VZCZCXRO3504
RR RUEHPB
DE RUEHPB #0460/01 3240717
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 200717Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4683
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0937
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0163
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0209
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 2129

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT MORESBY 000460 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/ANP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/20/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV BP
SUBJECT: SOLOMON ISLANDS:  PRIME MINISTER SOGAVARE VS RAMSI 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Leslie Rowe, Ambassador, AMB, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Leslie Rowe, Ambassador, AMB, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1.  (U )  SUMMARY: Ambassador traveled to the Solomon Islands to 
present her credentials and met with Prime Minister Manasseh 
Sogavare.  Discussion centered on Sogavare's continued 
dissatisfaction over RAMSI presence and in particular the 
ongoing row between the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) and 
Australia.  Sogavare is looking forward to the Pacific Islands 
Forum Task Force (PIF) review and Fiji Prime Minister Qarase's 
planned visit in early December.  He also plans to propose 
changes when the RAMSI Facilitation Act is reviewed in July 
¶2007.  During the visit, Ambassador met with a wide variety of 
politicians, business leaders and civil society who do not share 
Sogavare's views and are nervous that the SIG may move toward 
reducing RAMSI's presence.  The Prime Minister also called for 
renewed U.S. engagement through the return of Peace Corps and SI 
participation in the Millennium Challenge Account.  Throughout 
the visit, dozens of individuals expressed their high regard for 
the United States, dating back to World War II, and made similar 
requests for renewed bilateral engagement.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (C)  RAMSI:  Ambassador met with Prime Minister Sogavare on 
November 15 after presenting her credentials to the 
Governor-General earlier in the day.  Ambassador asked Sogavare 
for his views on the current situation in the country, and he 
led off expressing his dissatisfaction with Australia's dominant 
role of RAMSI.   ' RAMSI has drifted away from its original 
approach to be a regional entity, 'he said.   'There is a need 
to localize positions and take Australia out of the equation 
because it has created two regimes - RAMSI and the government. 
There are 230 RAMSI officials in 'line officer' positions 
actually running operations when they should only act as 
advisers to the SIG.  RAMSI officials are not interested in an 
exit strategy.  There is also no clear distinction between RAMSI 
and AusAID.  Ninety percent of Australian assistance goes back 
to Canberra in salaries for their officials.  RAMSI has also 
missed the whole reason for the 2000 coup.  It has not addressed 
the causes surrounding the coup -economic issues and disrespect 
for custom and culture.  RAMSI is too heavy handed -- it is not 
necessary to have trucks with armed soldiers driving around 
Honiara.' 
 
¶4.  (C)  REVIEW PROCESS:  Sogavare said that he is looking 
forward to the review of RAMSI by the Pacific Island Forum Task 
Force, but made it clear that the SIG - not the PIF - will take 
the lead in the review.  PIF officials, including Fiji Prime 
Minister Qarase, are expected to visit the SI to begin the 
review December 5-7.  He outlined the SIG's six point plan for 
the review: respect for SI territorial sovereignty and 
integrity; restoration of the regional character of RAMSI; 
establishment of a Forum Ministerial Standing Committee to 
oversee the operations of RAMSI; exit strategy for RAMSI; 
independent review of RAMSI operations; a clear demarcation 
between RAMSI and AusAID programs.  He said that the annual 
review of the Facilitation Act which created RAMSI will be 
conducted by Parliament in July, and that he would move to 
remove the immunities of RAMSI officials.  (NOTE: an MP made an 
unsuccessful attempt to do this in the past.  If immunities were 
removed, it would probably lead to the departure of RAMSI and 
other expatriate officials.  Sogavare may have taken this page 
from the PNG playbook, where Australia's Enhanced Cooperation 
Program (ECP) fell victim to a decision by the country's highest 
court that immunity for Australian police officers in PNG was 
unconstitutional. More than 200 police officers were immediately 
withdrawn.  END NOTE). 
 
¶5.  (C)  AUSTRALIA:  Sogavare was clearly incensed by what he 
perceives as Australia's encroachment on his authority as Prime 
Minister.  He said that former Australian High Commissioner, 
Patrick Cole, was declared persona non grata in September 
because he was interfering in SI political affairs.  He 
recounted that after Cole's expulsion, Prime Minister Howard 
called and told him  ' I will make things very difficult for you 
and your government.' 
 
¶6.  (C)  POLICE RAID:  Sogavare also said that Australian 
officials are very heavy handed.  They do not abide by SI law 
and report instead to Canberra.  He cited as an example the 
incident in which Shane Castles, the Australian Police 
Commissioner in  SI, ordered police officials to raid Sogavare's 
office while he attended the October Pacific Island Forum 
meeting in Fiji.   ' They kicked in the door to my office and 
took a fax machine. - the wrong fax machine!'  he laughed. 
(NOTE: In the raid, police searched for evidence that the Prime 
Minister's office had been involved in facilitating the October 
 
PORT MORES 00000460  002 OF 003 
 
 
transfer of his attorney general candidate, Australian Julian 
Moti, from Papua New Guinea.  Moti is wanted in Australia to 
face charges of sex offenses against a minor in Vanuatu. END 
NOTE).  Castles is due to leave in April, 2007.  However, 
Sogavare said that he asked the Governor General to relieve 
Castles of his duties earlier.  When asked who might replace 
Castles, Sogavare said that he would look first for a Solomon 
Islander.  He said that Prime Minister Michael Somare has also 
offered a Papua New Guinean.   Additional candidates might come 
from other Pacific islands, the United Kingdom or New Zealand. 
 '  Australia is not to call the shots'  he said. 
 
¶7.  (C)  REGIME CHANGE?  Sogavare appeared to calm down and 
reduce his anti-RAMSI/Australia rhetoric after he returned from 
the PIF meeting in October.  Some contacts speculated that other 
PIF leaders, in particular PNG Prime Minister Somare, had a 
moderating effect on Sogavare.  Unfortunately, over the last 
week, Sogavare has returned to his attacks on Australia.  He and 
Foreign Minister Oti are playing the sovereignty card on a daily 
basis in the press and appear to be looking for ways to reduce 
Australia's role in RAMSI.  On November 13, the Prime Minister's 
office issued a press release statement saying he was 
disappointed with the Australian government's refusal to accept 
his conditions to  transfer Julian Moti to Australia to face 
charges.  (The conditions include guarantees that Moti can 
travel freely and that he will not be mistreated).  The 
statement reported that the SIG ' cannot continue to tolerate 
Australia's ignorant and bullying attitude.  Some ignorant 
Australians have influenced Solomon Islanders including the 
media to join them in a ruthless campaign to oust him (Sogavare) 
from office in the last two months.  The majority of Solomon 
Islanders supports the SIG and the Prime minister and wants to 
stop Australia from using RAMSI to destabilize the government. ' 
  He asked Solomon Islanders to ' watch out for Australian 
agents in the country; to watch out for dirty manipulative words 
to oust the current government.'    A number of people expressed 
concern to the Ambassador that Sogavare's provocative statements 
could incite violence toward  Australians.  There is also 
concern that Sogavare is intent on Moti becoming his Attorney 
General.  He reportedly attended a cabinet meeting last week, 
despite the fact that he is facing charges of immigration 
violations in the SI and potential extradition to Australia. 
 
¶8. (C)  CIVIL SOCIETY AND RAMSI:  Although Sogavare maintains 
that  ' 90% of Solomon Islanders support me on RAMSI,'  this was 
not borne out in Ambassador's meetings with a  variety of 
leaders in civil society, other branches of government and the 
media.  There is clearly widespread support for RAMSI and 
genuine concern that should RAMSI leave, the SI may return to 
the instability and violence of the post 2000 coup period. 
There was no public outcry when the Prime Minister's office was 
raided, because in the words of the Speaker of Parliament  ' No 
one is above the law. '  When Sogavare advocated in Parliament 
for the removal of RAMSI, seven of nine provincial premiers 
spoke out in support of RAMSI.  Opposition leaders asked for a 
vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister which ultimately did 
not succeed. 
 
¶9.  (C)  COMMENT:  Despite general support by the public and 
many community leaders, there is sentiment that some RAMSI 
officials/contractors have been heavy handed, not sensitive to 
cultural issues and at times patronizing in their treatment of 
Solomon Islanders.  One diplomat related that a RAMSI official 
told him  ' I've worked in the Northern Territory (of Australia) 
and I know how to deal with these people.'   Another key issue 
is the lack of discussion between the SIG and RAMSI on a general 
exit strategy.  One high level RAMSI official estimated that it 
could take 10-15 years for SIG officials to assume functions now 
performed by RAMSI.  It is highly doubtful that the SIG or the 
majority of Solomon Islanders envision RAMSI's presence for that 
long.  The review of RAMSI by the PIF task force should address 
some of these issues.  Hopefully, Prime Minister Sogavare will 
again listen to the advice of PIF elder statesmen and adopt the 
recommendations of the PIF review.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10.  (C)  BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT:  Sogavare and Ambassador also 
discussed ways to enhance the bilateral relationship.  He and 
dozens of other Solomon Islanders sounded the familiar requests 
for bilateral engagement: the return of Peace Corps, the 
Fulbright program, increased development assistance, 
participation in the Millennium Challenge Account.  In her 
credentials presentation speech, the Ambassador stated that the 
U.S. supported RAMSI and the peace and security it had brought 
to the SI.  This was prominently featured in the press.  Several 
leaders mentioned that the US visit was important at this time 
to help defuse the situation.  The overwhelmingly positive view 
that Solomon Islanders hold of Americans, still vibrant so many 
decades after World War II, was impressive.  The Embassy will 
follow up to explore several possibilities to strengthen 
 
PORT MORES 00000460  003 OF 003 
 
 
bilateral engagement. 
ROWE