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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT MORESBY 000381 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/ANP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  9/13/2016 
TAGS: PREL PINR BP
SUBJECT: SOLOMON ISLANDS: PM KICKS AUSTRALIA IN THE SHIN 
 
REF: A) PORT MORESBY 353  B) PORT MORESBY 203 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Robert Fitts, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Port 
Moresby, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
1.(C) SUMMARY: The decision by the Solomon Islands PM to PNG the 
Australian High Commissioner seems a reflection of his personal 
(and rather adolescent) frustration over the large RAMSI role in 
Solomon decision making.  He does not appear to have a specific 
strategy in taking a poke at his country's largest benefactor. 
His September 13 meetings with special envoys from Australia and 
New Zealand went poorly and Australia is likely to take some 
steps in retaliation.  Both sides have been careful thus far to 
confine the friction to the bilateral relationship and try to 
keep RAMSI above the fray. Ambassador intends to express his 
personal concern over these developments to SIG FM Patteson Oti, 
who we believe backed the PM's decision. END SUMMARY 
 
2.(C) In a Sept 12 letter to Prime Minister Howard, Solomon 
Islands Prime Minister Sogavare declared Australian High 
Commissioner Patrick Cole personna non grata. This followed a 
Sept 11 phone call between the two PMs in which Howard declined 
Sogavare's request to withdraw Cole.  Separately, the SIG 
advised GOA that Cole had spent too much time talking to 
opposition figures and had opposed two of the terms of reference 
for Sogavare's Commission of Inquiry into the April riots. Of 
course, in doing so, Cole was respectively; doing his job and 
reflecting Australian government policy. 
 
3.(C) In fact, Sogavare and the people behind him have been 
increasingly rankled by the large role that Australia and other 
RAMSI members play in Solomon Islands affairs (ref B). A main 
bone of contention is the Commission of Inquiry that Sogavare 
has launched into the April riots which seems designed to shift 
blame on the police and away from his political cronies who are 
in jail charged with inciting the violence and now with planning 
murder (Ref A).  Encouraged by the RAMSI-provided advisors, the 
Attorney General had challenged the terms of reference for that 
Commission in court.  Sogavare has since repeatedly charged that 
Australia was improperly interfering the Solomon Islands courts. 
On Sept 7, the Solomon court rejected the A/G's petition, which 
would seem to refute the PM's contention, but Sogavare has 
continued to charge improper Australian interference. 
 
4.(C) Despite the court decision, Australia and other observers 
remain extremely concerned with the PM's motivation for the 
Commission and two senior envoys from Australia and New Zealand 
were already scheduled to meet with the PM Sept 13. Deputy 
Secretaries of the Foreign Departments, respectively Australia's 
 
SIPDIS 
David Ritchie and New Zealand's John Larkindale arrived in the 
midst of this furor with a widely expanded agenda. 
 
5.(C) The atmospherics around the meeting were not good. 
Sogavare canceled the scheduled 8:30 session, claiming it hadn't 
been set up through proper channels. In a radio interview, he 
said the meeting was rescheduled for 2:30, but sent no other 
notice.  When the envoys showed up, the PM's staff professed no 
knowledge of any new meeting. 
 
6.(C) The meeting itself, when it finally convened, was little 
better. There was no meeting of the minds, with Sogavare 
refusing to back down on his move and the envoy's pointing out 
how difficult this made it for them to justify their nation's 
large-scale commitment to Solomon Islands. 
 
7.(C) We understand (please hold close) that as a next step 
Australia now has cleared, but not finally approved, a proposal 
to cancel all outstanding visas held by Solomon Island 
parliamentarians.  Each would be reconsidered on a case-by-case 
basis. This would have some real teeth as the only 
non-Australian routes out of Solomon Islands are twice weekly 
flights to Port Moresby and to Vanuatu. In addition, 
Australian/New Zealand personnel with RAMSI would be barred from 
participating in the Commission of Inquiry. 
 
8.(C) COMMENT:  Observers are at a loss to come up with a 
rational political motivation for Sogavare's action.  Though 
many in the political elite will be privately pleased to see him 
take a poke at Australia, the general public would become 
concerned indeed if it perceived that his actions would 
jeopardize RAMSI's ability to keep the peace, which has made an 
enormous improvement to their lives.  Any such unease could cost 
him heavily in the no-confidence vote now scheduled for October 
¶2. 
 
9.(C) There may be no careful rationale. Clearly, Sogavare 
 
PORT MORES 00000381  002 OF 002 
 
 
resents Australia's role.  One month back, he complained to the 
Ambassador that RAMSI (by which he meant Australia) should be 
"here to help us decide. But they should not make the 
decisions."  The main impression we gained from his demeanor is 
that of a frustrated adolescent, dependent and resenting that 
dependence; wanting to go on an all night binge without anyone 
telling him he shouldn't. 
 
10.(C) With the concurrence of Australian authorities, we 
believe it most effective for our two countries convey separate 
messages, but with common themes.  Consequently, Ambassador 
intends to express to SIG FM Patteson Oti, his personal concern 
over the recent steps, making it clear that an official reaction 
may also be in the offing. 
FITTS