Previous Story
Pacific Islands Report
|
Posted on Jul 18 2000
Solomons militant may be brought into defense force
HONIARA, Solomon Islands — Members of the two militant groups fighting on Guadalcanal could soon be working along side each other if the government’s plan to have a Defense Force materializes.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told local media that the idea behind establishing a Defense Force is to rehabilitate members of the warring Isatabu Freedom Movement and Malaita Eagle Force.
Sogavare said that after the process of disarmament, members of the two rival groups could be drafted into a military academy.
Independence leader backs Wahid
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A leading member of the Papuan independence movement is reported to have expressed support for the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid.
Theys Eluay was quoted in the Jakarta-based newspaper Kompas as saying that his people back the president’s leadership, describing the president as a man who “rules with conscience.”
There has been speculation that Wahid could be toppled from the presidency in the August session of the People’s Consultative Assembly, the country’s highest constitutional body.
A. Samoa bill would jail cigarette smugglers
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Gov. Tauese Sunia submitted a proposal to the Legislature that would provide stiffer penalties for the smuggling of cigarettes into the territory in an effort to combat the selling of tobacco on the black market.
Cigarette smuggling became an issue in the territory last year when the prices and import taxes on cigarettes increased.
Last week, customs officials intercepted a shipment of cigarettes being smuggled under various food items aboard a cargo ferry from Samoa.
