By Linny Folau

Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara was the centre for great celebration on July 24 to mark the anniversary of the arrival of RAMSI at the Solomon Islands and to celebrate a new, safer and a better Solomon Islands.

Groups marched from Town Ground in central Honiara to Lawson Tama Stadium, led by the RAMSI Australian Defence Band and the peace keepers from Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, each carrying their national flags.

Among the marchers were school children, NGOs, businesses and local Solomon Islanders who were singing with joy and shouting, "Thank You RAMSI".

At the stadium the marchers paid their respects to the visiting overseas dignitaries, including the Australian Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill, the New Zealand Defence Minister Hon. Mark Burton, the Prime Minister of Tonga Prince Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, and police commissioners from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea.

The Prime Minister of Tonga, Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, represented the eight Pacific Participating Forces of RAMSI and thanked the people of the Solomon Islands for, "Giving us, the participating countries of RAMSI the opportunity to show how good neighbours can help each other.

"We have used our cultural and other differences to our own advantage, if I have learned one thing here, it is the message of working together. Together we can overcome, together we can move forward and together we have hope for our part of the world," he said.

The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Sir Allen Kamikeza responded and thanked RAMSI, a word which he said had become part of the common language in the villages, fireplaces, kitchens, dining rooms, in canoes and boats.

"When our lives were disturbed and disrupted and almost completely destroyed from the period of 1997-2000, the basis of our survival as a people and as a nation was out of order and our constitution status and work commissions were the rage of corruption. But because I ensured that the top most priority of my government was to deal with peace and security issues of this country, that is why RAMSI came in," he said.

The Australian Defence Minister, Senator Robert Hill, praised the leadership of Sir Allen Kamikeza, he said that it was not easy for a leader to admit a problem and to ask for help, but that was exactly what the leadership of the Solomon Islands did 12 months ago.

He said that in response to the request the ten countries of the South Pacific came together at a very short notice and put together a unique force, a police contingent supported by an International Military contingent.

"The success in restoring law and order in this short period of time does demonstrate what can be achieved when we do work constructively and positively together." He said that although a strong foundation has been built, and there is still a lot of work to be done but, "we want to see the Solomon Islands build upon that foundation to rebuild its institutions, its economy and to provide a better future for all the communities of the Solomon Islands.

The New Zealand Defence Minister Hon. Mark Burton also hailed RAMSI as a great success, "we came as friends in answer to a call in our own neighbourhood, the work we have done together is proof of the very special nature of the Pacific. Now we can do things together in a very special way, and great lessons can be learned for the future not only for the Solomon Islands but for our region," he said.

See also: Still a lot of work to be done in Solomons, says Tongan PM [2]

Gun free monument marks region's mission in the Solomons [3]

Solomon Islands Pacific Group Media Visit - Photo News [4]