The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Solomon Islands has congratulated all parties involved in preparing and signing a peace agreement that aims to end the region’s ethnic tension and fighting of the past 16 months.
Neil Watts, president of the Adventist Church in the Western Pacific area, welcomed the October 15 signing, which took place in Townsville, Australia. “The good sense and the Christian spirit of forgiveness, understanding, and tolerance which has been displayed in the past few days is to be applauded by people everywhere,” says Watts.
The Townsville Peace Agreement was made between the warring factions of the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) and the Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM), together with the Solomon Islands government, the Malaita provincial government and the Guadalcanal provincial government. The agreement provides for amnesty and the surrender of weapons, rehabilitation of militants, and de-militarization of the affected provinces. The agreement, which was signed in Townsville by ten leaders from each side of the conflict, also establishes “Peace and Reconciliation” and “Peace Monitoring” committees.
This past June, Adventist Church leaders were involved in bringing about a cease-fire between the MEF and the IFM when Lawrence Tanabose, secretary of the Adventist Church in the Western Pacific region, was invited by the Australian High Commission and the Prime Minister to act as a mediator.
One in every 14 residents of the Solomon Islands is an Adventist, and many church members are involved in the civic and political life of the country.
In a statement made this week, Watts called on all Christians and every citizen in the Solomon Islands to strive earnestly to support the implementation of the Peace Agreement. He says that it will obviously still take a lot of patience, understanding, and goodwill, but the implementation of the agreement is the only way to bring about a lasting and just peace.
The Adventist Church has an adult membership of more than 9,000 on Guadalcanal and 6,836 on Malaita. The church operates a major national secondary school at Betikama, located on Guadalcanal near the city of Honiara, and Atoifi Hospital, located on Malaita.