Protesters burn down parliament building, police station in Solomon Islands

Curfew has been imposed in Solomon Islands capital Honiara after protesters allegedly burned down a building in the parliament precinct, a police station and a store, amid reports of looting.

The burnt building was reportedly owned by a Chinese national.

The agitators were demanding the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, to step down over failure to deliver promised infrastructure among other complaints, according to local media reports.

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According to reports, the protesters belonged to Malaita province, the most populous province in the pacific island country,whose provincial government has had tense relations with the central government for years.

The tensions are also being attributed to Sogavare’s decision in 2019 to cutties with Taiwan and establish a diplomatic relationship with China—a move that angered Malaita premier Daniel Suidani.

Police on Wednesday fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters when they marched towards the parliament, a police spokesman said.

“A crowd formed in front of the parliament, I don’t know the exact numbers but it was a huge crowd,” the unnamed policeman told the AFP news agency.

“They intended to make the prime minister resign – that’s the public speculation – but we’re still investigating the motives. The important thing is police now have control of the situation and no one is out on the streets.”

He said police were unaware of any injuries.

Many communities in Malaita had forged deep ties with Taipei and the island’s local government has repeatedly complained aboutembracing China.

(With inputs from agencies)