SOLOMON ISLANDS could relapse into turmoil within weeks if RAMSI is withdrawn from the Solomon Islands, a secret US diplomatic assessment highlighted.
The
secret assessment has made headlines in the Australian media recently and
published in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that despite the massive aid effort, US officials have approvingly quoted the assessment of key diplomatic contacts in Honiara that if RAMSI departs ''it would only take about a week for trouble to break out again since RAMSI and the Government has failed to address the underlying issues [which caused widespread ethnic violence].
"There are still people out in communities who have not been brought to justice for atrocities committed during the ethnic conflict. These incidents and the economic tensions … continue to fester. As is clear to every observer, over the 28 years since independence, modern government has failed to take firm root,” it was reported.
The assessment was understood to have been made by the visiting US delegation who visited the country early this year.
The secret assesment came just a month after RAMSI announced their transition road ahead as it begin to draw down its troops from provinces around the country.
Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith said although RAMSI
was planning their transition it would likely take another five or so years.
However,
the report revealed that it would take10 to 15 more years before the Solomon
Islands Government could resume full responsibility for the country's
governance and development.
It stated that RAMSI withdrawal from the Solomon Islands could spark a return to the dark
days of the ethnic crisis.
By DOUGLAS MARAU
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