The latest rioting in the Solomon Islands’ capital and its Chinatown had been incited from abroad, the country’s prime minister claimed. Australian police officers have landed in the troubled country to help restore public order.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC news channel on Friday, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare refused to name the nations he suspected were behind the unrest, adding, however, that “we know who they are.” Sogavare insisted the only real bone of contention that led to the chaotic scenes earlier this week was the country’s closer ties with China. He dismissed as tangential all the other complaints – such as the central government’s alleged failure to provide infrastructure to the region – raised by protesters, who predominantly come from the Malaita Province.
The Solomon Islands’ prime minister said he stood by his 2019 decision to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, which raised more than a few eyebrows in the Malaita Province, adding that the switch put the “Solomon Islands on the right side of history and it is in line with international law.” He also claimed the residents of the restive region are being “fed with false and deliberate lies” about the move. (RT)
