Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands: The Missing Link

This chapter contends that the local cultural dynamics of reconciliation were not featured in the design of the Solomon Islands TRC. Community reconciliation processes were therefore not utilised, and consequently the ambitious goal of the TRC to promote reconciliation was not realised. Discussions in this chapter consider the following questions: • How did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission define reconciliation, and what has it reconciled? • What is the nature of the ‘truth’ that has surfaced? What purpose has this served in terms of reconciliation? • How did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission engage with local conceptions of reconciliation and adapt to the Solomon Islands context? This chapter draws from the authors’ experiences living and working in the Solomon Islands. Jack Maebuta is a Solomon Islander, educator and peace researcher. Louise Vella worked for the Solomon Islands TRC for one year, and has subsequently conducted doctoral research into the experiences of the commission and its potential as a means of peacebuilding in Melanesia. Interview material for this chapter draws from her research with TRC staff and stakeholders in Honiara in 2012