24 May 2002

Solomons police hand in dozens of high powered guns

2:33 pm on 24 May 2002

There has been a breakthrough in the gun surrender programme in Solomon Islands with police handing in dozens of high powered guns today.

An amnesty for the handing in of guns and stolen property ends in a week and the Government has promised to take action against those who refuse to surrender their weapons by then.

Many of the hundreds of high powered guns illegally in the community are held by police with links to former militants.

On Wednesday the Deputy Commissioner Wilfrid Akao addressed around five hundred officers and told them the time had come to surrender the guns.

This morning there was a police parade and a symbolic handing over of 20 high powered guns.

Since then, peace monitors and a church group, the Melanesian Brothers, have been accepting weapons handed in anonymously, and as of mid afternoon, had received 77 weapons and more than two thousand rounds of ammunition.

57 of the guns are high powered weapons.