Pacific Islands Report

Police peace group to remain in Solomons

HONIARA, Solomon Islands—The special Commonwealth police group helping to maintain peace between Guadalcanal and Malaita islanders, who have been fighting over land rights and jobs for almost two years, will remain for at least another three months.

Commonwealth envoy Sitiveni Rabuka said that plans also have been made to increase the size of the force and expand the number of nations participating. The group now includes officers from Fiji and Vanuatu.

A meeting to review the peace process, to involve the national government and representatives of the Guadalcanal and Malaita provincial governments and militant groups, now is being organized for the first week of May, Rabuka said.

Fiji requests regional loan fund

CANBERRA, Australia—Fiji Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry has asked the Australian government to assist in the establishment of a new low-interest loan fund for Pacific island social development projects.

Chaudhry said he also will take his regional loan plan to the Japan-Pacific Islands Nations summit meeting scheduled for Miyazaki, Japan later this week.

Chaudhry, in talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, suggested that the fund be managed by the Asian Development Bank and focus on poverty, health and education.

Rongelap radiation seriously underestimated

MAJURO, Marshall Islands—A scientist working for the government has reported that New York-based Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists seriously underestimated the radiation dose that the people of Rongelap received from the Bravo hydrogen bomb test on March 1, 1954, the Marshall Islands Journal reports.

The dose established by Brookhaven in 1954 — which has been called into question by Nuclear Claims Tribunal consultant Dr. Hans Behling — has been the baseline assumption utilized for all studies, medical follow-up and evaluation of the status of the Rongelap community.

U.S. Department of Energy officials have been alerted and asked to review the findings.

Police arrest drunken Fiji officers in Kosovo

SUVA, Fiji Islands—Two senior Fiji police officers were arrested in Kosovo over the weekend after one of them tried to shoot a United Nations policewoman.

Sources in Pristina said the officers caused a scene in their quarters while drinking. Glasses and furniture were smashed before UN police moved in to control the situation.

One of the Fiji officers grabbed a pistol from the UN police and attempted to shoot a female officer. But he was overpowered and both men were arrested.