Cook Islanders

Letters to the Editors

Won't Accept Jap

Tuna Indus "

Sirs. —Your recent references

the possibility of Japanese

nmercial interests establishing

mselves in the Cook Islands

/q —through no fault of PIM,

m sure —omitted one unusual t.

HE native population of Rarotonga has signified its utter unwilling s to have anything to do with the Die scheme.

'he native members of the Legis ve Assembly, best described hemistically as being naive, have, the past two years, been dazzled official rhetoric regarding the antages accruing from voting in our of Japanese establishing them es in Rarotonga.

"hey have been presented with tering word-pictures of friendly, mbitious Japanese fishermen pour ashore to present their Poly ian friends with whacking great a, handing over the rest of their :h to the local NZ-owned canning ;ory, and thus ensuring the issue unlimited cans of tuna to the local illation at a price said to lie in 6d-9d range.

Alluring Temptation

Wiat Polynesians, even wise ones.

Id regist so alluring a temptation? members couldn’t get their ds up fast enough to vote in /our of the advent of an casional” Japanese fishing trawler Rarotonga. t was only early this year that le cynical and discerning Cook nders began to murmur their bts. The murmur rose to a ty rumble when it was finally re led that there was much more to scheme than had ever been men ied by the NZ Administration.

Larotonga, it now transpired, was become the headquarters for a it” of 20 Japanese trawlers. A dred or even two hundred Jap se seamen were to “refresh them es ashore” in traditional manner a period of five or six days at a 'hey were to dwell in a sumptuous tel, erected for them by the (en ly philanthropic) canning factory,

the land for which was to be requisi tioned by the Crown from native landowners. During their royal tour of Rarotonga, three Japanese officials made no secret of the fact that Raro tonga and the Cook Islands generally are located in the centre of the richest tuna-fishing grounds of the whole South Pacific Ocean, The rumble now grew to a fair sized roar. Someone pointed out that the Cook Islands have their own skilled Fisheries Officer, who has already demonstrated that fishing boats crewed by hardy and experi enced Islanders are quite capable of catching ample quantities of tuna or any other kind of fish.

Such boats, the critics pointed cut, being much smaller than Japanese vessels (having to travel only 50-100 miles at the most) were quite within the range of the Cook Islands Gov ernment’s annually squandered purse.

Moreover, they said, with a col lapsed and unprofitable citrus in dustry, and an utterly neglected copra industry, it was high time that the about-to-be-independent Cook Islands developed some new economic re source—in this instance, catching fish —instead of handing over a potenti ally profitable industry and the Group itself to foreigners.

Worse was to follow. Some forth right citizen produced in public a

>py of the Declaration on the ranting of Independence, issued by nited Nations General Assembly in ecember, 1960. This weighty docu ent guarantees that dependent ;oples shall be free to pursue their vn economic development, that >mmercial exploitation of such ;oples shall cease forthwith, and at the integrity of their national rritory shall be respected.

All this didn’t quite measure up i what NZ officialdom was trying i pull in the Cook Islands.

Disconsolate native members of ie Legislative Assembly, sadly re illing that a general election comes ong this November, took the therto unprecedented step of con ilting the electorate.

In a series of uproarious round-the land meetings it was clearly demon rated to them that an overwhelm g majority of the sensible, land ing people in Rarotonga were tterly opposed to handing over arotonga to Japan. Only a minority ; eccentrics, job-seeking sycophants id some village idiots were in ivour. (The latter all believed in e sixpence-per-can fable).

Publicity Campaign

Pinned down for the first time in 1 years, NZ officialdom decided to :sort to public relations and a iblicity campaign. As civil servants mpering with human psychology e about as handy as a fellow test g out a new trout rod in a room led with precious china ornaments, ie result of this decision has led to e official Cook Islands News he lming, if possible, more suspect than rer with the local population.

Although any criticism of the Jap lese scheme is editorially forbidden, nteresting” snippets of news of lother nature find their way into its ilumns every now and then, mocent little rumours are blandly ashed out to anyone who cares to den, e.g., “You have to have asdic ' radar or something like that to itch tuna. The gear costs simply illions of pounds. The Cook Islands )uld never afford it.”

An ever-growing circle of critics :call the pre-1939 history of the ipanese in the Marianas and [arshall Islands. They point out iat in a season lasting eight weeks, ie South Australian fishing boats mght, in 1962, over 2,000 tons of ma without radar, etc.

So the situation rests at present, jspite the energetic references to ie benefits conferred by Japanese, ade by Sir Leon Gotz (of immortal imoa fame) who is at present visit g Rarotonga. Meanwhile the gen

eral election in the Cook Islands con tinues to draw nearer. Local mem bers are uneasily aware that to raise a hand again in favour of a sell-out of their own people will result at the polling booths in their permanent disappearance into the outer dark ness.

I suggest that the 8,000 Poly nesians of Rarotonga deserve com mendation for their anticipation of a danger which certain other territories appear to be embracing with utter lack of forethought.—Yours, etc.,

Ronald Syme

Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

April 22.

Problems For

Rotuma

Sirs.—“Rotuman Patriot”, who in a letter published in April P1M, p. 61, suggests that Rotuma should be passed to the control of Australia or the United States, appears to be an agitator, and is likely to cause ill feeling.

I would suggest that “Rotuman Patriot” be practical-minded and constructive in ideas. Where would all Rotuman schoolteachers teach in Rotuma if all Rotumans were to re turn home? Again, what hospitals

are there in Rotuma for the Ro man A.M.0.? What has he to of for all other Rotuman civil servan etc.?

What development exactly t “Rotuman Patriot” in mind to done in Rotuma? Above all, wl funds are there to pay the salar of the above? The present incree of Rotuman population is now major problem in Rotuma.

For “Rotuman Patriot’s” inforrr tion, the so-called European Re dent Commissioner was replaced a Rotuman District Officer at t request of Rotuman Chiefs in 19 by the late Ratu Sir Lala Sukur It was a forward march and not retrograde step.

The mere suggestion of seekii Russian help is revolting, not mention treason.

Rather than display stupidity ai recklessness I would suggest that tl likes of “Rotuman Patriot” thii twice before expressing their ide£

—Yours, etc., Levuka, Fiji.

E. Erasit[?]

"Not Enough Say‘

Sirs.—After reading the lett “Rotumans Want Some Action”, appears to me that the main proble: may be that the Rotumans do m have enough say in their own ai ministration.

I would like to know the reasc why a Rotuman does not represe] Rotuma Island in Fiji’s Legislate Council. A great deal of controven has raged at home and abroa lately regarding the matter; ac surely a reply to this questio would be of great interest to th thousands of people throughout th Colony and abroad.—Yours, etc

Tieri Sisil[?]

Wellington, NZ.