PARLIAMENT has passed the motion to direct the Constitutional Review Committee to inquire into an Amendment to the Preamble of the Constitution which will have the effect of declaring that ‘Solomon Islands is a Christian Country.’

Member of Parliament for Aoke-Langalanga, Mathew Wale when moving the motion on Friday said this motion is brought to the house for its blessing, or otherwise that the Constitutional Review Committee to further inquire into.

Mr Wale who is also the Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee said “Firstly Solomon Islands is a Christian country, 97 percent of its population are Christian.

“There is already a paragraph in the existing preamble that made reference to the guiding hand of God, so it is clear that frame of our constitution has no problem with such a reference.

“Secondly it is deem appropriate at this point of our country’s development, and especially given what is happening elsewhere in other parts of the world that we consider inserting a clear declaration of identity of the character of our country in our constitution,” Mr Wale said.

He said such an amendment if approved by parliament at a later date, would be the preamble of the constitution would not affect the fundamental rights and freedom enshrined in Chapter 2 of the constitution.

“As we know the current wording of the preamble of the National Constitution is non-justifiable, in other words, no one can go to the courts and make a claim based on the preamble for anything or against anyone.

The current preamble in the national constitution reads, “We the people of Solomon Islands, proud of the wisdom and worthy customs of our ancestors, mindful of our common and diverse heritage and conscious of our common destiny, do now, under the guiding hand of God, establish the sovereign democratic State of Solomon Islands.

Members of Parliaments (MPs) that spoke during the motion include the MP for North Vella la Vella and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Milner Tozaka, MP for Small Malaita Rick Hou, Minister for Planning and Aid Coordination Danny Philip, Leader of the Opposition Jeremiah Manele and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

Prime Minister Sogavare said the preamble of the constitution is a statement of national aspiration but if it is to have any force of law, judicial equal force it must be enacted into the law by the enacting provisions of the constitution or of specific provisions and other statement, until that happens, it remains as guidance only.

“The motion is straight forward for us to debate and pass,” he said while reflecting other country’s within the region such as Vanuatu, PNG and Samoa that have declared God in the preamble of their national constitution.

MP for South New Georgia, Rendova and Tetepari and Minister for Planning and Aid Coordination Danny Philip warned MPs never to tamper with anything to do with the matter of conscience.

“When I saw this motion this morning, many thoughts were running in my mind, my first question is what could have been the motive or the idea behind this amendment.

“To declare that Solomon Islands is a Christian country, to me becomes a problem.

I do warn members of parliament never to tamper with anything to do with the matter of conscience, because it is not given to us by constitution, it is not given to us by any tyrant or the dictates by any empire, it is given to us by God himself

I do not even recommend this motion to any review committee, we try to get some legitimacy to establish and propose something we ourselves do not believe,” Mr Philip said.