PM Sogavare Explains Absence From Forum Summit

Prime Minister Sogavare Explains Absence From Forum Summit

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare says his government has decided not to participate at the Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga because it felt that discrepancies emerging from the Forum Review of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) needs to be sorted out first.

The Prime Minister has expressed in a letter to this year's Forum Chairman - the Prime Minister of Tonga Dr Feleti Sevele that Solomon Islands would not want the RAMSI issue to over shadow and deprive the full attention of leaders from other equally important matters on the Forum agenda.

The Prime Minister said his government is insulted by Canberra's ongoing pressure on Forum member countries to oppose Solomon Islands position and intention to review the Facilitation of International Assistance Act 2003 (FIAA) that allows RAMSI into the country.

"We categorically condemn as totally misleading and grossly insulting the ongoing media campaign by Canberra and other foreign agents that Solomons Government is out to destroy RAMSI in defiance of the claim that the "majority" of Solomon Islanders support their continual presence in the country."

"This is a non-issue as far as the people and government of Solomon Islands are concerned and we are quite surprised that Canberra continues to make an issue out of it," Mr. Sogavare said.

The Prime Minister challenged the Forum to independently take a clear position in its understanding of the partnership between the democratic government of Solomon Islands and the Australian led Regional Assistance Mission.

He conveyed that partnership entails appreciating the concerns of all parties but the conventional view seems to be miles and miles away.

"We are not seeing that in the way RAMSI relates to the Solomon Islands Government and it is obvious that the Forum is determined to oppose any proposals submitted on our part for the purpose of creating a more effective and progressive partnership - a position that Australia is campaigning aggressively against with the forum countries," Mr Sogavare said.

The Prime Minister said continuous Australian pressure was clearly manifested in the way the Forum Secretariat handled the recent review of the mission and clarified that if Australia continued to remain defiant over the review of the legal framework covering RAMSI intended as a means of enhancing the partnership, serious questions would be raised regarding Canberra's possible motives to undermine Solomon Islands sovereignty while using media propaganda to distort public perception and project division between the government and people of Solomon Islands.

Last year Mr Sogavare had to fight hard for an agreement at the Nadi Forum Meeting before leaders endorse the Solomon Islands Government plan to review RAMSI after the Terms Of Reference (TOR) drawn up by the Sogavare-government were declined six times.

"It must be appreciated that legally the Solomon Islands Government does not need the endorsement of the Forum to pursue the review of RAMSI because the FIAA 2003 empowers Solomon Islands Parliament to do that.

"This is where our commitment and willingness to work with the Forum is taken for granted and we feel insulted," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Sogavare stated that the six-point initiative he presented at the Nadi Forum leaders meeting last year represents the sentiments of Solomon Islands Government and a demonstration of its commitment to achieve an amicable compromise that espouses a unity of purpose and benefits all stakeholders aligned with the program.

"We are disappointed that instead the entire process was misrepresented by the Forum Taskforce in avoiding the specific purpose of the review which was to thoroughly determine if any changes to RAMSI was required based on the concerns of the Solomons government."

"What transpired instead was a report designed to preserve the existing status of the Mission without due regard or respect for national priorities and the political integrity of the Solomons government."

"It has become blatantly clear that more significance was placed on the credibility of the Australian led program rather than the important needs of ordinary Solomon Islanders," The Prime Minister stated.

In the process, the Forum Review Committee deliberately side stepped the concerns of the Solomons Government on the need to consider a review of the RAMSI legal framework including the FIAA 2003.

The Committee instead recommended that concerns which gave rise to the call for some amendment could be adequately addressed through strengthening the partnership under the package proposed in the report.

The Prime Minister has indicated a review of the legal framework that allows RAMSI in the Solomons is crucial to address the genuine concerns of the government.

The Six Point Initiative presented at last years Summit was expressed by the Prime Minister as a demonstration of the Solomon Islands Government's "commitment to engage with Forum countries in working to create a more enhanced partnership."

""It is irresponsible on the part of the taskforce to disregard this matter and as a sovereign government we are not talking the insult lightly," said the Prime Minister.

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister has requested in the letter to the incoming Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum that during the PIF Leaders Meeting and "in view of the position taken by the Solomon Islands Government on the RAMSI Taskforce Report..., I should be grateful if your office could liaise with the Forum Secretary General's office to omit discussions on the report from the Leaders Forum Agenda."

In response to criticisms of his non-attendance at the Leaders Summit the Prime Minister has also stated, "What the Pacific Islands Forum needs to understand is that it has to respect the position of both the Solomon Islands Cabinet and the National Parliament in determining to independently Review the FIAA Act and Cabinet's decision to reject the Forum Review Taskforce Report."

The Prime Minister further added that "The Solomon Islands is not legally obligated or responsible to the Forum in any way when it comes to the existing framework covering the presence of RAMSI, therefore the Solomon Islands Government as outlined in the FIAA Act, does not require the sanction or approval of the Pacific Islands Forum to carry out a review, neither is there any need for elaboration on the RAMSI Taskforce Review since it has also not been accepted by the Solomon Islands Government."

"We will look forward to further bilateral consultations with Member Countries once the Pacific Islands Forum recognizes that it can not use its multilateral framework to impose initiatives which are not supported or agreed to by the receiving State as in the case of the RAMSI Taskforce Review," said The Prime Minister.

"Once this is understood then we can collectively move forward to address other issues which have been raised in context to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands," the Prime Minister said.

Solomon Islands will be represented at the Post Forum Dialogue which starts on October 18th by Foreign Affairs Minister Patterson Oti and Planning Minister Steve Abana.

ENDS

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