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Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands: The Missing Link

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Reconciliation in Conflict-Affected Communities

Abstract

The Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the first truth commission to operate in the Pacific—was mandated by the Solomon Islands Government to ‘promote national unity and reconciliation’. In Solomon Islands, the term ‘reconciliation’ is used often in Pijin, the national lingua franca, carrying with localised understandings of the term. Local conceptions of reconciliation typically incorporate kastom and Christian processes and refer as much to the processes of ending conflict as much as denoting restored relationships after it. This localised understanding of reconciliation differs to the, albeit somewhat undefined, normative understanding of reconciliation in wider peace and conflict studies literature. This chapter contends that the local Solomon Island’s cultural dynamics of reconciliation were not featured in the design and implementation of the Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission and thus the ambitious mandate of the commission was not realised.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Kastom is a Pijin term (derived from the English ‘custom’) frequently used across the Solomon Islands. The term is officially undefined and its meaning is highly subjective, differing across communities. Broadly speaking, kastom refers to cultural traditions, practices and social norms which influence and shape expected modes of behaviour and actions. While kastom is rooted in forms of life which are traditional to the region, it is dynamic, fluid and evolving, existing alongside and in interplay with formal state structures and Christianity (Brown 2008, p. 190; Allen et al. 2013, p. 34).

  2. 2.

    Interviews were conducted by Louise Vella in Solomon Islands in Pijin, English or a combination of both languages in 2012 and 2013. All translations were made by the author. Interviewees included staff of the Solomon Islands TRC, personnel from relevant stakeholders such as the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organisations, those involved with the establishment of the commission, and local community and church leaders.

  3. 3.

    The TRC final report lists the names of two hundred people whose violent deaths were attributed to the conflict.

  4. 4.

    For detailed overviews of the conflict, see Fraenkel 2004, Moore 2004 or Allen 2013.

  5. 5.

    For more on RAMSI, see Coppel (2012). For discussion and analysis of the intervention, see Barbara (2008) and Allen and Dinnen (2010).

  6. 6.

    Access to full text of the Act is available at: http://www.paclii.org/sb/legis/num_act/tarca2008371/. Referred to in this chapter as the TRC Act.

  7. 7.

    Tok stori or ‘storying’ refers to a Melanesian cultural practice of sharing knowledge and is an integral part of all indigenous Pacific research (Tuhiwai Smith 1999, p. 144). In the research methods literature, it may be likened to unstructured interviews or open-ended interviews.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sawtell, Australia

    Louise Vella

  2. University of the South Pacific, Solomon Islands Campus, Honiara, Solomon Islands

    Jack Maebuta

Authors
  1. Louise Vella
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  2. Jack Maebuta
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Peace Studies, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

    Bert Jenkins

  2. Peace Studies, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

    D. B. Subedi

  3. School of Education, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

    Kathy Jenkins

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Vella, L., Maebuta, J. (2018). Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands: The Missing Link. In: Jenkins, B., Subedi, D., Jenkins, K. (eds) Reconciliation in Conflict-Affected Communities. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6800-3_4

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