Malaita is the most populous island in the Solomon Islands yet has historically received the least infrastructure investment — a disparity that fueled the "Tensions," the ethnic conflict running from 1998 to 2003 in which Malaitan Eagle Force militants briefly detained the prime minister. The island's fraught relationship with the central government in Honiara remains politically live, making it an unusual choice for a commemorative issue from that same government.
Malaita is the most populous island in the Solomon Islands yet has historically received the least infrastructure investment — a disparity that fueled the "Tensions," the ethnic conflict running from 1998 to 2003 in which Malaitan Eagle Force militants briefly detained the prime minister. The island's fraught relationship with the central government in Honiara remains politically live, making it an unusual choice for a commemorative issue from that same government.