Embattled Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare survived a no-confidence vote on Monday, while accusing “Taiwan’s agents” of orchestrating recent political violence that plunged the Pacific island nation into crisis.
The pro-Beijing leader comfortably saw off an opposition attempt to oust him, winning 32 votes to 15 after a fractious and hot-tempered day-long debate.
The febrile scenes in Parliament — in which lawmakers traded claims of corruption, coups and shadowy foreign support — echoed recent anger on the streets that prompted the arrival of hundreds of international peacekeepers.
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Three days of rioting late last month left the Chinatown area of the capital Honiara in ruins and claimed at least three lives, with dozens of buildings destroyed.
Ahead of Monday’s vote, armed troops and police from neighbouring Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand helped operate checkpoints across rain-soaked downtown Honiara to forestall more unrest.
They used shipping containers to seal off areas of the rubble-strewn capital, closed the port to ferries from neighbouring islands and enforced a city-wide liquor ban.
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Authorities also warned people against posting inflammatory statements on social media. The prospect of further violence prompted the U.S. consulate in Honiara to restrict operations.
The crisis erupted late last month when protests about Mr. Sogavare’s policies turned violent, fuelled by poverty, unemployment and inter-island rivalries in the nation of 8,00,000.
The Prime Minister has refused protesters demands to step down, telling Parliament on Monday that leaving office under such circumstances would be surrendering “to the dictates of hooligans and lawlessness”.
“We cannot entertain violence being used to tear down a democratically elected government,” he said.
Large numbers of people were seen leaving the capital for the provinces on ferries on Sunday ahead of the no-confidence vote, expecting further trouble.
Many of Mr. Sogavare’s detractors come from Malaita. Residents there believe the country’s most populous island does not get a fair share of resource revenue and is neglected by the central government.
An underlying complaint against Mr. Sogavare is his 2019 decision to switch Honiara’s diplomatic allegiance to China from Taiwan, which had close ties with Malaita.