Leaders came 'fired up' but left pacified

NADI - Pacific Island Forum leaders all arrived in Fiji "fired up" and looking at the same picture from different perspectives but, by the end, dialogue and consensus had ensured the "Pacific way rules", forum chairman Laisenia Qarase said yesterday.

"We have again demonstrated here at the 37th forum, that together we are bigger than the particular issues that separate us," the Fijian Prime Minister said.

It underscored the widespread relief among forum leaders that making progress on the Pacific Plan had not been derailed by discord between Australia and the Melanesian states of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The tension led to threats to expel Ramsi - the multimillion-dollar, Honiara-based regional assistance mission.

The mood was echoed by PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare - the most outspoken critic of Australia during the forum but who yesterday extended an olive branch to Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Earlier Sir Michael had labelled Canberra 'arrogant and "heavy-handed".

Sir Michael said he believed the Canberra-imposed ministerial ban between the two countries preventing him travelling to Australia was inappropriate as there had been no consultation, and expressed disappointment Pacific countries were often portrayed as "weak and don't know what we are doing".

By late yesterday the tone changed. He said he had known Mr Howard for years and "we still have an excellent rapport". He was pleased with the forum's progress and "while in the Pacific we can criticise each other at the end of the day we all shake hands and move on".

Sir Michael is believed to have refused to shake Mr Howard's hand during the forum, but he sidestepped questions about that last night, determined to play down the rift.

Sir Michael said the decision to allow suspended Solomons Attorney-General Julian Moti to fly out of PNG on a military aircraft was taken by officials below him without his knowledge, several of whom had now been suspended and might lose their jobs.

Prime Minister Helen Clark also expressed her relief that, despite the rhetoric, "when push came to shove the tension was able to be defused".

"Now the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. What happens back in the Solomons? Can we get the taskforce going fairly quickly?"

A senior Foreign Affairs Ministry official would be sent to Honiara "to keep the dialogue going that we've started here and support the process", an example of "proactive diplomacy".