Solomon Islands
On 2 April 2007, the Solomon Islands were struck by a major earthquake followed by a large tsunami. Initial reports indicated that the tsunami, which mainly affected the small island of Gizo, was several metres in height (perhaps as high as 10 metres (39 ft) according to some reports, 5 metres (16 1/3 ft) according to the Foreign Office). The tsunami was triggered by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter 217 miles (349 km) northwest of the island's capital, Honiara, at Lat -8.453 Long 156.957 and at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).[3]
According to the United States Geologic Survey the earthquake struck at 20:39:56 UTC on Sunday, 1 April 2007. Since the initial event and up until 22:00:00 UTC on Wednesday, 4 April 2007, more than 44 aftershocks of a magnitude of 5.0 or greater were recorded in the region.
The death toll from the resulting tsunami was at least 52 people, and the tsunami destroyed more than 900 homes and has left thousands of people homeless.[4]
Land thrust from the quake has extended out from the shoreline of one island, Ranongga, by up to 70 meters (230 ft) according to local residents.[5] This has left many once pristine coral reefs exposed on the newly formed beaches.
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Politics
The Solomon Islands are a constitutional monarchy and have a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Monarch of the Solomon Islands and the head of state; she is represented by the Governor-General who is chosen by the Parliament for a five-year term. There is a unicameral parliament of 50 members, elected for four-year terms. However, Parliament may be dissolved by majority vote of its members before the completion of its term. Parliamentary representation is based on single-member constituencies. Suffrage is universal for citizens over age 18. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is elected by Parliament and chooses the other members of the cabinet. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant, who directs the staff of the ministry.
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political parties (see List of political parties in Solomon Islands) and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence, and government leadership changes frequently as a result. Cabinet changes are common.
Land ownership is reserved for Solomon Islanders. The law provides that resident expatriates, such as the Chinese and Kiribati, may obtain citizenship through naturalization. Land generally is still held on a family or village basis and may be handed down from mother or father according to local custom. The islanders are reluctant to provide land for nontraditional economic undertakings, and this has resulted in continual disputes over land ownership.
No military forces are maintained by the Solomon Islands, although a police force of nearly 500 includes a border protection unit. The police also are responsible for fire service, disaster relief, and maritime surveillance. The police force is headed by a commissioner, appointed by the governor-general and responsible to the prime minister. On 27 December 2006, the Solomon Islands Government said it had taken steps to prevent the country's Australian police chief from returning to the Pacific nation. On 12 January 2007, Australia replaced its top diplomat expelled from the Solomon Islands for political interference in a conciliatory move aimed at easing a four-month dispute between the two countries.
On 11 July 2007, the Solomon Islands swore Julian Moti in as their Attorney General. Moti is currently wanted in Australia for child-related sex offences. Australian Prime Minister John Howard called the move "quite extraordinary". Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has described the country as the "laughing stock" of the civilised world.[6] However the Australian charges against Moti relate to events in Vanuatu, and parallel charges which the courts in Vanuatu dismissed in the 1990s. Julian Moti has attracted Australian attention because he advised the Solomons Government to inquire into the role of Australian police in provoking the 2006 Honiara riots.
On 13 December 2007, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was toppled by a vote of no confidence in Parliament,[7] following the defection of five Ministers to the Opposition. It was the first time a Prime Minister lost office in this way in the Solomon Islands. On 20 December, Parliament elected the Opposition's candidate (and former Minister for Education) Derek Sikua as Prime Minister, with 32 votes to 15.[8] [9]
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Provinces
For local government, the country is divided into 10 administrative areas, of which nine are provinces administered by elected provincial assemblies, and the 10th is the town of Honiara, administered by the Honiara Town Council.
- Central
- Choiseul
- Guadalcanal
- Honiara, Town
- Isabel
- Makira-Ulawa
- Malaita
- Rennell and Bellona
- Temotu
- Western
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Foreign relations
Solomon Islands is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth, South Pacific Commission, South Pacific Forum, International Monetary Fund, and the European Economic Community/African, Caribbean, Pacific Group (EEC/ACP)/(Lome Convention).
The political stage of the Solomon Islands is further influenced by its diplomatic importance to the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. The Solomon Islands gives diplomatic recognition to the ROC, recognizing it as the sole-legitimate Government of all of China, giving Taiwan vital votes in the United Nations. Lucrative investments, political funding and preferential loans from both the ROC and PRC are increasingly manipulating the political landscape of the Solomon Islands.
Relations with Papua New Guinea, which had become strained because of an influx of refugees from the Bougainville rebellion and attacks on the northern islands of the Solomon Islands by elements pursuing Bougainvillean rebels, have been repaired. A peace accord on Bougainville confirmed in 1998 has removed the armed threat, and the two nations regularized border operations in a 2004 agreement.
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Military
Although the locally-recruited British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force was part of Allied forces taking part in fighting in the Solomons during World War II, the country has not had any regular military forces since independence. The various paramilitary elements of the Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) were disbanded in 2003 following the intervention of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), and the RSIP was disarmed. RAMSI has a small military detachment headed by an Australian commander with responsibilities for assisting the police element of RAMSI in internal and external security. The RSIP still operates two patrol boats (RSIPV Auki and RSIPV Lata) which constitute the navy of the Solomon Islands.
In the long-term it is anticipated that the RSIP will resume the defense role. The police force is headed by a commissioner, appointed by the governor general and responsible to the prime minister.
The police budget of the Solomon Islands has been strained due to a four-year civil war. Following Cyclone Zoe's strike on the islands of Tikopia and Anuta in December 2002, Australia had to provide the Solomon Islands government with 200,000 Solomons ($50,000 Australian) for fuel and supplies for the patrol boat Lata to sail with relief supplies. (Part of the work of RAMSI includes assisting the Solomon Islands Government to stabilise its budget.)
- Equipment:
- Pandur 6X6 APC
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Geography
The Solomon Islands is a wide island nation that lies East of Papua New Guinea and consists of many islands: Choiseul, the Shortland Islands; the New Georgia Islands; Santa Isabel; the Russell Islands; Nggela (the Florida Islands); Malaita; Guadalcanal; Sikaiana; Maramasike; Ulawa; Uki; Makira (San Cristobal); Santa Ana; Rennell and Bellona; the Santa Cruz Islands and three remote, tiny outliers, Tikopia, Anuta, and Fatutaka. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost islands is about 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The Santa Cruz Islands (of which Tikopia is part), are situated north of Vanuatu and are especially isolated at more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the other islands. Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon Islands, but politically Papua New Guinea.
The islands' ocean-equatorial climate is extremely humid throughout the year, with a mean temperature of 27 °C (80 °F) and few extremes of temperature or weather. June through August is the cooler period. Though seasons are not pronounced, the northwesterly winds of November through April bring more frequent rainfall and occasional squalls or cyclones. The annual rainfall is about 3050 mm (120 in).
The Solomon Islands archipelago is part of two distinct terrestrial ecoregions. Most of the islands are part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion, which also includes the islands of Bougainville and Buka, which are part of Papua New Guinea, these forests have come under pressure from forestry activities. The Santa Cruz Islands are part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion, together with the neighboring archipelago of Vanuatu. Soil quality ranges from extremely rich volcanic (there are volcanoes with varying degrees of activity on some of the larger islands) to relatively infertile limestone. More than 230 varieties of orchids and other tropical flowers brighten the landscape.
The islands contain several active and dormant volcanoes. The Tinakula and Kavachi volcanoes are the most active.
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Economy
Its per capita GDP of $600 ranks Solomon Islands as a lesser developed nation, and more than 75% of its labor force is engaged in subsistence and fishing. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. Until 1998, when world prices for tropical timber fell steeply, timber was Solomon Islands main export product, and, in recent years, Solomon Islands forests were dangerously overexploited. Other important cash crops and exports include copra and palm oil. In 1998 Ross Mining of Australia began producing gold at Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal. Minerals exploration in other areas continued. However in the wake of the ethnic violence in June 2000, exports of palm oil and gold ceased while exports of timber fell. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold.
Solomon Islands' fisheries also offer prospects for export and domestic economic expansion. However, a Japanese joint venture, Solomon Taiyo Ltd., which operated the only fish cannery in the country, closed in mid-2000 as a result of the ethnic disturbances. Though the plant has reopened under local management, the export of tuna has not resumed. Negotiations are underway which may lead to the eventual reopening of the Gold Ridge mine and the major oil-palm plantation.
Tourism, particularly diving, is an important service industry for Solomon Islands. Growth in that industry is hampered, however, by lack of infrastructure and transportation limitations.
The Solomon Islands Government was insolvent by 2002. Since the RAMSI intervention in 2003, the government has recast its budget, and has taken a hard look at priorities. It has consolidated and renegotiated its domestic debt and with Australian backing, is now seeking to renegotiate its foreign obligations. Principal aid donors are Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Japan, and the Republic of China.
Recently, the Solomons courts have re-approved the export of live dolphins for profit, most recently to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This practice was originally stopped by the government in 2004 after international uproar over a shipment of 28 live dolphins to Mexico. The move has resulted in criticism from both Australia and New Zealand as well as several conservation organisations.
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Demographics
As of 2006 the majority 552,438 people on the Solomon Islands are ethnically Melanesian (94.5%), Polynesian (3%) and Micronesian (1.2%) are the two other significant groups.[10]
There were 74 languages spoken in the Solomon Islands, although four of these are extinct.[11] On the central islands, Melanesian languages (predominantly of the Southeast Solomonic group) are spoken, on the outliers Rennell and Bellona to the south, Tikopia, Anuta and Fatutaka to the far east, Sikaiana to the north east, and Luaniua (Ontong Java Atoll, Lord Howe Atoll) to the north, Polynesian languages. Immigrant populations of Gilbertese (i-Kiribati) and Tuvaluans speak Micronesian languages. While English is the official language, only 1-2% of the population speak English; the lingua franca is Solomons Pijin.
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Religion
The religion of Solomon Islands is about 97% Christian with following denominations: the Anglican Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical Church 17%, Seventh-day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%. The remaining 2.9% practice indigenous religious beliefs and other faiths such as the Bahá'í Faith.[12] According to the most recent reports, Islam in the Solomon Islands is made up of approximately 350 Muslims.[13]
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Culture
In the traditional culture of the Solomon Islands, age-old customs are handed down from one generation to the next, allegedly from the ancestral spirits themselves, to form the cultural values to Solomon Islands.
The most popular sport in the Solomon Islands is cricket.
Radio is the most influential type of media in the Solomons Islands due to language differences and illiteracy.[14] the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) operates public radio services, including the national stations Radio Happy Isles and Wantok FM, and the provincial stations Radio Happy Lagoon and Radio Temotu. There is one commercial station, PAOA FM, that broadcasts in the Solomons. There is one daily newspaper Solomon Star (www.solomonstarnews.com) and one daily online news website Solomon Times Online (www.solomontimes.com), 2 weekly papers Solomons Voice and Solomon Times, and 2 monthly papers Agrikalsa Nius and the Citizen's Press. There are no TV services based in the Solomon Islands, although satellite TV stations can be received. There is free-to-air access to ABC Asia Pacific (from Australia's ABC) and BBC World.
Solomon Islands writers include the novelists Rexford Orotaloa and John Saunana and the poet Jully Sipolo.
- See also: Music of the Solomon Islands
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See also
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References
- ^ Kirch, Patrick Vinton (2002). On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands. Berkley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0520234618
- ^ Solomon Is: Failed State or Not Failed State? October 29, 2003. Pacific Magazine URL Accessed 2006-05-04
- ^ "Solomon Islands earthquake and tsunami", Breaking Legal News - International, 04-03-2007
- ^ "Aid reaches tsunami-hit Solomons", BBC News, 2007-04-03
- ^ Quake lifts Solomons island metres from the sea
- ^ "Solomons a 'laughing stock'", - SBS World News, - 2007-07-11
- ^ Sireheti, Joanna., & Joy Basi, - "Solomon Islands PM Defeated in No-Confidence Motion", - Solomon Times, - 13 December 2007
- ^ Tuhaika, Nina., - "New Prime Minister for Solomon Islands", - Solomon Times, - 20 December 2007
- ^ "Solomon Islands parliament elects new PM", - ABC Radio Australia, - 20 December 2007
- ^ CIA World Factbook. Country profile: Solomon Islands URL Accessed 2006-10-21
- ^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Solomon Islands in Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International
- ^ Centre for Intercultural Learning, Foreign Affairs Canada. Country Insights: Solomon Islands. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007
- ^ BBC News. Country profile: Solomon Islands URL Accessed 2006-05-04
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External links
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This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of the United States Department of State & CIA World Factbook.
- Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
- Department of Commerce, Industries and Employment
- Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI)
- The People First Network, PFnet from the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development
- The Solomon Star daily newspaper
- Solomon Times online newspaper
- Medals and awards of the Solomon Islands
- History of Anglicanism in Oceania
- 1912 Catholic Encyclopedia - Solomon Islands
- Exploring Solomons Travel Wiki with information on bushwalking, mountain biking, camping, kayaking and village stays
- Solomon Islands Travel Guide
- Some photos from the Solomon Islands Online gallery on Pbase.com
- Robert Viking O'Brien's retelling of a Solomon Islands folktale with the original in Pijin
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