Handover of stolen guns must seal end of Solomons conflict

By EUGENE BINGHAM political reporter

More than 1500 stolen automatic weapons stand between an Anzac-monitored peace solution and the Solomon Islands' warring factions.

A reconnaissance team of five New Zealand police, military and Foreign Affairs officials will join Australian counterparts in Honiara tomorrow to trigger the process which will see the return of the firearms and the rebuilding of the nation.

They will keep their heads low. Despite the signing of the peace deal by the two militia forces in Australia last week, law and order in the Pacific country remains unpredictable.

But officials who witnessed the signing of the agreement and Foreign Minister Phil Goff remain confident that this is the Solomons' best chance for reconciliation since deadly ethnic tensions flared into violence two years ago.

More than 70 people have been killed in fighting that began when Guadalcanal rebels drove about 20,000 Malaitan Island immigrants from Guadalcanal.

"The agreement is a breakthrough but it is only a start," said Mr Goff. "Disarmament, reconciliation and reconstruction are the great challenges that lie ahead for the Solomon Islands Government and the militant groups that signed the agreement."

The reconnaissance team will lay the groundwork for the deployment of international peace monitors, with New Zealand's contribution likely to be about 15 people. It is understood the unarmed contingent is likely to include police constables and Army sergeants, armourers, warrant officers and soldiers.

Their first task will be to ensure the two militia groups, the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) and the Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM), stick to the deal by disbanding their forces and handing in all the weapons to the monitors.

Once the immediate job is completed, bigger tasks lie ahead for the international force, not least of which is restructuring the police force that fell apart when the conflict exploded on June 5 with the MEF-led coup.

Since then, opportunistic youths loosely associated with the militias have taken advantage of the situation and lawlessness has reigned.

But a New Zealand ministry official who travelled to Townsville for last week's peace talks is confident order can be restored.

Vince McBride believes both the IMF and the MEF are so intent on ending their conflict, they will settle the wayward youths and make sure they do not disrupt the peace process.

"I'm reasonably confident that security won't be an issue," said Mr McBride.

Certainly, early signs are positive. Field commanders and foot soldiers emerged from their jungle hideaways to embrace their enemies at the peace talks in Townsville and the signing ceremony ended with a traditional act of forgiveness between the parties, the exchanging of metre-long chains of shells.

Since their return to Honiara, the rival forces have joined in a parade and partied together to celebrate the ending of hostilities.

That the party ended with an alcohol-fuelled storming of a cabinet minister's home where militias demanded money to buy more liquor could perhaps be put down to high spirits.

But not everyone is so sure the situation will be safe. Act leader Richard Prebble, who travelled to the Solomons with his wife - a Solomon Islander - said: "The Government has not explained how unarmed New Zealand police will be more successful than unarmed local police who have been powerless. The force will need to have a warship offshore and a Hercules on standby at the airport."