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Reconciliation and the Criminal Process in the Solomon Islands (Article) [2006] JSPL 11; (2006) 10(1) Journal of South Pacific Law

RECONCILIATION AND THE CRIMINAL PROCESS IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

NICK GOODENOUGH^[∗]

Abstract: Reconciliation is a fundamental part of the Solomon Islands. This article examines how that process sits with the criminal justice system and suggests that the proper role for reconciliation is only as an adjunct to the formal court process.

INTRODUCTION
The concept of reconciliation and compensation is very important in the Solomon Islands way of life. From the policy perspective it makes good sense that where a small population live in the finite reality of an island that a mechanism exists to enable continuous harmonious living. Both policy and anecdote suggest a role for reconciliation in Solomon Islands society.
Fifi’i, a Solomon Islander, referred to the value of this traditional method of resolving disputes as opposed to the imported British adversarial system when he stated that:

Our customary laws work better than (the criminal court process) - at least for us, and our way of life and the things we value. When compensation is paid, in shell money or whatever, then the two sides are joined together again. Both sides are satisfied and nobody is angry afterwards.^[1]

He goes on to say that after the matter is settled “people can go back to being friends again”^[2].
Reconciliation in a matter such as assault involves the parties who were involved getting together, usually with a moderator and family and friends present. The process varies but generally involves apologies, often prayer and a feast, as well as the exchange of valuables such as shell money as compensation. Cash is often used in modern society. Compensation is often paid to the family rather than to the specific victim. Once this process is gone through the matter is completed as far as the traditional concept is concerned, however it is not necessarily finished so far as the Court system is concerned.
This paper examines how reconciliation fits with the adversarial nature of the criminal justice system in general. It also considers the issue with particular reference to the problems specific to the Solomon Islands. As discussed below, over a period of some years the Solomon Islands descended into the ethnic tensions (“the tensions”) and it is apparent that customary reconciliation was not able to cope with the significant crimes which arose during that period.
Reconciliation works through the acquiescence and support of the community in which it exists, and where it is undermined from within that community the relevance and force it has is similarly reduced. Reconciliation works as a bridge to repair damaged relationships between individuals, families and communities. It is a very powerful tool for maintaining harmonious relationships when it is used in a genuine spirit of cooperation and friendly relations.
A major problem during the tensions was that many decisions of reconciliation were made at the point of a gun. It was more akin to demanding money with menaces than traditional resolution of conflict. The fact that reconciliation was able to be manipulated for personal enrichment by many suggests that it is a system open to abuse. This personal enrichment and abuse extended to the highest levels of Government.^[3]
Fifi’i acknowledges the need for other means than traditional ones when he says that murder and other serious crimes should be dealt with in the Court.^[4]

HISTORY OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS LEADING TO THE TENSIONS

The origin of the tensions can be traced back through the history of the country, even before it became a British Protectorate in 1893. It is fair to say, then as now, “kinship was the cement of each society, binding the individual to the group.”^[5] This overarching Melanesian trait is important when considering the recent history of the Solomon Islands.
The Solomon Islands has a history, even before independence in 1978, of migration amongst the islands. After World War II Honiara became the capital and large numbers of migrants, especially from Malaita, came to Guadalcanal. This led to a perception, and perhaps a reality, that Guadalcanal had a “monopolisation of services and facilities.”^[6] This further led to the development of Honiara, as well as resentment in outlying regions. Limited economic growth and development, together with Governmental corruption, meant that within a few years of independence the Solomon Islands became a “weak, rotting state.” ^[7]
Increasing pressure of population, limited arable land and lack of opportunity for young people, including education, made fertile ground for rebellion. Liloqula states that exploitation of natural resources also played a significant role.^[8] She points out as significant the failure of successive Governments to develop just and effective policies, while still failing to address fundamental differences between the different cultures of the Solomon Islands.^[9]
The Preamble to the Townsville Peace Agreement (“TPA”), which was intended to resolve the crisis of the tensions, describes how from April 1998 armed groups of Guadalcanal youths began evicting some 20,000 Malaitans from Guadalcanal land. The Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army (which later became the Isatabu Freedom Movement) and other organisations began to grow within the community and contributed to the build up of tension and violence.
Arkwright notes that: “What began as a small trickle of displaced Malaitans turned over 6 months into a river of refugees....”^[10]
In response, the Malaita Eagle Force (“MEF”) was formed to respond and retaliate. It consisted of many members of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (“RSIP”) whose numbers were overwhelmingly from Malaita. Hostilities continued, and a coup occurred on 5 June 2000. There was a ceasefire on 2 August 2000 and ultimately the TPA on 15 October 2000. Although a ceasefire came into operation, “(it) failed to solve many of the problems emanating from the civil unrest or to address the underlying causes...(such that) law and order continued to be a problem.”^[11]
In the small community which is the Solomon Islands the effects of the tensions were widespread. Rape, murder, robbery and intimidation were commonplace, at least in Honiara. Offences were committed by both sides, the MEF and Guadalcanal equivalents.
Even the TPA, which formally ended the fighting, failed to bring stability^[12]