If anything positive is going to come out of talks, all the parties involved in the crisis must be represented and the underlying socio-economic and political issues must be addressed. In the past attempts militant groups have not been fully involved in the peace process. Furthermore, there is a need to look beyond ethnicity as the only cause of the crisis. We must explore the socio-economic and political issues that underlie the issues raised by the various actors in the crisis. In a way, there is legitimacy in many of the issues raised by Malaitans, Guadalcanal and others who are involved.
Ethnicity is merely the avenue through which people's frustration becomes manifested.