SOLOMON IS: Transparency SI responds to legal threats
Updated
The Executive Officer of Transparency Solomon Islands, Joses Tuhanuku says Prime Minister Sogavare does not have any legal basis to sue him for defamation. Mr Sogavare has issued a statement saying he's seriously considering taking legal action against Mr Tuhanuku for making false allegations of corruption against him. But Mr Tuhanuku says if the prime minister was referring to statements he made to the Commission of Inquiry into last year's Honiara riots, then that would not be legally possible.
Presenter: Sam Seke
Speakers: Joses Tuhanuku, Executive Officer of Transparency Solomon Islands
TUHANUKU: The first thing that I have to say is that it's not possible for the prime minister to take any legal action against me on the basis of a sworn affidavit, something that I presented to the Commission of Inquiry under oath. According to law, he can't use that as something that he could use as the basis in any court of law to sue me or to take any legal action against me. Because any witnesses who appear before the Commission of Inquiry, they have got immunity. They are protected. So I'm surprised that the prime minister is suggesting that. And my only conclusion is that the prime minister is trying to intimidate any possible witnesses who may come forward to shed some light in some of the things that I have raised and some other people may have raised.
SEKE: And what about the statement to the media by the Commissioner of Police that you would be investigated by the police for defamation as well?
TUHANUKU: I think the plans here is that of course the Commissioner of Police have got every right to take any legal action against anyone if he thinks he has a case. But it will be a civil case. The thing is that before RAMSI arrived here, there was no policing any more. The policing network and everything actually collapsed. Now when the new government came in under Prime Minister Sogavare, they came up with very sort of negative attitude and anti-RAMSI attitude, almost suggesting that we do not need RAMSI, they should go away. And they brought in this new commissioner and he seemed to have the same attitude. He's not prepared to work with RAMSI. And as a result, I would say that it's going to discourage the good people, officers within the force, and is going to encourage anyone that may still want to go back to the old ways. And I would say that the commissioner of police instead of being too negative and defensive, should take note of any criticism raised by Solomon Islands people and his job here is to work with RAMSI to return our police force into where it was.
SEKE: He said that he's not aware of any practice untoward within the police force that you might have suggested?
TUHANUKU: That means that he doesn't know what's going on in the police. He doesn't know what he has to deal with. There are a lot of problems. Of course there are some positive things. I say in the last two, three years under the assistance of RAMSI, there has been a lot of improvement, there has been a lot of positive things happening in the police. But at the same time, we know that we still have a lot of problems and difficulties that we must address.
But if the Commissioner of Police says that he just hasn't seen any problem at all, that means he doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't understand what he is here for.
