Raluanas Gain More Time

"In Again, Out Again," Policy Makes Administration And Village Councils Look Ridiculous

THE Proclamation published in the Government Gazette, Port Moresby, on February 4, which included the Raluana natives of New Britain in the Village Coun cil system, was revoked by another proclamation in the Gazette of February 25.

Round 11, like round I, therefore appears to go to the Raluanas.

The history of the Raluana trouble is briefly; All but the 2,000odd Raluana people, of the 30,000 Tolai people of the Gazelle Penin sula area of New Britain, have joined the Village Council scheme, svhich was introduced after the war, and whereby the native people are encouraged to run their own affairs under Administration gui dance, as a preliminary to ultimate self-government.

The invariable excuse of the Raluanas, for not joining the Coun :ils, was that they were too ignorant *) engage in anything so advanced, rhese natives, however, are intelli gent, industrious, have very shrewd eaders and have shown that they ire quite capable of running their )wn affairs. The only difference is flat they insist on running them in heir own native way.

In May, 1953, the Rabaul District Commissioner, Mr. J. K. McCarthy, vith other officials, went out to in terview the Raluanas and told hem in forceful language, that hey must join the Council scheme, ind that if they did not do so roluntarily, they would be forced o, by proclamation.

There followed some brawling, in iflich Mr. McCarthy was attacked »y a one-legged native school eacher, Tuvi, with the butt end of lis crutch. Tuvi was subsequently flarged with assault and served our months in gaol.

No proclamation was made, as hreatened; and some time subse [uently, Mr. Hasluck, Minister for Cerritories, and the Administrator, Jrigadier D. M. Cleland, inter iewed the Raluanas with the ob ect of persuading them into a Council. The Raluanas received hem and heard them in silence.

Nothing further was done until aid- January, 1954, when Brigadier Jleland again visited them, appar ntly on another “or else” mission.

The Raluana natives he met on his occasion seem to have told him hat they were ready to join a Jouncil, and it was believed that he Raluana trouble had been caceably settled.

Brigadier Cleland proceeded to Australia on leave and it was an icunced in the Gazette of Feb uary 4 that the Raluanas would become part of the Vunamami

Native Village Council which henceforth would be known as the Co a incn a " VUnamami NatiVC Vmage

with 3^60Q a names* wlf ft'rwafdld

M a Wlth whl 9 h they were unhkely to work in harmony" (which is probably true enough)

and asking that action should be postponed until the petitioners were able to seek legal advice. (It should be made clear, here, that there are only about half a dozen Raluana villages, with a population of something over 2,000.

The other villages, with a population of about 1,200, which also sent petitions, are from the Nawuneram- Taviliu group of villages which— apparently reluctantly—joined other Native Village Councils over a year ago. The proclamations putting them into the Council system were also revoked by the Gazette of Feb ruary 25 —at least that is how we read the exceedingly bewildering phraseology used. The way we in terpret it is that these latter villages decided to go quietly, in 1952 or

-1953, and join the Council scheme; but now that the Raluanas have shown that they can stay out, the second group feels that it should, too).

Mr. Cleland was then in Aus tralia, but was informed of the pe titions. He stated that the February 4th proclamation had been made by him because he had believed, fol lowing the interviews he had had with Raluana leaders on January 15, that they were prepared to join a Council. He has agreed, however, that no further action will be taken in the matter until his return to the Territory, some time in April. mHE whole Raluana trouble is, of A course, more than a local squabble with a rebel minority. It has become a matter of Adminis tration, and Canberra, face-saving.

Although Village Councils were de scribed earlier as a voluntary sys tem, since early 1953, the Adminis tration’s attitude has been: Come in, or we will put you in.

Strong words; but so far they had not been followed by strong action, and the Raluanas have con tinued to get away with it.

It is obvious that if the Village Council system, which in effect makes the natives provide a pro portion of their own community re quirements, is to function at all, there is no room in the structure for rebel groups who take all the handouts that the Administration

is prepared to give, but will assume none of the obligations.

It is reported that the other Tolais are already restive; that they have stated that they are tired of the Raluana people who they say are “making fools of the government”; and that, with little more provocation, they could settle the Raluana trouble in their own way.

This would, of course, involve Australia in all sorts of United Nations investigations—and Aus tralia is absurdly sensitive to UN’s reactions—and although it probably would be one way of settling the difficulty, it could be a fuse to ex plode the gunpowder barrel. Once on the war-path, there is no guar antee that 30,000 Tolais would stop at just settling the Raluana prob lem.

It has been suggested that many of the 3,600 names on the petitions are there without the knowledge of the owners of the names. This may well be so—but it does not alter the fact that the Raluana leaders are still unwilling to join a Coun cil; or that, through the petitions they have gained more time in their delaying war.

THE Village Council system was invented by some theorist in the days when Mr. Eddie Ward was Minister for Territories. It has been introduced in the Port Moresby and Rabaul areas, and opinion is divided in non-Adminis

tration circles—and this includes Missionaries—as to whether the Councils’ desirable qualities out number their undesirable aspects.

However, the Administration, and this Australian government, are now committed to them as part of native policy, and it is therefore up to the Administration to make them work.

The Administration has spent over a year threatening the Raluanas. Soon it must do some thing—in order to save its face and keep faith with the other 20,000 or 30,000 Tolais who, with the Euro pean population of P-NG, are sit ting cynically and very impatiently on the side-lines, waiting for the next act in the drama.

The “simple, uneducated”

Raluanas, we understand, have the legal advice of a well-known Euro pean solicitor of Rabaul.