The
Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea
, consisting of nearly one thousand islands.
Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres
(10,965
sq mi).
The capital is
Honiara
, located on the island of Guadalcanal
.
The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by
Melanesian people for thousands of years.
The
United
Kingdom
established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands
in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred in the Solomon Islands campaign of
1942–45, including the Battle of Guadalcanal
. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and
independence two years later. The Solomon Islands is a
constitutional monarchy with
Queen Elizabeth
II as the
head of state.
Since 1998 ethnic violence, government misconduct and crime have
undermined stability and society. In June 2003 an
Australian-led multinational force, the
Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), arrived to
restore peace, disarm ethnic militias and improve civil
governance.
The
North Solomon Islands are
divided between the independent Solomon Islands and Bougainville
Province
in Papua New Guinea.
History
It is believed that
Papuan
speaking settlers began to arrive around 30,000 BC.
Austronesian speakers arrived circa 4,000 BC
also bringing cultural elements such as the
outrigger canoe.
It is between 1,200
and 800 BC that the ancestors of the Polynesians, the Lapita
people, arrived from the Bismarck Archipelago
with their characteristic ceramics. The first European to
visit the islands was the Spanish
navigator
Álvaro de Mendaña
de Neira, coming from Peru
in
1568.
Missionaries began visiting the Solomons in the mid-19th century.
They made
little progress at first, because "blackbirding" (the often brutal recruitment of
laborers for the sugar plantations in Queensland
and Fiji
) led to a
series of reprisals and massacres. The evils of the labor
trade prompted the United
Kingdom to declare a protectorate over the southern
Solomons in 1893. This was the basis of the
British
Solomon Islands Protectorate.
In 1898 and 1899,
more outlying islands were added to the protectorate; in 1900
the remainder
of the archipelago, an area previously under German jurisdiction, was
transferred to British administration apart from the islands of
Buka
and Bougainville
which remained under German administration as part
of German New Guinea (until they
were occupied by Australia in 1914, after
the commencement of World War I). Traditional trade and
social intercourse between the western Solomon Islands of Mono and
Alu (the Shortlands) and the traditional societies in the south of
Bougainville, however, continued without hindrance. Under the
protectorate, missionaries settled in the Solomons, converting most
of the population to
Christianity. In
the early 20th century, several British and Australian firms began
large-scale
coconut planting. Economic
growth was slow, however, and the islanders benefited little.
World War II
With the outbreak of
World War II, most
planters and traders were evacuated to
Australia, and most cultivation ceased. Some of
the most intense fighting of World War II occurred in the Solomons.
The most
significant of the Allied Forces' operations against the Japanese
Imperial
Forces was launched on August 7, 1942 with
simultaneous naval bombardments and amphibious landings on the
Florida
Islands
at Tulagi
and Red
Beach on Guadalcanal. The Battle of Guadalcanal became an important and bloody campaign fought in
the Pacific War as the Allies began to repulse Japanese
expansion. Of strategic importance during the war were the
coastwatchers operating in remote
locations, often on Japanese held islands, providing early warning
and intelligence of Japanese naval, army and aircraft movements
during the campaign. Sergeant-Major
Jacob
Vouza was a notable
coastwatcher
who after capture refused to divulge Allied information in spite of
interrogation and torture by Japanese Imperial forces. He was
awarded a
Silver Star by the Americans.
Islanders
Biuku Gasa and Eroni
Kumana would be noted by National Geographic
for being the first to find the shipwrecked
John F. Kennedy and his crew of the
PT-109. They
suggested using a coconut to write a rescue message for delivery by
dugout canoe, which was later kept on his desk when he became the
president of the United States.
The Solomon Islands was one of the major staging areas of the South
Pacific and was home to the famous
VMF-214
"Black Sheep" Squadron commanded by
Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington.
The
Slot was a name for
New
Georgia Sound, when it was used by the
Tokyo Express to supply the Japanese garrison
on Guadalcanal.
Independence movement
Following the end of World War II, the British
colonial government returned.
The capital was moved
from Tulagi to Honiara to take
advantage of the infrastructure left behind by the U.S.
military. A revolutionary movement known as
Maasina Ruru helped to organize and focus a
mass campaign of
civil
disobedience and strikes across the islands. There was much
disorder and the leaders were jailed in late-1948. Throughout the
1950s, other indigenous dissident groups appeared and disappeared
without gaining strength. In 1960, an advisory council of Solomon
Islanders was superseded by a legislative council, and an executive
council was created as the protectorate's policymaking body. The
council was given progressively more authority. In 1974, a new
constitution was adopted establishing a parliamentary democracy and
ministerial system of government. In mid-1975, the name Solomon
Islands officially replaced that of British Solomon Islands
Protectorate.
On January 2, 1976, the Solomons became self-governing, and
independence followed on July 7, 1978, the first post-independence
government being elected in August 1980. The series of governments
formed since have not performed to upgrade and build the country.
Following the 1997 election of
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu the political
situation in the Solomons began to deteriorate. Governance was
slipping as the performance of the police and other government
agencies deteriorated due to what is commonly known as "the
tensions".
Tensions
Commonly referred to as
the tensions or
the ethnic
tension, the initial civil unrest was mainly characterised by
fighting between the
Isatabu
Freedom Movement (also known as the Guadalcanal Revolutionary
Army) and the
Malaita Eagle
Force (as well as the
Marau Eagle
Force). (Although much of the conflict was between Guales and
Malaitans,
Kabutaulaka (2001) and Dinnen (2002) argue that
the 'ethnic conflict' label is an oversimplification). For detailed
discussions of The Tensions, see also Fraenkel (2004) and Moore
(2004).
In late 1998, militants on the island of Guadalcanal commenced and
had a campaign of intimidation and violence towards Malaitan
settlers. During the next year, thousands of Malaitans fled back to
Malaita or to the capital, Honiara (which, although situated on
Guadalcanal, is predominantly populated by Malaitans and Solomon
Islanders from other provinces). In 1999, the
Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was
established in response.
The reformist government of
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu struggled to
respond to the complexities of this evolving conflict. In late
1999, the government declared a four month state of emergency.
There were also a number of attempts at reconciliation ceremonies
but to no avail. He also requested assistance from Australia and
New Zealand in 1999 but this was rejected.
In June 2000, Ulufa'alu was kidnapped by militia members of the
MEF who felt that although he
was a Malaitan, he was not doing enough to protect their interests.
Ulufa'alu subsequently resigned in exchange for his release.
Manasseh Sogavare, who had earlier
been Finance Minister in Ulufa'alu's government but had
subsequently joined the opposition, was elected as Prime Minister
by 23-21 over Rev. Leslie Boseto. However Sogavare's election was
immediately shrouded in controversy because six MPs (thought to be
supporters of Boseto) were unable to attend parliament for the
crucial vote (Moore 2004, n.5 on p.174).
In October 2000, the
Townsville Peace Agreement, was
signed by the Malaita Eagle Force, elements of the IFM and the
Solomon Islands Government. This was closely followed by the Marau
Peace agreement in February 2001, signed by the Marau Eagle Force,
the Isatabu Freedom Movement, the Guadalcanal Provincial Government
and the Solomon Islands Government. However, a key Guale militant
leader,
Harold Keke, refused to sign the
Agreement, causing a split with the Guale groups. Subsequently,
Guale signatories to the Agreement led by Andrew Te'e joined with
the Malaitan-dominated police to form the 'Joint Operations Force'.
During the next two years the conflict moved to the Weathercoast of
Guadalcanal as the Joint Operations unsuccessfully attempted to
capture Keke and his group.
New elections in December 2001 brought Sir
Allan Kemakeza into the Prime Minister’s
chair with the support of his People's Alliance Party and also the
Association of Independent Members. Law and order deteriorated as
the nature of the conflict shifted: there was continuing violence
on the Weathercoast whilst militants in Honiara increasingly turned
their attention to crime and extortion. The Department of Finance
would often be surrounded by armed men when funding was due to
arrive. In December 2002, Finance Minister Laurie Chan resigned
after being forced at gunpoint to sign a cheque made out to some of
the militants. Conflict also broke out in Western Province between
locals and Malaitan settlers. Renegade members of the Bougainville
Revolutionary Army (BRA) were invited in as a protection force but
ended up causing as much trouble as they prevented.
The prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness, widespread extortion and
ineffective police prompted a formal request by the Solomon Islands
Government for outside help. With the country bankrupt and the
capital in chaos, the request was unanimously supported in
Parliament.
In July 2003, Australian and Pacific Island police and troops
arrived in the Solomon Islands under the auspices of the
Australian-led
Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
A sizable
international security contingent of 2,200 police and troops, led
by Australia and New Zealand
, and with representatives from about 20 other
Pacific nations began arriving the next month under Operation Helpem Fren. Since
this time some commentators have considered the country a
failed state.
In April
2006 allegations that the newly elected Prime Minister Snyder Rini had used bribes from Chinese
businessmen to buy the votes of members of Parliament led to mass
rioting in the capital Honiara. A
deep underlying resentment against the minority Chinese business
community led to much of Chinatown in the city being destroyed.
Tensions had also been increased by the belief that large sums of
money were being exported to China.
China
sent chartered aircraft to evacuate hundreds of
Chinese who fled to avoid the riots. Evacuation of
Australian and British citizens was on a much smaller scale.
Further Australian, New Zealand and Fijian police and troops were
dispatched to try to quell the unrest. Rini eventually resigned
before facing a motion of no-confidence in Parliament, and
Parliament elected
Manasseh
Sogavare as Prime Minister.
Further reading
- Randell, N. (2003) The White Headhunter Carroll &
Graf Publishers, New York
- Dinnen (2002), ‘Winners and losers: politics and disorder in
the Solomon Islands 2000-2002’, The Journal of Pacific
History, Vol.37, No.3, pp.285–98.
- Fraenkel, J. (2004) The Manipulation of Custom: from
Uprising to Intervention in the Solomon Islands, Pandanus
Books, Sydney
- Moore, C. (2004) Happy Isles in Crisis: the Historical
Causes for a Failing State in Solomon Islands, 1998-2004, Asia
Pacific Press, Canberra
- Kabutaulaka, T (2001) Beyond ethnicity: the political economy of the
Guadalacanal crisis in Solomon Islands, SSGM Working Paper
01/1
2007 earthquake and tsunami
On 2 April 2007, the Solomon Islands were struck by a major
earthquake followed by a large
tsunami.
Initial
reports indicated that the tsunami, which mainly affected the small
island of Gizo
, was several metres in height (perhaps as high as
10 metres (33 ft) according to some reports, 5 metres (16
1/3 ft) according to the Foreign Office). The tsunami was
triggered by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter 217
miles (349 km) northwest of the island's capital, Honiara, at Lat
-8.453 Long 156.957 and at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2
miles).
According to the United States Geologic Survey the earthquake
struck at 20:39:56 UTC on Sunday, 1 April 2007. Since the initial
event and up until 22:00:00 UTC on Wednesday, 4 April 2007, more
than 44 aftershocks of a magnitude of 5.0 or greater were recorded
in the region.
The death toll from the resulting tsunami was at least
52 people, and the tsunami destroyed more than 900 homes and
has left thousands of people homeless.
Land thrust from the quake has extended out from the shoreline of
one island,
Ranongga, by up to 70 meters
(230 ft) according to local residents. This has left many once
pristine coral reefs exposed on the newly formed beaches.
Sport
The
Solomon Islands
national football team made history by becoming the first team
to beat New
Zealand into qualifying for a play-off spot against
Australia for qualification to the
World Cup 2006. They were
defeated 7-0 in Australia and 2-1 at home.
On June 14 2008, the national Solomon Island
Futsal team won the Oceania Futsal Championship in
Fiji to qualify them for the
2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup which
was held in Brazil from September 30 to October 19, 2008.
Solomon Islands is the futsal defending champions in the Oceania
region. Just recently, the national Solomon Island
Futsal team won the Oceania Futsal Championship in
Fiji. They defeated the host nation Fiji, 8-0, to claim the
title.
The Solomon Islands'
beach soccer team
is considered the best team in
Oceania , and
has qualified for the last three
FIFA Beach Soccer World
Cups.
The
Solomon
Islands national rugby union team has been playing
internationals since 1969.
Also, the
national
rugby league team has began to emerge again after a 10 year
period of exile from the game.
Politics
Houses of Parliament
The Solomon Islands is a
constitutional monarchy and have a
parliamentary system of
government.
Queen Elizabeth II is
the
Monarch of the
Solomon Islands and the
head of
state; she is represented by the
Governor-General who
is chosen by the
Parliament for a
five-year term. There is a
unicameral
parliament of 50 members, elected for four-year terms. However,
Parliament may be dissolved by majority vote of its members before
the completion of its term. Parliamentary representation is based
on single-member constituencies. Suffrage is universal for citizens
over age 21. The
head of
government is the
Prime Minister, who is
elected by Parliament and chooses the other members of the
cabinet. Each ministry is headed by a
cabinet member, who is assisted by a
permanent secretary, a career public
servant, who directs the staff of the ministry.
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political
parties (see
List of political
parties in Solomon Islands) and highly unstable parliamentary
coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence,
and government leadership changes frequently as a result. Cabinet
changes are common.
Land ownership is reserved for Solomon Islanders.
The law provides that
resident expatriates, such as the Chinese and Kiribati
, may obtain citizenship through
naturalization. Land generally is still held on a family or
village basis and may be handed down from mother or father
according to local custom. The islanders are reluctant to provide
land for nontraditional economic undertakings, and this has
resulted in continual disputes over land ownership.
No military forces are maintained by the Solomon Islands, although
a police force of nearly 500 includes a border protection unit. The
police also are responsible for fire service, disaster relief, and
maritime surveillance. The police force is headed by a
commissioner, appointed by the governor-general and responsible to
the prime minister. On 27 December 2006, the Solomon Islands
Government said it had taken steps to prevent the country's
Australian police chief from returning to the Pacific nation. On 12
January 2007, Australia replaced its top diplomat expelled from the
Solomon Islands for political interference in a conciliatory move
aimed at easing a four-month dispute between the two
countries.
On 11 July 2007, the Solomon Islands swore
Julian Moti in as their Attorney General. Moti
is currently wanted in Australia for child-related sex offences.
Australian Prime Minister
John Howard
called the move "quite extraordinary". Australia's Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer has described the
country as the "laughing stock" of the civilised world. However the
Australian charges against Moti relate to events in Vanuatu, and
parallel charges which the courts in Vanuatu dismissed in the
1990s. Julian Moti has attracted Australian attention because he
advised the Solomons Government to inquire into the role of
Australian police in provoking the 2006 Honiara riots.
On 13 December 2007, Prime Minister
Manasseh Sogavare was toppled by a
vote of no confidence in
Parliament, following the defection of five Ministers to the
Opposition. It was the first time a Prime Minister lost office in
this way in the Solomon Islands. On 20 December, Parliament elected
the Opposition's candidate (and former Minister for Education)
Derek Sikua as Prime Minister, with 32
votes to 15.
Provinces
Provinces of the Solomon Islands, as
of 1989 (click to enlarge).
For local government, the country is divided into 10 administrative
areas, of which nine are provinces administered by elected
provincial assemblies, and the 10th is the town of Honiara,
administered by the Honiara Town Council.
- Central
- Choiseul
- Guadalcanal
- Isabel
- Makira-Ulawa
- Malaita
- Rennell and Bellona
- Temotu
- Western
- Honiara,
Town
Foreign relations
Solomon
Islands is a member of the United
Nations, Commonwealth,
South Pacific Commission,
South Pacific Forum, International Monetary Fund
, and the European
Union/African, Caribbean, and Pacific
countries (EEC/ACP) (Lomé
Convention).
The political stage of the Solomon Islands is further influenced by
its diplomatic importance to
the Republic of China on Taiwan
and
the People's
Republic of China. The Solomon Islands gives
diplomatic recognition to the ROC,
recognizing it as the sole-legitimate Government of all of China,
giving Taiwan vital votes in the
United
Nations. Lucrative investments, political funding and
preferential loans from both the ROC and PRC are increasingly
manipulating the political landscape of the Solomon Islands.
Relations
with Papua New
Guinea, which had become strained because of an influx of
refugees from the Bougainville rebellion and attacks on the northern islands of
the Solomon Islands by elements pursuing Bougainvillean rebels,
have been repaired. A peace accord on Bougainville confirmed
in 1998 has removed the armed threat, and the two nations
regularized border operations in a 2004 agreement.
Military
Although the locally-recruited
British
Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force was part of
Allied forces taking part in fighting
in the Solomons during World War II, the country has not had any
regular military forces since independence. The various
paramilitary elements of the
Royal Solomon Islands Police
(RSIP) were disbanded in 2003 following the intervention of the
Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), and the RSIP was
disarmed. RAMSI has a small military detachment headed by an
Australian commander with responsibilities for assisting the police
element of RAMSI in internal and external security. The RSIP still
operates two patrol boats (RSIPV Auki and RSIPV Lata) which
constitute the navy of the Solomon Islands.
In the long-term it is anticipated that the RSIP will resume the
defense role. The police force is headed by a commissioner,
appointed by the
governor general
and responsible to the prime minister.
The police budget of the Solomon Islands has been strained due to a
four-year
civil war.
Following Cyclone Zoe's strike on the islands of Tikopia
and Anuta
in December
2002, Australia had to provide the Solomon Islands government with
200,000 Solomons ($50,000 Australian) for fuel and supplies for the
patrol boat Lata to sail with relief supplies. (Part of the
work of
RAMSI includes assisting the Solomon
Islands Government to stabilise its budget.)
Equipment:
Geography
The Solomon Islands from the air
The
Solomon Islands is a wide island nation that lies East of Papua New
Guinea and consists of many islands: Choiseul
, the Shortland
Islands; the New Georgia Islands
; Santa Isabel
; the Russell Islands
; Nggela
(the
Florida
Islands); Malaita
; Guadalcanal
; Sikaiana
; Maramasike; Ulawa
; Uki; Makira
(San
Cristobal
); Santa
Ana; Rennell and
Bellona; the Santa Cruz Islands
and three remote, tiny outliers, Tikopia, Anuta, and
Fatutaka
. The distance between the westernmost and
easternmost islands is about 1,500 kilometres (930
mi).
The Santa Cruz Islands (of which Tikopia is part), are situated north of Vanuatu
and are especially isolated at more than 200
kilometres (120 mi) from the other islands.
Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon Islands, but
politically Papua New
Guinea.
The islands' ocean-equatorial climate is extremely humid throughout
the year, with a mean temperature of 27 °C (80 °F) and
few extremes of temperature or weather. June through August is the
cooler period. Though seasons are not pronounced, the northwesterly
winds of November through April bring more frequent rainfall and
occasional squalls or cyclones. The annual rainfall is about
3050 mm (120 in).
The Solomon Islands
archipelago is part
of two distinct
terrestrial
ecoregions.
Most of the islands are part of the Solomon Islands rain forests
ecoregion, which also includes the islands of Bougainville and Buka, which are part of Papua New
Guinea, these forests have come under pressure from
forestry activities. The Santa Cruz Islands are part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion,
together with the neighboring archipelago of Vanuatu. Soil quality ranges from extremely rich
volcanic (there are
volcanoes with varying
degrees of activity on some of the larger islands) to relatively
infertile limestone. More than 230 varieties of orchids and other
tropical flowers brighten the landscape.
The islands contain several active and dormant volcanoes. The
Tinakula and Kavachi volcanoes are the most active.
Economy
Its per capita GDP of $600 ranks Solomon Islands as a lesser
developed nation, and more than 75% of its labor force is engaged
in subsistence and fishing. Most manufactured goods and petroleum
products must be imported. Until 1998, when world prices for
tropical timber fell steeply, timber was Solomon Islands main
export product, and, in recent years, Solomon Islands forests were
dangerously overexploited. Other important cash crops and exports
include
copra and
palm
oil. In 1998 Ross Mining of Australia began producing gold at
Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal. Minerals
exploration in other areas continued. However in the wake of the
ethnic violence in June 2000, exports of palm oil and gold ceased
while exports of timber fell. The islands are rich in undeveloped
mineral resources such as
lead,
zinc,
nickel, and
gold.
Solomon Islands' fisheries also offer prospects for export and
domestic economic expansion. However, a Japanese joint venture,
Solomon Taiyo Ltd., which operated the only fish cannery in the
country, closed in mid-2000 as a result of the ethnic disturbances.
Though the plant has reopened under local management, the export of
tuna has not resumed. Negotiations are underway which may lead to
the eventual reopening of the Gold Ridge mine and the major
oil-palm plantation.
Tourism, particularly diving, is an important service industry for
Solomon Islands. Growth in that industry is hampered, however, by
lack of infrastructure and transportation limitations.
The Solomon Islands Government was insolvent by 2002. Since the
RAMSI intervention in 2003, the government has recast its budget.
It has consolidated and renegotiated its domestic debt and with
Australian backing, is now seeking to renegotiate its foreign
obligations. Principal aid donors are Australia, New Zealand, the
European Union, Japan, and the Republic of China.
Recently, the Solomons courts have re-approved the export of live
dolphins for profit, most recently to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
This practice was originally stopped by the government in 2004
after international uproar over a shipment of 28 live dolphins to
Mexico. The move has resulted in criticism from both Australia and
New Zealand as well as several conservation organisations.
Energy
A team of renewable energy developers working for the
Pacific Islands
Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) and funded by the
Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), have hatched
a scheme that enables these communities to access renewable energy,
such as solar, without raising substantial sums of ready cash. They
also use water and wind power. If the islanders were not able to
pay for solar lanterns with cash, reasoned the project developers,
they can pay with crops.
Demographics
As of 2006 the majority 552,438 people on the Solomon Islands
are ethnically
Melanesian (94.5%).
Polynesian (3%) and
Micronesian (1.2%) are the two other significant
groups. There are a few thousand ethnic
Chinese.
The number of local languages listed for Solomon Islands is 74, of
which 70 are living languages and 4 are extinct, according to
«Ethnologue, Languages of the World». On the central
islands,
Melanesian languages
(predominantly of the
Southeast Solomonic group) are
spoken.
On the outliers, Rennell
and Bellona
to the south, Tikopia, Anuta and Fatutaka to the far east, Sikaiana to the north east, and Luaniua to the north (Ontong Java Atoll
, also known as Lord Howe Atoll
), Polynesian
languages are spoken. Immigrant populations of Gilbertese
(i-Kiribati) and Tuvaluans
speak Micronesian
languages. While
English
is the official language, only 1-2% of the population speak
English; the
lingua franca is Solomons
Pijin.
Health
Female life expectancy at birth was at 66.7 years and male life
expectancy at birth at 64.9 in 2007. 1990-1995 fertility rate was
at 5.5 births per woman. Government expenditure on health per
capita was at US$ 99 (PPP). Healthy life expectancy at birth is at
60 years.
Religion
The religion of Solomon Islands is about 97%
Christian with following denominations: the
Anglican
Church of
Melanesia 32.8%,
Roman Catholic
19%,
South Seas
Evangelical Church 17%,
Seventh-day Adventist 11.2%,
United
Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian
4.4%. The remaining 2.9% practice indigenous religious beliefs.
According to the most recent reports,
Islam in the Solomon Islands is
made up of approximately 350 Muslims.
Culture
In the traditional culture of the Solomon Islands, age-old customs
are handed down from one generation to the next, allegedly from the
ancestral spirits themselves, to form the cultural values to
Solomon Islands.
Radio is the most influential type of media in the Solomons Islands
due to language differences, illiteracy, and the difficulty of
receiving television signals in some parts of the country. The
Solomon Islands
Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) operates public radio services,
including the national stations
Radio Happy Isles and
Wantok FM, and the provincial stations
Radio Happy Lagoon and,
formerly,
Radio Temotu. There
is one commercial station,
PAOA FM, that
broadcasts in the Solomons. There is one daily newspaper
Solomon Star
(www.solomonstarnews.com) and one daily online news website
Solomon Times Online ( www.solomontimes.com), 2 weekly papers
Solomons Voice and
Solomon Times, and 2 monthly
papers
Agrikalsa Nius and the
Citizen's Press.
There are no TV services based in the Solomon Islands, although
satellite TV stations can be received. There is free-to-air access
to
ABC Asia Pacific (from
Australia's ABC) and
BBC World
News.
Solomon Islands writers include the novelists
Rexford Orotaloa and
John Saunana and the poet
Jully Makini.
See also
References
- Kirch, Patrick Vinton (2002). On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological
History of the Pacific Islands. Berkley, California:
University of California Press. ISBN 0520234618
- Untitled Document at www.commerce.gov.sb
- Solomon Is: Failed State or Not Failed State?
October 29, 2003. Pacific Magazine URL Accessed
2006-05-04
- "Solomon Islands earthquake and tsunami",
Breaking Legal News - International, 04-03-2007
- "Aid reaches tsunami-hit Solomons", BBC
News, 2007-04-03
- Quake lifts Solomons island metres from the sea
- CIA - The World Factbook - Solomon Islands
- "Solomons a 'laughing stock'", -
SBS World
News, - 2007-07-11
- Sireheti, Joanna., & Joy Basi, - "Solomon Islands PM Defeated in No-Confidence Motion",
- Solomon
Times, - 13 December 2007
- Tuhaika, Nina., - "New Prime Minister for Solomon Islands", -
Solomon
Times, - 20 December 2007
- "Solomon Islands parliament elects new PM", -
ABC
Radio Australia, - 20 December 2007
-
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/04/solomon-islands-solar-a-new-microfinance-concept-takes-root?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-April8-2009
- CIA World Factbook. Country profile: Solomon Islands URL Accessed
2006-10-21
- Spiller, Penny: " Riots highlight Chinese tensions", BBC News, Friday,
21 April 2006, 18:57 GMT
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http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SLB.html
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http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SLB.html
- International Religious Freedom Report
2007
- BBC News. Country profile: Solomon Islands URL Accessed
2006-05-04
This article incorporates public domain text from the websites
of the United States Department of State & CIA World Factbook.
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