Australian Federal Police officer Geoff Clarson accepts a weapon from a former militant in Avu Avu

RAMSI Special Coordinator Nick Warner thanks the mothers of Avu Avu for convincing their sons to surrender their weapons

Australian Federal Police officer Tim Dahlstrom confers with RSIP colleagues to check weapon serial numbers in Kira Kira

An Australian soldier fuels a fire to destroy surrendered weapons at Avu Avu

Australian Federal Police officers Mark Johnsen, Tim Dahlstrom and Frank Morgan share a tropical shower with local kids at Kira Kira

Harold Keke behind bars
Published Friday 15 August 2003

By Brian Hartigan in Honiara
The biggest news from the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in the past week was the surrender and arrest of Harold Keke on the Weathercoast.

His arrest on Wednesday was the culmination of a series of sensitive meetings between Mr Keke and RAMSI officials and is a crucial development in the mission.

Following this arrest and the subsequent weapons surrender by his men, no excuse now remains for those people who have been reluctant to hand in their weapons while Mr Keke was armed and at large.

With less than one week remaining until the end of the weapons amnesty, RAMSI leaders again remind all people of the Solomon Islands that they must give up their guns forever and give peace a chance.

Other developments in this past week have seen the establishment of more police stations outside Honiara.

On Friday of last week, two police officers and 50 soldiers were attached to the police station at Auki in Malita Province.

This mixture of police and military, similar to the arrangements earlier made in Avu Avu, is considered important for the safety of both the police officers stationed there and the community in which they now live and work.

Other police stations have been established - or will be established by the end of this week - at Kolina and Tari.

On Saturday, members of RAMSI visited the police station at Kira Kira in Makira Province and were delighted to take away more than 170 weapons, the largest single haul to that time.

RSIP Commissioner Bill Morrell also visited Kira Kira on the same day.

Sunday saw RAMSI members including Nick Warner, Ben McDevitt and John Frewen return to Avu Avu for a moving and spectacular traditional ceremony during which a number of guns, including high-powered military-style weapons, were handed in and later destroyed by fire.

During the ceremony, local leaders openly questioned the wisdom of giving up their guns at a time when Harold Keke was still free on Guadalcanal, but were told by Ben McDevitt and John Frewen that their safety was assured by the strong military and police presence now living in their community.

RAMSI Special Coordinator Nick Warner told the gathering that someone had to be the first to put down their weapons and that with RAMSI assuring their safety, their bravery would be remembered and would be rewarded by peace for their children and their children's children.

Mr Warner gave special thanks to the mothers of Avu Avu who had convinced their sons to surrender their weapons.

On Tuesday, the number of police serving with RAMSI was bolstered by the arrival of 23 police officers from New Zealand who will be deployed to general duties and investigations and join the Australian Federal Police who already have about 75 police on the ground in the Solomon Islands.

Today (Friday Aug 15), another 33 Australian Federal Police and Australian Protective Service officers will arrive in Honiara and will also be deployed to investigations and general duties patrols as well as to the protection of key buildings.

With several days of tropical downpours in the Solomon Islands recently, coupled with many kilometres of dirt tracks to be patrolled, the Participating Police Force were finding it hard to keep their vehicles clean and professionally presented.
But, that all changed with the help of the local scout group.

Inspector Bob Sobey heard about the local scout group running activities to raise funds and quickly arranged for the scouts to wash the police vehicles.

With the scouts up to their waist in Lungga River vigorously scrubbing the mud from police four-wheel-drives, Inspector Sobey said the wash was a great way to achieve two important things at the same time.

"We get our cars clean and the scouts get some benefit from it as well," he said.

Having police cars washed in a river is an unusual arrangement for the visiting police officers, but the feeling was that doing things as the locals do was probably a very sensible and practical solution to a dirty problem.