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Solomons warlord surrenders
13/08/2003 16:12 - (SA)
Honiara - Feared Solomon Islands warlord Harold Keke has surrendered to an international intervention force on Wednesday in what is likely to be a key step in restoring peace to the troubled Pacific nation.
Keke, a brutal militant leader in the remote Weathercoast district of Guadalcanal island, was formally arrested by the Australian-led force and may now face murder charges.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer earlier told ministers in Canberra that Keke, suspected of killing six Anglican priests and dozens of villagers, was now being transported to a secure location in Honiara.
"Keke's been arrested on an outstanding warrant for robbery, a full investigation of crimes including murder allegedly committed by Harold Keke and his group in recent times can now proceed," Downer said.
The intervention force has faced increasing pressure to arrest Keke after he admitted to its chief Nick Warner last week that the six priests, whom he took hostage in April, were dead. He has never said how the hostages died.
Keke surrendered to Warner along with two of his senior commanders, his secretary and several members of his extended family in the Weathercoast village of Mkiki at 08:00 on Wednesday (22:00 on Tuesday).
He was taken by New Zealand Air Force helicopter to the Australian ship HMAS Manoora where he was charged by Acting Police Commissioner Ben McDevitt in relation to an outstanding warrant dating back to an alleged robbery in 1998.
According to Downer, 40 firearms, including 28 high-powered weapons, were handed in to the intervention force by villagers on the Weathercoast after Keke's arrest.
"This has opened the way to establishing a police post on the Weathercoast, an outcome very much sought by the people of the area," he said.
Keke is likely to face a magistrate at a closed hearing on Thursday. He is expected to be remanded into the custody of intervention force police personnel.
Announcing Keke's surrender and arrest, Warner said the development was the biggest success since more than 2 000 international troops arrived in the Solomons to restore law and order 21 days ago.
"No day has been so significant in advancing the process of bringing peace and stability back to the Solomon Islands as today," he said.
Local media on Wednesday hailed the surrender as the beginning of a historic new chapter for the country. The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, called Keke "the worst criminal Solomon Islands has ever had".
Warner said Keke wanted to face justice and explain the cause for which he has been fighting. McDevitt, said the warlord would receive a fair trial.
"Mr Keke is of course entitled to a fair an proper process, and to a fair and proper trial, and we intend to ensure that that occurs," he said.
Keke has been at the centre of a long-running civil conflict that has pitted the people of Guadalcanal and the neighbouring island of Malaita against each other.
The international intervention force arrived in the Solomons July 24, after a request from the government of the remote islands.
- AFP
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