[?]Pua-New Guinea

Ey're A Jump Or

[?]O Ahead Of

By a Staff Writer

fhe United States Trust ritory of the Pacific Islands icronesia) is the latest terri j in the Pacific to adopt cially a flag of its own.

IE flag became official on August 19 when the Territory’s High imissioner, Mr. M. W. Coding, ed into law a bill that had been ed by the Congress of Micronesia ;s first session in Saipan in July, nother bill signed into law at the e time designated July 12 as ronesia Day to commemorate the iguration of the Congress of ronesia. he new flag has a circle of six ;e stars centred on a field of light he six stars represent the six ricts of the Trust Territory— iana Islands, Marshall Islands, ape, Truk, Yap, and Palau. The ; background symbolises freedom loyalty. he Trust Territory, which is scat d over three million square miles cean, comprises three archipelagos le Carolines, Marshalls and ■ianas —with a land area of only square miles. It has a population

Sl,Ooo.

he Micronesian islands, along l 10 other territories, became teeships of the United Nations 1947, and were placed under ted States administration. All but of the other trusteeships— iru and New Guinea—have now ieved self-government.

Still Dithering

i adopting a flag and national of their own, the Micronesians e put themselves a couple of ps ahead of the people of Papua the Trust Territory of New nea, who are still dithering about it to call themselves collectively, who are still looking for a onal emblem, anthem and flag, he latest efforts to make some dway in these fields have been le by John Guise, Leader of the :ted Members in Papua-New nea’s House of Assembly. He written to hundreds of schools, il government councils and or isations asking for suggestions.

This follows recent recommenda tions of the United Nations Trustee ship Council, which urged the ter ritory to adopt a national flag and anthem as a step towards greater unity.

Suggestions for a name and flag, and the words and music for an anthem, will be considered by a House of Assembly select committee on constitutional and political development, of which Mr. Guise is chairman.

The committee, which will make recommendations on the Territory’s constitutional development, is due to report to the House by 1967, and will also make interim reports.

"Urgent"

In his letter to schools and organisations calling for suggestions for a name and flag, Mr. Guise said, “We all realise that such matters must be decided as soon as possible, if the country is to become unified, and your urgent co-operation is requested.”

Papua was called British New Guinea, before it came under Aus tralian control in 1906.

The present Trust Territory of New Guinea was. originally Kaiser Wilhelmsland and later Deutsch Neu Guinea under German rule. After World War I, it became the Mandated Territory of New Guinea Apart from plain “Papua” or “New Guinea”, a number of sug gestions have been made recently.

These include Paguinea, Papua guinea, Pagini, Newpanea, Melapang (Melansesia, Papua and New Guinea), Papanga, Nugini, and Papgini.

One suggestion, incorporating the territory’s bird of paradise, is to call the country Paradesio. The people of the territory would be Paradesians, One New Guinean has even sug gested “New Paradise”.

The United States Trust Territory's new official flag was designed by Gonzalo Santos of the Marianas, in a contest sponsored by the former Council of Micronesia in 1962.