A FORMER Member of Parliament (MP) and prominent Minister has condemned comments made by former New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters against Manasseh Sogavare being a candidate for Prime Minister in an interview with Radio Australia on Wednesday.
The former MP who wished not to be named said that Mr Peters’ negative perception of Mr Sogavare is uncalled for and disrespectful.
In the interview with Radio Australia, which was relayed by SIBC (Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation) yesterday afternoon, Mr Peters appeared to question why Mr Sogavare was put forward as a candidate for Prime Minister by one of the Political Camps in the country, labelling him as a Prime Minister who had a poor relationship with Australia.
Mr Peters who was New Zealand’s Foreign Minister in 2006 said that Mr Sogavare’s poor relationship with Australia then, when he was Prime Minister of Solomon Islands also impacted on the country’s foreign relations at a time when the country (Solomon Islands) needed help.
Mr Peters described Mr Sogavare as a nationalist who always accused Australia of interfering with Solomon Islands when all Australia and New Zealand were doing was trying to help re-build Solomon Islands.
Mr Peters also described the situation experienced in Honiara during Mr Sogavare’s previous tenure as Prime Minister as ‘chaotic.’
However speaking on the matter, the former MP who wished not to be named said that Mr Peters does not have the right to speculate or exaggerate happenings in the past, adding that Mr Sogavare’s nomination was based on a democratically majority support.
“Mr Sogavare is indeed a hard man, however, a Prime Minister that has the heart for the nation.
“He is a true nationalist who stands head on for the country when bigger nations such as Australia are trying to interfere with our nation’s sovereignty.
“This is the quality leadership our country has lacked in previous governments and Mr Sogavare’s nomination comes at the right moment,” he said.
He said that Mr Peters should see for himself the reformations taking place in Solomon Islands before exaggerating on things that he knew nothing about.
“Mr Peters should come down and see for himself what state Solomon Islands is and has become before blabbing rubbish in the media,” he said.
The former MP’s remarks were also echoed by supporters of the Honiara Hotel camp who said that Mr Sogavare is one of few quality leaders capable of leading the nation forward.
This however, did not go down well with members of the opposite camp who claimed that Mr Sogavare has a hard and fearsome personality that may be seen as unwelcomed by most foreign investors and international donors.
“Much of what Mr Peters says about Mr Sogavare is true. We find it indeed shocking that the Honiara Hotel camp decided to nominate Mr Sogavare as their candidate for Prime Minister’s post.
“It is indeed a risky move, one which will see most MPs defect to our camp in search of a much appealing leader,” they said.
By JEREMY INIFIRI
