21 Apr 2005

Observer says RAMSI will be confident it can defend itself in Solomons court case

8:25 pm on 21 April 2005

A close observer of Solomon Island affairs says the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands must be confident it can win a case that goes to the heart of its operations.

RAMSI has told a Solomons court that rather than claiming immunity, it will defend allegations that its officers breached the Solomons Consitution in the course of their duties.

A hearing date for the case is to be set next week.

RAMSI'S not commenting in the meantime, but the head of political science at the University of Papua New Guinea, Professor Allan Patience, says RAMSI must be confident of the outcome.

"It's evidence that the RAMSI people are fairly confident of the legal outcome, and also it shows that they're still pretty committed to the whole RAMSI process. So I think it's a firm statement by RAMSI, by the various groups involved in RAMSI, that they're there for the long haul."

Professor Allan Patience.