Central Malaita Student Association Blog Site: SOMETHING TERRIBLE WILL HAPPEN: WITNESSES SAY

Solomonstar News.com

By JOY A RIKIMAE

Honiara

TWO witnesses who testified before the Commission of Inquiry into the April riots said they were aware that something terrible will happen if the Kemakeza Government returns to power.

The two witnesses Julian Ketei and Noelyn John are residents of Burns Creek, East Honiara.According to Mrs Ketei, who was a Club Paradise employee at the time of the riot, on April 18 when she arrived at her work place her workmates told her to work quickly because Honiara will be burnt down.

“They told me I have to return home early because parliamentarians will vote for the Prime Minister and something might happen if the former government returns to power,” Mrs Ketei told the commission yesterday.

She said by the time she left her workplace two people she met had told her that something had happened at the parliament house.She said at Burns Creek some youth who were selling betel nut in a stall were quite happy when she relayed the story she heard in town to them.

“The boys said that is good, let it burn because when we elect our leaders they bring no change, everything is just the same,” Mrs Ketei quoted the youths.

The Commission of Inquiry into the April riots is currently holding hearings into the April riots last year to find out why it happened, its causes, who involved and how to stop it repeating in future.

Mrs Ketei told the hearing yesterday that a few days after the riot she and some women gathered to discuss their views on the incident.“Some women said Chinatown was burnt because the Chinese business people have not treated their workers fairly such as not paying enough wages to their workers.

“Therefore, some workers who have families relying on them are experiencing too much difficulty in meeting their family’s basic needs,” Mrs Ketei said.

Mrs Ketei told the hearing that youth and the parliamentarians are held responsible for the riot.“Politicians make all kinds of promises during their campaigns but when people vote for them and get them into power, they forget to fulfil those promises. That made people angry because some of those promises are to meet the basic needs of communities.”

Another witness Mrs John said she also heard from other people in Burns Creek prior to the riot that some thing will happen if the former government return to power.She said people have express disagreement over the former government because it had failed to meet the basic needs of the Burns Creek community.

She said she had also learned that people from other provinces did not want the former government as well.She said basic needs such as water supply, electricity, clinics, schools and roads as poorly addressed.

“Even the free education system that the former government also talked about was not also fulfil,” Mrs John said.She suggested that any government in the future must address the issues raised in order that no riot will happen again.

The Government also need to address local people to start or run their businesses, assist locals to address land issues in Honiara, especially in the distribution of land as it is always been unfairly distributed.“With regards to business, some of the business activities where those who are uneducated can do were always blocked by the government.

This is a concern because we do not have the brains to do bigger businesses so the only things that we are able to manage are things like, betel nut stalls, fish and chips and other small activities, “ Mrs John said.She said education must be the priority of the government because illiteracy is very high.Mrs John said she strongly believed that if the current Government and any Governments coming in the future address those needs, there will be change in the rural communities and the town and nothing like a riot will take place again.Meanwhile, the third witness, Samson Alegao, of Kaibia Settlement in Honiara agreed that the background of the riot is the anger of the people towards the former government.

They do not want the former government to return to power again because they think it was corrupted, therefore, they want to see the change in Government.“ So when they saw Snyder Rini getting the Prime Minister ship, they got angry and reacted in a hostile way which ended in the riot.”Alegao also blamed the local police and RAMSI for failing to stop the riot when it started at the Parliament.

He said, it should have been the local police who should control the crowd at the Parliament house and not RAMSI.“ I suggested that police must bring back the riot squad that our local police once had. I also see that it was wrong for RAMSI to equip with guns because the fact is it made people to get angry. I think if local police approach people they will listen because they do it with bare hands,” he explained.

Alegao suggested that the Government must observe and must always equipped our local police, at the same time police too must be trained to deal with such problems.He also highlighted that Government leaders too must refrain from any involvement in corrupt activities.And they must learn and listen to the wishes of their people.

Three Directors from the Winds of Change anti - corruption organisation will give their testimonies today.

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