Tahiti Hotting

Self-government is key issue

Up For Lively

Assembly Poll

With elections for French lynesia’s new Territorial

isembly (parliament) due to

held on September 10, a new

)p of political parties has come

0 flower in Tahiti in recent eks.

HE No. 1 issue concerning them all is whether or not the terri- Y should have internal self-gov ment, or, at least, whether it uld be less tied to the dictates of is than it now is. r he outgoing Assembly held an in se debate on July 6 on a proposal t the territory’s statut (constitu i) should be immediately revised that: 1 French Polynesia would be an onomous territory within the nch community.

I The territory would have its own ernment, but with a represent e of the French State as Governor president of the Council of Gov ment. > The French flag would retain ; place on public and official build i, but the territory would also have own flag. \ The French language would re n the official language, but litian would be legally recognised French Polynesia. l large number of Assembly mem » spoke on the proposal, which submitted by Mr. J. B. Ceran isalemy, who is well known for radical views. The Assembly lly decided to transmit the pro al to the new Assembly for further sideration. /ithin a few days, two new parties ie into existence proclaiming them es opposed to self-government. !, the Mouvement Democratique /nesien (it also has a long Poly an name), wants to “maintain and solidate the French presence in territory.” he other, the la Ora O Polynesia, ch has as its emblem a stylised esentation of France circumscrib the island of Tahiti, believes internal self-government is a mera”. On the other hand, it sves that the locally-born and :r permanent residents of the terri

tory should have the privilege of man aging their own interests, and it advocates that they should be given priority over Metropolitan French men, where qualifications are equal, in government and private employ ment.

Meanwhile, French Polynesia’s deputy, Mr. Francis Sanford, has sug gested in the French Parliament that the elections on September 10 would be “a very opportune time” to hold a referendum to consult the people on internal self-government. Mr.

Sanford told the parliament that 80 per cent .of the territory’s voters favoured self-government.

Another development in July was the dispatch of a telegram to the

French Prime Minister by Mr.

Sanford and French Polynesia’s Senator Alfred Poroi asking him urgently to send an inspector to Tahiti to supervise the elections so that the “strict impartiality of the local government” would be assured.

This prompted some acid com ments from Mr. Charles T. Poroi, president of Te Oto I Te Nunaa, a political party pledged to fight for internal self-government.

All in all, Tahiti is hotting up nicely for a rumbustious election on September 10, with most of the elements that led to French Poly nesia nearly voting for independence in the de Gaulle referendum of 1958 again being strongly to the fore.