Insightful coverage of Solomons

Your coverage of the Ethnic Tension in Solomon Islands was quite insightful, even reading it from within Solomon Islands.

There is an obvious overview under standing of the Solomon Islands multi lingual and multi-ethnic and multi-island groupings, even when portrayed from the perspective only of the Malaita-Guadal canal tension.

There is a specific portrayal of the sad ness surrounding the whole issue: The institutionalising of an ethnic-based enmity between two specific groups in the country; the loss of joy in the so called “Happy Isles”; and the absence of innovative political leadership in Honiara.

The absence of innovative political leadership in Honiara is not just another

sad aspect of the ethnic tension here. This is the core of the sad story in the whole country. Here, the political representatives are elders and leaders from their own con stituencies (mainly language groups or groups of islands with a related cultural his tory). It is logical, therefore, to see how the inward-looking political thinking of Honiara influences the views and perspec tives of the voters in the constituencies, and vice-versa.

This inward-looking political perspec tive is expected in a former colony of unre lated histories prior to colonisation, based on the necessary primordial loyalties of the people. And this inward-looking political perspective is the barrier between the poli tics here now and the innovative political leadership we need for a little island nation of our nature and background into the new millennium, given our specific regional surrounding to start with.

Even more sadly, this entrenched inward-looking political perspective in the country based on language and island

groupings will ensure that the situation is not ever going to get better from a nation al development perspective.

There have always been potentials for political, economic, and cultural growth and confidence for the various groups in the country.

But these potentials need to be devel oped in a concerted (national) manner, to give these potentials a wider (national) population base for political and econom ic “Home Base”. (This is a political inter pretation and internalising of the notion of “Scale Economy” if one wonders.) It is sad to have such potentials sacrificed purely because of impatience and short sightedness given the blindfold of

inward-looking views.

Angikinui Francis Takiika

Federation of Solomon Islands Youth Honiara Solomon Islands

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