American Samoan congressman, Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, has criticised Australian prime minister, John Howard, for not seeking United Nations approval before sending intervention forces to Solomon Islands.
The Samoa Observer newspaper quotes the congressman as saying that the idea of the intervention force to maintain law and order in the Solomons was a worthy and important cause but, since it involved the occupation of a foreign country, approval of the UN Security Council should have been sought.
The congressman's comments prompted criticism from one of the paper's columnists, who described Faleomavaega's comments as a double standard given that the United States had gone ahead and waged war on Iraq without United Nations approval.
