A spokesman for the opposition party of Solomon Islands, Gordon Darcy Lilo, said on Wednesday that his party has written a letter of apology to Chinese Solomon Islanders who left the island following riots.

According to reports from Radio New Zealand International, Lilo said the letter is "asking them (the Chinese) to come back to the islands."

The protests that began on April 18 turned into the most serious rioting and looting seen in the country since 2003 when Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific governments intervened to help end years of bloody conflict between ethnic gangs.

The Chinese were among the biggest victims of the riots. Chinatown was nearly levelled following looting and arson.

He said this after the resignation on Wednesday of Snyder Rini as prime minister of the state, after just a week in office.

Protesters and opposition MPs accused him of corrupt links to prominent local business leaders and of accepting cash from Taiwan.

According to Australian Associated Press, the Solomon Islands parliament will elect a new prime minister next Thursday. Nominations for the prime minister open today and close tomorrow.

A curfew was lifted yesterday amid relatively calm situation.

Also yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang blamed Taiwan's chequebook diplomacy for sparking recent anti-Asian riots in the Solomon Islands, urging relevant countries to think about the lessons that could be learned in this regard.

"For a long time the Taiwan authority has grossly and wantonly promoted chequebook diplomacy, which has boosted corruption, chaos and disturbance in some countries as well as undermined the fundamental interests of the local people," he said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

Source: China Daily