Mission Will Study

Nauru Question

A four man United Nations mission early in 1962 will take a first hand look at the Nauruan re-settlement scheme.

T'HE mission, which will be led by A Britain’s new Trusteeship expert at the United Nations, the former Governor of Cyprus, Sir Hugh Foot, will visit both New Guinea and Nauru.

The Trusteeship Council, in form ing the mission in July, instructed it, as usual, to investigate all conditions in the two territories, but it also asked the members to ascertain “as fully as possible the wishes of the Nauruan community concerning their future”.

The Council said the offer of the three Trustee powers Australia, Britain and New Zealand to re settle the 2,500 islanders in their countries with full citizenship, was “generous” and should form a use ful basis for further consideration.

In June the Australian special representative, Mr. Dudley McCarthy, had announced Australia’s offer to transfer the Nauruans to Australia over a period of about 30 years ( PIM, July, p. 17).

After his announcement, Raymond Gadabu, Australian-educated Nauruan Administration officer who went to New York with Mr. McCarthy as an adviser, told the Trusteeship Council that his people could not accept re settlement and integration into the Australian community, although they appreciated the offer. He said re settlement on these terms would be at the expense of sacrificing the national identity of the Nauruans.

Mr. Gadabu made the statement after the Trusteeship Council had invited him to speak, and spoke “off the cuff”. In his address he gave an accurate account of present Nauruan feelings.

The Australian Government’s atti tude is that whether or not the

Nauruans like the idea of coming to Australia, there is no island available to them in the South Pacific which would enable them to retain their national identity. They would there fore have to come round to the Aus tralian view when they saw that no other possibility exists.

There is unlikely to be much change in the Nauruan attitude before the visit of the mission, which thus should get a first-hand report on the strength of Nauruan feelings. The problem is not going to be an easy one to solve, especially as some Aus tralian observers believe that the Nauruans have a perfect right to hold out for what they want, since their own island has been literally removed from under their feet.

Second Shot Fired

Widely known Fiji businessman, of Nadi, Mr. A. J. C. Foster, in July, reported to police he had been shot at by an unknown assailant for the second time in a few weeks. He was injured by a bullet under the chin (shown above) when driving on July 6. On July 19 in the same area another bullet entered his car.

He has also received threatening letters. Police in July had Mr. Foster under constant guard.