The latest developments through bloggers’ eyes:

  • Honiara is in Ruins…feelings are running high against the Chinese but
    also now against the Australian contingent of RAMSI, for reacting with
    aggression and without consultation…RAMSI appeared to have no effective operational plan or
    command and control, and aggressive actions by their officers on the
    ground there needlessly provoked this situation….What is clear is that they lost control of the
    streets from the beginning through hotheaded actions and having no
    contingency plan…Unconfirmed reports also revealed that there are several deaths of
    Chinese kids from burning during the night, and it is expected given
    the violence in Chinatown [see right]. If the Australian army comes in tonight as
    rumoured and they hurt anyone, there will very likely be a backlash
    against all expats…God Save us Solomon
    Islands…take a prayer for our nation because this physical damage to
    Honiara is even worse than the ethnic tension. – To’abaita Authority for Research and Development (TARD)
  • The swearing in of the new Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Snyder Rini
    look unlikely today as violence and looting continues in the capital – Langalanga
  • Honiara has seen some of its worst days in history in
    the past two days with buildings housing shops and
    accommodation…burnt to the ground. Whatever conclusion you made of
    the concerns
    surrounding the people demand for the resignation of the newly elected
    Prime Minister and a change of government, only time will tell…The
    looters of
    the shops in town will now have gone back to their homes by early this
    evening because of the curfew. The scenes in certain areas in Honiara,
    especially in the China Town is a sorry sight. Many innocent people
    have lost their life-long savings in the looting and burning of
    property… – Joe Blog
  • Things are going from bad to worse in the Solomon Islands. A company’s worth of Australian troops and police have landed at the request of local authorities to help restore order, but in the meantime, the violence sparked by yesterday’s premiership vote is continuing to spread. Newly elected prime minister Snyder Rini is in hiding
    at an undisclosed location…The perception that an unpopular government
    was being perpetuated by
    Asian business interests resulted in some 80 to 90% of
    Asian-owned businesses in Honiara being destroyed in the riots. – The Head Heeb