In 2011, the population of Solomon Islands was estimated to be around 600,000 people. The economy of the country was largely dependent on exports such as timber and tuna, as well as services such as fishing and tourism. In terms of foreign relations, Solomon Islands had strong ties with other Pacific countries, as well as with Australia and New Zealand. In terms of politics, Solomon Islands had a parliamentary democracy which had been in power since 1978. The ruling party at the time was the Solomon Islands Liberal Party (SILP), which was led by Prime Minister Danny Philip. See mathgeneral for Solomon Islands in the year of 2017.
Yearbook 2011
Solomon Islands. Political instability continued to characterize the country during the year. In January, several ministers left the government and, together with some MPs, went over to the opposition. An intelligence report accused Australia of offering bribes for government politicians to go to the opposition. Australia was thought to want to remove Prime Minister Danny Philip’s government, who in turn wanted the Australia-led peacekeeping force to leave the Solomon Islands. The peace force was deployed in 2003 to create peace after years of bloody ethnic conflicts. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of SLB that stands for the country of Solomon Islands.
According to Countryaah official site, Australia rejected the bribery allegations and a diplomatic conflict arose. After political talks, however, the dispute was resolved, and the Solomon Islands government agreed that the charges lacked evidence.
In US diplomatic reports leaked to WikiLeaks, Australia was accused of failing to stabilize the fragile community of the Solomon Islands. According to US estimates, the country would need outside help for another 10-15 years. If the peace force left the country, it would recede in a matter of weeks, according to diplomats who described a deeply corrupt society. Mainly warned of the influx of Taiwanese money, used to buy political influence. Solomon Islands is one of the few countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan and not with China.
Prime Minister Danny Philip resigned in November, just before Parliament would hold a vote of confidence. Philip was accused of corruption and said to have used a multimillion-dollar fund donated by the Taiwanese government to pay out to his relatives and supporters.
Parliament elected Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo as new head of government with 29 votes to 20. The election of Lilo triggered violent protests in the capital Honiara, where protesters from the island of Malaita feared that their home island would not receive state support with Lilo as prime minister.
History
Since the early 1980s, the political life of the St. Islands has been dominated by a few politicians who have repeatedly fought for the position of prime minister. At the end of 1994 a constitutional crisis opened in the country which was resolved only by the intervention of the governor general; Prime Minister FB Hilly removed from the government, opposition leader S. Mamaloni, prime minister several times during the 1980s, was appointed in his place. Between 1995 and 1996 the accusations of bad governance and corruption launched against some ministers of the government chaired by Mamaloni sparked heated controversy in the country. After the elections of August 1997, the new government chaired by B. Ulufa’alu, leader of Solomon Islands Liberal Party, was dominated by ministers belonging to the newly formed Alliance for Change electoral coalition which gathered, in addition to Ulufa’alu’s party, numerous independents. As prime minister, Ulufa’alu promoted a broad reform plan that included a sharp reduction in public spending. In the first half of 1999 sharp contrasts erupted between the residents of the island of Guadalcanal and the immigrants from the neighboring provinces, Malaita in particular. In January 2000, the mandate of the Commonwealth peacekeepers, which arrived in Guadalcanal in the summer of 1999, was extended for a few more months.to disarm the Isatambu Freedom Fighters rebels, formerly known as the Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army, and to restore calm to the island.
Between 1996 and 1997, tension grew with Papua New Guinea, which already from the late 1980s accused the S. Islands of subsidizing the independence rebels on the island of Bougainville in their battle against the central government. In December 1996 and February 1997, the Papuan raids in the territorial waters of the S. Islands provoked the harsh reaction of Prime Minister Mamaloni. In January 1998, the announcement of a permanent ceasefire between the separatists of Bougainville and the government of Papua caused a marked improvement in diplomatic relations between the two countries.