alaita Eagle Force
(MEF) and the Guadalcanal natives of
the
Istabu Freedom Movement
(IFM). Violence was prevalent in the
streets of Honiara, and although a peace agreement was made in October 2000,
violence ensued in March 2002 when two diplomats from
New Zealand
and numerous others were murdered.
Conditions became so bad in Honiara that in July 2003 Australian military and
police units moved in the country to restore order. In 2006,
riots
broke out following the election of
Snyder Rini
as Prime Minister, destroying part of
Chinatown and displacing more than 1000
Chinese
residents. The commercial heart of
Honiara was virtually reduced to rubble and ashes, devastating the town. As a
result tourism in the city and islands has been severely affected.
Today it contains the majority of the major
government buildings and institutions of the Solomon Islands. The National Parliament of the Solomon
Islands, Honiara Solomon Islands
College of Higher Education, International
School in Honiara and
