19 May 2009

Weekend killings prompt Solomons call against kwaso

3:22 pm on 19 May 2009

The Solomon Islands National Council of Women says more effort has to be made to stop the production of the illegally distilled alcohol known as kwaso.

Last weekend, police say there were two killings and a number of people injured in knife attacks in Honiara.

They say most of the violence is attributable to people who have abused alcohol.

The President of the National Council of Women, Hilda Kari, says the women of Solomon Islands are very concerned about the availability of alcohol and want the number of outlets reduced.

But she says the main problem is the illegally made kwaso.

"The police are clamping down on a lot of them but it is getting worse because that is the one that is cheap and all the young people who are onto drugs are the ones who take them. This is the problem of the killings that are happening because of certain nightclubs that are using this same drug or alcohol or whatever they call them."

Hilda Kari