SOLOMON ISLANDS: PRIME MINISTER SOGAVARE VS RAMSI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT MORESBY 000460

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/ANP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV BP
SUBJECT: SOLOMON ISLANDS: PRIME MINISTER SOGAVARE VS RAMSI

CLASSIFIED BY: Leslie Rowe, Ambassador, AMB, State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

CLASSIFIED BY: Leslie Rowe, Ambassador, AMB, State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)


1. (U ) SUMMARY: Ambassador traveled to the Solomon Islands to
present her credentials and met with Prime Minister Manasseh
Sogavare. Discussion centered on Sogavare's continued
dissatisfaction over RAMSI presence and in particular the
ongoing row between the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) and
Australia. Sogavare is looking forward to the Pacific Islands
Forum Task Force (PIF) review and Fiji Prime Minister Qarase's
planned visit in early December. He also plans to propose
changes when the RAMSI Facilitation Act is reviewed in July

2007. During the visit, Ambassador met with a wide variety of
politicians, business leaders and civil society who do not share
Sogavare's views and are nervous that the SIG may move toward
reducing RAMSI's presence. The Prime Minister also called for
renewed U.S. engagement through the return of Peace Corps and SI
participation in the Millennium Challenge Account. Throughout
the visit, dozens of individuals expressed their high regard for
the United States, dating back to World War II, and made similar
requests for renewed bilateral engagement. END SUMMARY


2. (C) RAMSI: Ambassador met with Prime Minister Sogavare on
November 15 after presenting her credentials to the
Governor-General earlier in the day. Ambassador asked Sogavare
for his views on the current situation in the country, and he
led off expressing his dissatisfaction with Australia's dominant
role of RAMSI. ' RAMSI has drifted away from its original
approach to be a regional entity, 'he said. 'There is a need
to localize positions and take Australia out of the equation
because it has created two regimes - RAMSI and the government.
There are 230 RAMSI officials in 'line officer' positions
actually running operations when they should only act as
advisers to the SIG. RAMSI officials are not interested in an
exit strategy. There is also no clear distinction between RAMSI
and AusAID. Ninety percent of Australian assistance goes back
to Canberra in salaries for their officials. RAMSI has also
missed the whole reason for the 2000 coup. It has not addressed
the causes surrounding the coup -economic issues and disrespect
for custom and culture. RAMSI is too heavy handed -- it is not
necessary to have trucks with armed soldiers driving around
Honiara.'


4. (C) REVIEW PROCESS: Sogavare said that he is looking
forward to the review of RAMSI by the Pacific Island Forum Task
Force, but made it clear that the SIG - not the PIF - will take
the lead in the review. PIF officials, including Fiji Prime
Minister Qarase, are expected to visit the SI to begin the
review December 5-7. He outlined the SIG's six point plan for
the review: respect for SI territorial sovereignty and
integrity; restoration of the regional character of RAMSI;
establishment of a Forum Ministerial Standing Committee to
oversee the operations of RAMSI; exit strategy for RAMSI;
independent review of RAMSI operations; a clear demarcation
between RAMSI and AusAID programs. He said that the annual
review of the Facilitation Act which created RAMSI will be
conducted by Parliament in July, and that he would move to
remove the immunities of RAMSI officials. (NOTE: an MP made an
unsuccessful attempt to do this in the past. If immunities were
removed, it would probably lead to the departure of RAMSI and
other expatriate officials. Sogavare may have taken this page
from the PNG playbook, where Australia's Enhanced Cooperation
Program (ECP) fell victim to a decision by the country's highest
court that immunity for Australian police officers in PNG was
unconstitutional. More than 200 police officers were immediately
withdrawn. END NOTE).


5. (C) AUSTRALIA: Sogavare was clearly incensed by what he
perceives as Australia's encroachment on his authority as Prime
Minister. He said that former Australian High Commissioner,
Patrick Cole, was declared persona non grata in September
because he was interfering in SI political affairs. He
recounted that after Cole's expulsion, Prime Minister Howard
called and told him ' I will make things very difficult for you
and your government.'


6. (C) POLICE RAID: Sogavare also said that Australian
officials are very heavy handed. They do not abide by SI law
and report instead to Canberra. He cited as an example the
incident in which Shane Castles, the Australian Police
Commissioner in SI, ordered police officials to raid Sogavare's
office while he attended the October Pacific Island Forum
meeting in Fiji. ' They kicked in the door to my office and
took a fax machine. - the wrong fax machine!' he laughed.
(NOTE: In the raid, police searched for evidence that the Prime
Minister's office had been involved in facilitating the October

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transfer of his attorney general candidate, Australian Julian
Moti, from Papua New Guinea. Moti is wanted in Australia to
face charges of sex offenses against a minor in Vanuatu. END
NOTE). Castles is due to leave in April, 2007. However,
Sogavare said that he asked the Governor General to relieve
Castles of his duties earlier. When asked who might replace
Castles, Sogavare said that he would look first for a Solomon
Islander. He said that Prime Minister Michael Somare has also
offered a Papua New Guinean. Additional candidates might come
from other Pacific islands, the United Kingdom or New Zealand.
' Australia is not to call the shots' he said.


7. (C) REGIME CHANGE? Sogavare appeared to calm down and
reduce his anti-RAMSI/Australia rhetoric after he returned from
the PIF meeting in October. Some contacts speculated that other
PIF leaders, in particular PNG Prime Minister Somare, had a
moderating effect on Sogavare. Unfortunately, over the last
week, Sogavare has returned to his attacks on Australia. He and
Foreign Minister Oti are playing the sovereignty card on a daily
basis in the press and appear to be looking for ways to reduce
Australia's role in RAMSI. On November 13, the Prime Minister's
office issued a press release statement saying he was
disappointed with the Australian government's refusal to accept
his conditions to transfer Julian Moti to Australia to face
charges. (The conditions include guarantees that Moti can
travel freely and that he will not be mistreated). The
statement reported that the SIG ' cannot continue to tolerate
Australia's ignorant and bullying attitude. Some ignorant
Australians have influenced Solomon Islanders including the
media to join them in a ruthless campaign to oust him (Sogavare)
from office in the last two months. The majority of Solomon
Islanders supports the SIG and the Prime minister and wants to
stop Australia from using RAMSI to destabilize the government. '
He asked Solomon Islanders to ' watch out for Australian
agents in the country; to watch out for dirty manipulative words
to oust the current government.' A number of people expressed
concern to the Ambassador that Sogavare's provocative statements
could incite violence toward Australians. There is also
concern that Sogavare is intent on Moti becoming his Attorney
General. He reportedly attended a cabinet meeting last week,
despite the fact that he is facing charges of immigration
violations in the SI and potential extradition to Australia.


8. (C) CIVIL SOCIETY AND RAMSI: Although Sogavare maintains
that ' 90% of Solomon Islanders support me on RAMSI,' this was
not borne out in Ambassador's meetings with a variety of
leaders in civil society, other branches of government and the
media. There is clearly widespread support for RAMSI and
genuine concern that should RAMSI leave, the SI may return to
the instability and violence of the post 2000 coup period.
There was no public outcry when the Prime Minister's office was
raided, because in the words of the Speaker of Parliament ' No
one is above the law. ' When Sogavare advocated in Parliament
for the removal of RAMSI, seven of nine provincial premiers
spoke out in support of RAMSI. Opposition leaders asked for a
vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister which ultimately did
not succeed.


9. (C) COMMENT: Despite general support by the public and
many community leaders, there is sentiment that some RAMSI
officials/contractors have been heavy handed, not sensitive to
cultural issues and at times patronizing in their treatment of
Solomon Islanders. One diplomat related that a RAMSI official
told him ' I've worked in the Northern Territory (of Australia)
and I know how to deal with these people.' Another key issue
is the lack of discussion between the SIG and RAMSI on a general
exit strategy. One high level RAMSI official estimated that it
could take 10-15 years for SIG officials to assume functions now
performed by RAMSI. It is highly doubtful that the SIG or the
majority of Solomon Islanders envision RAMSI's presence for that
long. The review of RAMSI by the PIF task force should address
some of these issues. Hopefully, Prime Minister Sogavare will
again listen to the advice of PIF elder statesmen and adopt the
recommendations of the PIF review. END COMMENT.


10. (C) BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT: Sogavare and Ambassador also
discussed ways to enhance the bilateral relationship. He and
dozens of other Solomon Islanders sounded the familiar requests
for bilateral engagement: the return of Peace Corps, the
Fulbright program, increased development assistance,
participation in the Millennium Challenge Account. In her
credentials presentation speech, the Ambassador stated that the
U.S. supported RAMSI and the peace and security it had brought
to the SI. This was prominently featured in the press. Several
leaders mentioned that the US visit was important at this time
to help defuse the situation. The overwhelmingly positive view
that Solomon Islanders hold of Americans, still vibrant so many
decades after World War II, was impressive. The Embassy will
follow up to explore several possibilities to strengthen

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bilateral engagement.
ROWE