A Marist Brothers missionary in the Solomon Islands says the presence of the international intervention force is showing real progress in restoring law and order to the troubled pacific nation. Brother Roger Burke is based at Tenaru, about 20 kilometres north of the capital Honiara. He says villagers are excited by the promise of peace, even though they are unsure when it will return to the islands. "The big question here is what's going to happen when all the forces leave and also I think that it's felt the forces will be here for a much longer time than we first imagined... for a while it was thought they'd be here for a few weeks, a few months, a year, but now they're talking in terms of five [years] or even longer," he said.
| A lot of that probably depends on whether they take Harold with them when they leave... |
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