Top Solomon police officer held

By Phil Mercer BBC, Sydney

Australian police investigating corruption in the Solomon Islands have arrested the most senior local police officer so far.

The man, a chief superintendent, is accused of a number of serious offences, including rape and abduction.

Thirty officers have been detained since the multi-national intervention force arrived in the archipelago, 2,500 kilometres north east of Sydney, in July.

Chief Superintendent Manesseh Maelanga is accused of kidnapping and raping a woman in the capital, Honiara.

It is one of a number of serious allegations made against him.

Others include theft and intimidation.

Peacekeepers in the Solomons have described his arrest as a significant step towards cleaning up the local police force.

Rogue elements have in part been responsible for the chaos that has gripped the South Pacific nation in recent years.

Many officers sided with militant gangs during the ethnic fighting that brought the rule of law crashing down.

A large number of senior rebel commanders have also been arrested and thousands of illegally held weapons have been returned to the authorities.

The Solomon Islands are slowly being rebuilt, order is returning, but the economy and the machinery of government, as well as the judiciary, will need years of outside help.

The leader of the multi-national mission, the Australian diplomat Nick Warner, said the country was now far safer than it was back in July, but he acknowledged that much work still needed to be done.