Post Conflict Development Countries |
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Solomon Islands |
Solomon Islands achieved independence from the UK in 1978. Ethnic fighting over
land rights and jobs, government malfunction and crime, have undermined stability.
Atrocities, including torture and beheadings, marked a period of ethnic unrest that
began in the late 1990s. This strife led to 20,000 people abandoning their homes
and leaving the region.
The attempted coup in June 2000, which had left up to 100 people dead, took the
Prime Minister hostage and forced him to resign. The peace deal signed in October
of that year did not stop the upheaval.
Due to economic difficulties, the government was unable to pay wages and fund services
in 2002. This was followed by growing lawlessness. In August 2002, a government
minister was shot dead on the orders of a tribal warlord.
The government accepted a multinational peacekeeping plan in July 2003. Soon after
the government’s invitation, Australian-led unarmed peacekeeping force arrived to
restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. Although the civil war left the country
on the brink of bankruptcy, the Australian intervention made available some financial
assistance and provided for the appointment of foreign nationals to government posts.
However, post-election riots in April 2006 raised new doubts about self–sustaining
capabilities of Solomon Islands. On May 4, an opposition leader has been chosen
as the country's new Prime Minister. |
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