Statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the incident at Bloody Ridge National Peace Park

8th August 2022

Statement by BUNYAN SIVORO, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Solomon Islands

This morning the annual commemoration of the Battle of Guadalcanal took place at Bloody Ridge National Peace Park. This year’s ceremony marked the 80th anniversary, and there was an unprecedented number of foreign dignitaries present from the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Unfortunately, this somber event was marred by an incident. Towards the end of the ceremony an individual with mental health issues assaulted a photographer from the Japanese Navy media team. Bystanders and community security quickly subdued the assailant. Medics attended to the injured visitor on site and after first aid he was assessed to be in a stable condition. The assault appeared to be random, and the assailant is an individual with a history of mental illness. He was arrested on the spot by the police and was taken to custody.

Solomon Islands has limited capacity to treat mental illness and to securely house those individuals that are too ill to look after themselves. Unfortunately, some of these individuals roam the streets of our towns and villages. Most of them are harmless, but in rare incidents they act out and become violent, as was the case this morning.

The organizers made a conscious decision to include the local community at the event, albeit from a distance. If we want our memorials and historic sites to be respected and looked after, we must engage with the communities surrounding those sites. Community support cannot be achieved by excluding local people from every event related to the battle commemorations. The presence of the community was acknowledged by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who spoke directly to the children assembled at Bloody Ridge this morning.

Visitors would have noticed the large police presence, as well as many community volunteers working security on site. That the incident took place despite all this is deeply unfortunate. It was community security who quickly restrained the assailant after bystanders stopped the assault.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism would like to extend our deepest apologies, primarily to the victim of the assault, but also to all participants who experienced stress and discomfort. At the same time, we would like to thank everyone who selflessly rendered assistance during the incident; foreign and local guests, bystanders, medics and local security.

The Ministry will not be deterred by the random acts of one mentally ill individual to derail the commemorations going forward and is more determined than ever to work with the many peace loving and law-abiding community members who resides within the vicinity of the Park. The Ministry will continue to engage with the community to ensure that Bloody Ridge National Peace Park becomes a memorial and tourism attraction worthy of its historical significance.

Soon after the incident a brief reconciliation ceremony was held between the Government of Solomon Islands represented by Permanent Secretary and staff of Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador of Japan representing the victim and Japanese delegation with the presentation of a shell money, which is a traditional form of compensation. The incident does not in any way affect the cordial relationship between the two countries.
The organizers and the community worked very hard to plan the Commemoration ceremony, and we are devastated by this incident. We sincerely apologize for this unexpected and disappointing event.

Featured Photo: Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism gave a traditional shell money (Tafuliae) to the Japanese Ambassador to Solomon Islands to convey the sincerest apology of the Government and good people of Solomon Islands for the incident happened during the celebration. Looked on was the Deputy Director (Ag.), Gregory Autaa. PHOTO SOURCED

SOURCE: MINISTRY CULTURE AND TOURISM