Land, identity and freedom of movement in postcolonial Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is currently discussing a Draft Constitution, which appears to propose some rather significant restrictions on freedom of movement. This reflects debates about mobility and belonging that have been on the agenda since before Independence in 1978. For me this raises two sets of ontological issues that I explore briefly here: - the first and most obvious are questions about who belongs, and how; - the second set of questions, which are inextricably linked with the first, are questions about who has the right to speak or write about mobility, belonging and identity in Melanesia, and how they speak or write about such issues. These issues are also essentially questions about belonging.