Leaders gather to farewell soldiers

By HELEN TUNNAH

Prime Minister Helen Clark will join other Pacific leaders in Townsville this week to farewell soldiers and police leaving for the ground-breaking armed deployment to the Solomon Islands.

Forces from across the Pacific have been gathering in northern Queensland for Thursday's departure for Honiara, where they will try to disarm criminal gangs and restore law and order in the troubled Pacific nation.

While in Townsville, Helen Clark will meet Australian Prime Minister John Howard to discuss the tasks ahead of the deployment team.

New Zealand has been anxious to ensure the mission has the full backing of the Pacific region and is not perceived as being motivated by the security and foreign policy concerns of Australia or other powers such as the United States.

Helen Clark will also meet her counterparts from Fiji and Tonga, Laisenia Qarase and Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, who will be in Townsville to farewell their contingents.

New Zealand is sending 105 military personnel and another 25 police to join the 10 already there. An infantry company of 125 soldiers will remain here on standby.

Sixteen of the New Zealand troops will be at the Townsville ceremony on Thursday morning, and the rest of the Defence Force staff will fly to Honiara over several days from Friday.

Australia's first 600 troops sailed for the Solomons yesterday on board the Navy warship HMAS Manoora.

The defence staff will be in the Solomons for about three or four months, providing support to police as they try to disarm the gangs.

Police and civilian staff, whose task is to get the civil service, schools and jails functioning again, will be there for two or more years.

Helen Clark is flying to Australia on her way to Korea, where she will meet President Roh Moo-Hyun on Friday before attending the 50th anniversary commemorations of the Korean War Armistice at the weekend.

Up to 5000 veterans of the war are expected to attend the services, including 30 New Zealand veterans who will travel with the Prime Minister.