Solomons begin reconciliation

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Solomon Islanders have begun telling their stories of the brutal civil conflict that claimed up to 100 lives, displaced 20,000 villagers and led to an Australian-led military intervention.

The long-awaited Solomon's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is an attempt to heal old wounds from the ethnic tension and fighting that started in 1997.

The troubles on the main island of Guadalcanal between local people and immigrants from Malaita island escalated to the degree that the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was deployed to stabilise the tiny Pacific island nation.

The TRC, launched last year by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu who pioneered the concept in South Africa, will hear 20 survivors tell their stories over two days.

Tuesday's session was the first public hearing of personal stories from the conflict.

Robert Buga, a part Malaita and part Guadalcanal man, speaking in the local linga franca, tok pisin, described the night in 1988 when his uncle went out drinking "and never came home".

"I am still waiting for his return. He is a father with three daughters, all of whom live with me, and I take care of them," he said.

"I call on those who killed my uncle to come forward and show where they buried him or if he is still alive, bring him home.

"I have lost my home, plantation, my uncle and my life because of what has happened."

Another villager simply identified as Miss Pandavisu told how Guadalcanal militants used knives and axes to kill her husband.

"I was so shocked, I forgot everything, even my own children and I just stood there and watched (my husband's murder)," she said.

She called on the TRC and Solomons government to help other women on Guadalcanal who suffered from the conflict.

"I am lucky to be able to stand before the TRC and go through the peace process," she said.

A witness from Choiseul Province broke down in tears describing how Solomons police officers shot and killed her brother.

"My brother was killed by police officers. I thought police officers were not allowed to kill but were supposed to arrest," she said.

"Where is the justice?"

The Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Derek Sikua and Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer attended the morning hearings, which were broadcast live on the national Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation.

- AAP