Solomon Islands leader blames foreign interference for unrest – By Axios Newsroom (Axios) / Nov 26 2021
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Friday “foreign powers” were to blame for days of unrest in the South Pacific nation.
Why it matters: His government’s decision to change alliances from Taiwan to China sparked a wave of anger and massive protests and riots in the capital, Honiara, this week — which resulted in Sogavare declaring a lockdown and calling in Australian police, who swept in to take control of the city Friday, per Reuters.
- Honiara’s Chinatown became a target of looters and rioters, with buildings burned down in the area and in the downtown precinct, AP reports.
What they’re saying: Sogavare told the ABC that unspecified foreign powers had fed protesters “false and deliberate lies about the switch” to Beijing.
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