Sad Story out of the Solomons

I suppose this is what comes of opposing someone's money making in a corrupt place with so much poverty.

SOLOMONS OFFICIAL ABDUCTED, BADLY BEATEN
Makili outspoken opponent of dolphin trade

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Solomon Times, Aug. 28, 2008) - On Tuesday, August 19th, at about 8:30 p.m., City Councilor, Lawrence Makili, was abducted from his home in Honiara, Solomon Islands, by eight men in two cars.

He was then driven a few kilometers out of town when the thugs beat him and tried to kill him. Click Here for the rest of this ugly sad violent story

There is more to that story than meets the eye. This is from Monday's Solomon Star:

Makili: Bashing not related to love affair

Monday, 01 September 2008

CITY Councillor and environmental campaigner Lawrence Makili yesterday denied his wife’s claims he was bashed by relatives of the woman he now lives with.

Mr Makili said he is the only person who knows what was behind his bashing and his wife did not know or even see anything.
And Mrs Makili later admitted that she was pressured to go to the Solomon Star by two men, one of them a dolphin dealer. (See full report in Saturday’s Solomon Star).

She said: “I entered my work place on Friday morning when these two men, one was Makili’s cousin brother and the other a dolphin dealer who has a license, intercepted me and asked if we could go and put the story of Makili’s love affair.”

Mr Makili said he did not believe his wife would give out their personal problems by herself. He said: “There must be some elements behind my wife’s exposure of the love affair to redirect the attention from the dolphin issue which I was often threatened from since I was an active advocator against dolphin export.”

Mr Makili had said he was taken away from the motel where he was staying by men who came in two cars. They then viciously bashed him (Local dolphin dealers and exporters have contacted the Solomon Star to deny any involvement).

Mr Makili said: “There is no evidence the matter is related to my love affair, and the story my wife gave was not correct.
“I do not deny the fact that I’m staying with another girl but to say that the attack was related to my love affair is misleading and baseless.”

He said he had been staying with that woman for about a year and her relatives know him well.

“I recognise them all and we used to party together and those people who attacked me were strangers to me,” he said.
He admitted that he was not taken away from the home where his wife and children are living.

“I referred to the motel as home because that was where I have been living for almost a year now,” he said. He said this was because of a court order restraining him from staying with his wife and children. He can visit his wife and children at times and supported them but was not allowed to stay with them.

When Solomon Star asked his wife Grace again if she was sure her husband was bashed over the love affair, she said that was the story she heard.

However, Mrs Makili then said she was forced to go to Solomon Star to reveal the story. Mr Makili also said he was not taken to hospital by his workmates as reported by his wife. A RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) vehicle took him, he said.

Police said there are still no arrests but investigations are continuing.

By EDNAL PALMER

Nasty nasty characters these so called Dolphin Dealers-criminal is what they are.