Solomon Islands: Calm this morning follows curfew

Thursday, 20 April 2006, 7:50 pm
Press Release: Radio New Zealand International

Calm in Solomon Islands this morning following an overnight curfew

The streets of Solomon Islands capital Honiara appear to be calmer this morning after police imposed an overnight curfew to quell rioting there.

Honiara has been rocked by rioting and looting over the last two days after protests broke out over the parliamentary election of Snyder Rini as prime minister.

Australia has deployed 110 more soldiers to the strife torn region, to join the 282 Australian Federal Police already there.

Our correspondent in Honiara, Dorothy Wickham, says the police presence is now a lot more obvious on the streets than it was in the last two days.

“It’s calmer now than it was 24 hours ago. There’s no obvious signs of looters now. But I think Honiara residents are expecting pockets of resistance throughout the day, and we might have larger signs of resistance later on tonight.”

Meanwhile a contingent of 55 New Zealand police officers and army personnel are heading to Solomon Islands this morning.

© Scoop Media

RNZ

New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.

Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.

Contact RNZ

• Website - www.radionz.co.nz
• Twitter - @rnz_news
• Facebook
• Link - Contact RNZ