The Solomon Islands prime minister says it is up to ordinary people to make sure the country does not slide back into more civil conflict.
Gordon Darcy Lilo made the comment during celebrations yesterday marking the 10th anniversary of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands or RAMSI, as well as the downsizing of the military operation to policing-only.
RAMSI was the result of repeated requests by the Solomon Islands government for international help to subdue unrest that claimed the lives of 200 people and inflicted tremendous suffering on thousands over a period of five years.
Annell Husband reports from the capital, Honiara.
It's a far cry from the same day a decade ago when hundreds of soldiers and police swooped into Honiara to restore law and order. The troops have gone home and today it's only a demonstration of Solomon Islands' own capability to maintain its stability. The police response team, 32 men and women, are an impressive-looking bunch as they jog from the parade ground in dark grey body armour that wouldn't be out of place on the set of a Terminator movie. One of them, Kerry Sireheti, explains the team's been training in public order management for the past two years.
KERRY SIREHETI: Last year we did level two and then this year we did level three. [So what does level three involve?] Level three is where it involves less lethal weapons. [Less lethal?] Less lethal. [OK, and such as?] Such as hand-held munitions, beanbag rounds, stun and flash, smokes...so it's not lethal.
RAMSI is touted as an exemplary form of regional co-operation, with the participation of all countries that belong to the Pacific Islands Forum, which sanctioned the intervention. Several Pacific Islands leaders attended the official anniversary ceremony at the national sports stadium, where a police band and two platoons of police officers on parade endured a three-hour stand in searing heat. Steven Bakap, from Temotu province - about a three-day boat ride from Honiara - describes it as a very important day.
STEVEN BAKAP: I think it's a celebration day for Solomon Islands, after the ethnic tension. It's already 10 years ago when the RAMSI arrived and they rescued Solomon Islands, yeah.
Australia has been the main contributor to the mission, spending more than two billion US dollars on the operation over the decade. The foreign minister Bob Carr says it's money well-spent.
BOB CARR: From an Australian or New Zealand perspective it is incalculably important that peace order and good government prevails in this archipelago of 1000 islands.
The mission has cost New Zealand more than 111 million US dollars but the bilateral aid spend over the decade almost quadruples that amount. The government is committed to continuing its work with the Royal Solomon Islands Police for another four years and the prime minister John Key says there'll be no rush to shorten that.
JOHN KEY: The police contribution here is about 17 people. They are doing a combination of things but primarily training. And I think we wouldn't want to rush that process if that meant that they felt that their police force either didn't have the numbers or hadn't been fully trained to the level that they would want.
Much is made of RAMSI's work in strengthening the machinery of government, including watchdog institutions such as the Leadership Code Commission. The Solomon Islands prime minister Gordon Darcy Lilo says claims of ongoing corruption in government are exaggerated.
GORDON DARCY LILO: Solomon Islands is a Christian country, you must understand that. We are very strong Christian country. And for people to over-exaggerate you know occurrences of dishonesty within our own society, that's kind of an explosive kind of a claim.
Gordon Darcy Lilo says the real test of RAMSI will be what Solomon Islands does now - whether the nation will hold together or crumble again into individual microcosms.
My plea to all of you is that please bring back the confidence so that we can once again ensure that this country is safe for our people, will you leap to your order? I want you to leap to that order.
