining economic status relative to its European and Asian rivals. Bush’s recently announced escalation of the Iraq war, and its likely extension to Iran and Syria, underscores the speed with which the American ruling elite is resorting to outright criminality and truly barbaric methods of rule.
No part of the globe—including the South Pacific—is immune from the consequences of the breakdown of the international order established after World War II. Howard pointedly warned the Australian people to get used to permanent military deployment throughout the region. “This is a long, hard road, and it will need great patience and understanding by the Australian public to live with, probably for a period of 10 to 20 years, with a two-steps-forward, one-step-backward situation,” he told the Telegraph.
“I can understand Australians saying, ‘Well, look, let’s forget about it. Leave them to their own devices; don’t waste any money’, but that’s the wrong approach to take, because they will fall into the hands of the evil from other countries and we have to work very hard,” he continued. “Certainly there’s a bit of a battle between China and Taiwan... If we just throw up our arms and go away, you’ll end up with these places being taken over by interests that are very hostile to Australia.”
Full: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/sep-j18.shtml
Interesting post.
I thought i was alone in thinking that the Australian policies in the Pacific was a copy of American policies. I agree with you Frederick, their tactics are very reckless and arrogant.
I think it's a mistake to continue the current tactics, as it is endangering personnel working abroad and Australian resentment is growing in the region. If this is to continue, we will see another repeat of the riots of last April, and all the work that was done will be wasted. I lost my home last April, and I don't want to see anyone lose theirs.
Post a Comment
<< Home