Trouble brews in Pacific paradise
By Howart Dan,WNS Australia Bureau Chief
NADI - Swaying palm trees, flower-patterned shirts, white sands and exotic cocktails: Australian Prime Minister John Howard is experiencing all four this week as Pacific leaders meet for a regional summit in Fiji. But his most lasting memory of the trip may be of the frigid cold front coming from leaders of the Solomons, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Even if the setting is pure paradise, the outcome could be anything but. The Pacific Islands Forum comes at a particularly inauspicious time in Canberra's relations with its Melanesian neighbours.
At the heart of this diplomatic turmoil is the Julian Moti affair: Australia's so far thwarted attempts to extradite the Solomon Islands attorney general over child sex abuse allegations from the late-1990s. Much to Canberra's anger and displeasure, Australian-born Mr Moti escaped extradition by seeking refuge in the Solomons embassy in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Then he was spirited away to a remote Solomons airport onboard a clandestine Papua New Guinea military flight. Canberra punished PNG by suspending ministerial contacts. But its greatest ire has been directed towards Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, a close friend and staunch supporter of Mr Moti.
Last Friday, Australian police officers took part in a raid on the offices of Mr Sogavare, purportedly to seize a fax machine which might throw more light on the Moti affair. To the Solomons, the raid represented a blatant assault on its sovereignty. Calling the raid "provocative and totally unnecessary", Mr Sogavare retaliated by threatening to oust the Australian-led peace mission which has provided much-needed stability and security since 2003. Australia has spent about A$800m (US$600m) in the Solomons since 2003, but is now threatening to pull the plug on its economic aid. Ahead of the summit, Mr Howard delivered a blunt warning: "If you want Australian aid, you've got to reduce corruption. If you want Australian aid, you've got to improve governance." The Moti affair has become emblematic of a much wider struggle between the Solomon Islands and Australia. The Sogavare government regards the Howard government as a regional bully, whose language and actions have a decidedly colonial feel.
posted by wnsworld @ 8:40 PM
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