P04959.029
Photograph P04959.029 Period 2000-2009In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, a crowd of locals watches as Australian soldiers destroy weapons collected in an amnesty. A boy in the foreground is wearing a t-shirt which bears

The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, unidentified Australian soldiers destroy weapons before a crowd of locals, and a civilian photographer. The soldiers are members of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), whose aim is to bring peace and stability to the nation after a period of political unrest, ethnic tension and violence. In the first week of Operation Helpem Fren (pidgin for 'help a friend'), a nationwide gun amnesty was announced which ran for three weeks from 1 to 21 August 2003. As a result 3,730 weapons were handed in, including 700 high powered military style weapons, many improvised or modified guns, and over 300,000 rounds of ammunition. The decision was made to publicly destroy the weapons to display RAMSI's commitment to ridding the nation of firearms. The Australian Defence Force's contribution to RAMSI is named Operation Anode.
In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, a crowd of locals watches as Australian soldiers destroy weapons collected in an amnesty. A boy in the foreground is wearing a t-shirt which bears

In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, a crowd of locals watches as Australian soldiers destroy weapons collected in an amnesty. One of the men holds a sign which reads '100 RAMSI NO ...

In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, an Australian soldier destroys weapons before a crowd of locals. The soldier is a member of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the S

In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, Australian soldiers, one using a large Makita steel cutting saw, destroy weapons before a crowd of locals. The soldiers are members of the Australi

In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, unidentified Australian soldiers destroy weapons before a crowd of locals who are sitting on the ground behind a rope. The soldiers are members of

In the football stadium at Honiara, Solomon Islands, Australian soldiers destroy weapons before a crowd of locals who have been cordoned off behind a rope. The soldiers are members of the Australian-l
