Member of Parliament (MP) for East Honiara Douglas Ete urged parliament that the former MP for West Honiara Yukio Sato must be commended for his tireless efforts that led to restoration of peace, Law and Order in this country.
Speaking on Thursday at the committee of the whole house in parliament to deliberate on the joint report from the government and RAMSI on the 14- year intervention, Mr Ete said Mr Sato must be commended.
He urged the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to give an award to Mr Sato for his hard work to bring peace back to Solomon Islands when he was in parliament.
Mr Ete said without the commitment shown by Mr Sato to calm down the militants and the Guadalcanal warlord Harold Keke, Weather Coast will not enjoy the same peace that the rest of the country enjoys today.
He said it was through vision of the former West Honiara MP to bring back peace in the pre-RAMSI days that enabled this country to rise again as a sovereign nation.
Ete said Mr Sato devoted all his time and resources to bring peace back to Solomon Islands and he even risked his life to visit the militants in the Weather Coast for the sake of restoring peace and law and order.
“Mr Yukio Sato deserves to be awarded for his great work to rescue this country from the civil unrest prior to the intervention of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
“He is a Solomon Islands Citizen of Japanese descent, who has been a businessman in the country for so many years now. He was elected to parliament during the darkest hours of the country’s history and contributed significantly to the peace we now enjoy.”
Mr Ete said Mr Sato created memorable history for West Honiara and the nation by his achievements during his one-year term in Parliament.
The Prime Minister in response said he noted the sentiments by the MP for East Honiara.
By AATAI JOHN
