Two NZ officers injured in Solomons election violence

A second New Zealand police officer has been injured in riots in the Solomon Islands, New Zealand High Commissioner in Honiara Brian Sanders says.

Mr Sanders told NZPA that the violence in Honiara following the election of the Pacific nation's new prime minister Snyder Rini, deputy prime minister in the previous government, had seen half of a district's buildings burnt to the ground.

During the confrontations two New Zealand officers were hurt.

Yesterday and overnight hundreds of protesters burned cars, clashed with police and looted shops following the election.

Mr Sanders said he was angry a small group -- reportedly up to 300 rioters -- who he believed to be supporters of failed candidate Job Dudley Tausinga had refused to accept a democratic result.

There are about 200 New Zealanders in the Solomons and of them about 20 were tourists or other short term visitors.

Mr Sanders understood some of the Kiwis were at the Pacific Casino Hotel which looters invaded causing destruction overnight. People were shaken as rooms were trashed and cars burnt.

The looting and arson has centred on Chinatown in the city following accusations Chinese businessmen bribed members of the government as part of a drive to get Mr Rini elected.

The violence is the worst unrest in the capital since Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific governments intervened in 2003 with a joint Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to end years of bloody ethnic gang conflict.

Mr Sanders said it was quiet at the commission but he could see a fresh billow of smoke over Chinatown.

"That reflects that a good part of Chinatown has been destroyed last night and a good part of it is still burning this morning. A lot of looting is still going on in Chinatown."


"More than 50 per cent of the buildings have been burned to the ground."

Looting was continuing: "A lot of people are down in Chinatown cleaning out stores that are there."

Items included food and general household goods, clothing -- as the area contained warehouses for goods to be shipped to provinces so some shortages were likely.

The main food market in town was closed today.

The Honiara hotel was on the back road in Chinatown and was relatively unaffected.

Mr Sanders visited the Pacific Casino Hotel where about 150 guests were staying this morning.

"Some of them (New Zealand guests) were at the hotel when it got trashed which was not a good experience at all. They're pretty exhausted after getting woken up in the middle of the night with people coming down the hall trying to break open your room."

Mr Sanders did not believe any particular provincial group were to blame for the violence.

"There was a democratic election held -- it went pretty well, you can look at what went on around the election and the sort of activity that occurred around the election has occurred in previous elections here," he said.

"Certain individuals appear to not like the outcome of the election for the Prime Minister and they appear to have gathered forces.

"It's quite simple they missed out themselves but resorting to violence, physical abuse and destruction of property is not the way to move forward for the country."

He was angry that a small group had "turned back the clock" on excellent progress that had been made over the last two years and nine months.

"I'm hugely disappointed with what happened yesterday."

Both New Zealand and Australia are considering sending reinforcements.

The High Commission's five New Zealand staff were safe. One of the nine local staff had made his way by foot into work today.

- NZPA