Up Front

with the Editor

I’ve got a hopeful feeling that 1969 will be a much more rewarding year for Fiji politically than 1968 was.

Fiji doesn’t want another year like 1968, when the Government and Opposition weren’t playing speaks, when Ratu Mara and A, D. Patel were involved in a personal hate session, when naked racism whipped up during bitter elections brought the 300 islands in the sun almost to the brink of anarchy.

That may now seem like an exaggerated review of the situation, but I can assure you that at the time a lot of people in high places were biting their nails with apprehension.

And yet the year had started well enough.

True, Mr. Patel’s Opposition was boycotting the Legislative Council, demanding a new constitution and one-man-one-vote. But about March it looked as if things would settle; that the way would be paved for the Opposition’s return to the Legislative Council without either side losing face.

Fijian anger

But the paving didn’t get done and there were recriminations on both sides about the circumstances, result ing in the rancour between the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. This, in turn, led to a lot of the bitterness of the elections.

There were two main results from the Federation’s electoral win: (a) Ratu Mara and the Alliance were staggered at the support for the Opposition, Ratu Mara’s pride being deeply hurt; (b) the Fijian anger which suddenly erupted at the Federation’s electoral abuse of Fijian leaders and Fijian institutions and at the party’s claim that its landslide support from Indian voters gave it a mandate to seek independence, staggered the Federation leaders.

They saw with a shock that if you play with fire you may get burnt.

But for 1969, as I said, I have a hopeful feeling. Obviously the Alliance and the Opposition have to

get together if there is to be sane political development, and if you read between the lines our report on p. 32 you will see the first steps were taken behind scenes at the December budget session of Legco.

Both sides suddenly are older and wiser.

I think that the Government and Opposition will manage to work out, jointly, Fiji’s submissions to be put to a new constitutional conference, to be held probably towards the end of this year.

I do believe that Mr. Patel is not now so insistent on pushing the common roll camel through the needle’s eye, realising there are other methods of working towards his aim.

An extensive use of the cross-voting system for instance.

And Ratu Mara, I believe, may have got to the point in his own progress where he suspects that too many European cooks in the Alliance can be more handicap than help.

Thus 1969 may be the year that a successful Fiji-Indian partnership develops.

Official visit?

This is the year, too, when Ratu Mara may make his first official visit to Australia. There appears to be something on the slate already.

Australia has wanted to get the Chief Minister here for some time, and there is an interesting back ground to his previous reluctance to say when. Some years ago, before he became Chief Minister, he landed at Sydney by air, en route to London, and asked to have his bags trans ferred to the London plane unopened, as a transit passenger. But an officious Customs officer not only inspected them but literally turned them inside out.

Fiji’s present Chief Minister has never forgotten the rude way he was treated. Wars have started over less. (Over)

PRESIDENT Hammer Deßoburt, of Nauru, is no stranger to Melbourne. He lived not far away, at Geelong, for two years before World War 11, and he spent more time in Melbourne than on Nauru in 1966-67, when he was fighting for a better phosphate deal and for independence.

He has in recent months spent most of his time in Melbourne on business, or using it as a staging camp between trips to Noumea and Scotland (calling on Djakarta and President Soeharto en route).

In Melbourne President Deßoburt lives quietly. He occupies, with his wife, one of two flats in suburban Middle Park, which the Nauru Local Government Council bought before independence to save the continual expense of hotels. The two flats, in one block, are normally occupied by visiting, or convalescing Nauruans.

Deßoburt gets to Nauru’s Mel bourne office in the city usually by about 9.30 a.m., mostly prefers a sandwich lunch, and gets home about 5.30. Sometimes he will stay in the flat all day, working at his portable typewriter.

He doesn’t keep a personal car in Melbourne, and usually uses taxis.

At night he likes to relax with other Nauruans in the flat (getting together is an old Nauruan custom) and perhaps have a look at the telly.

He may watch a show until the finish of transmission, for like many Nauruans he doesn’t think about bed until after midnight.

Saturday and Sunday are rest days. On Saturday he may sleep in until 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. and then work about the flat. On Sundays he goes to church —usually the Middle Park Methodist, but perhaps the Collins Street Independent.

In Melbourne, or when travelling, the President has no entourage — merely his ADC—lnspector John Olsson, of the Nauruan Police Force.

He doesn't become involved in the Melbourne diplomatic round, and is left to get on with Nauru’s affairs the way he wants.

As of old, he works hard—and makes it even harder by insisting on informing himself on everything and in making many of the decisions himself. Twelve months after in dependence there is a growing body of opinion on Nauru which thinks that President Deßoburt ought to delegate more authority. On his absences from Nauru too many decisions get held over until he can be consulted, and there is growing exasperation.

This is a vital year for Nauru.

Important phosphate market decisions have to be made soon. Already the delay in establishing the Nauru Phosphate Commission has lost Nauru much of the goodwill of the present BPC staff. . .

This should be a year of decision, legislation and planning, and no one man can do it all. The President ought to sit down and take stock.

NOW that the Duke and Duchess of Kent have been named as the VlP’s who will officially open the Third South Pacific Games m Port Moresby in August, I hope that the territory organisers will have been given incentive enough to do some stocktaking of their own.

There was a busy burst of organis ing and fund-raising activity at the beginning of 1968, but a number of people I have been talking to lately fear that the territory is running out of steam. There is still a large sum of money to be raised and many loose ends to be tied up.

Early last year the Games organisers conceived the excellent plan of publishing a regular news letter in English and French, for overseas distribution from Port Moresby, as a way of getting publicity and of informing other Islands terri tories of progress. The first one was first-rate, but only two more have followed, erratically—the last one filled with advertisements. All have been poorly distributed. For heavens sake, someone, start off 1969 by getting this newsletter to do the job planned for it.

On the VIP side, the Duke and Duchess are a happy choice. They are young and attractive and not in any way stuffy. She (who was once a schoolteacher, by the way) is a charmer who took all hearts during their visit to Tonga, the

Cooks, Samoa and Fiji m 1967.

They represented the Queen at King Taufa’ahau’s coronation. At a reception on that occasion which 1 attended, the Duke and Duchess made their way around a large circle of guests from opposite directions, chatting as they went. So engrossed were they in their various conversa tions that they were genuinely surprised when they finally found themselves confronting each other.

Said the Duke: “We’ve met before?” And they went off laughing, arm-in-arm.

ALTHOUGH South Pacific com munications have speeded up considerably in recent years, odd items still come our way months after the events. As for instance the story that Alan Williams, of Lord Howe Island, tells about some of the 11 Chinese castaways who survived 70U mile drifts lasting up to three months when their vessel, the Hsienchm foundered near Fiji last June. We reported the drifts in September.

In August, Alan happened to be in the Santa Cruz group aboard his vessel the Alena, when three of the Chinese were washed ashore on £ raft of drums after 45 days at sea One man had died, the survivors were in a pitiful state.

Continues Alan, who immediately afterwards went on a world tour “The Chinese could not keep th< native food down and couldn’t ge anything else. They had US dollar with them, but the native storekeepe had not seen US money before, s< no business was done.

“One of our crew changed som of the US money for Australian do! lars, and the Chinese were then abl to buy rice and tinned fish- We gav them some canned food.”

Moral: Next time you are adni in Melanesia, see you have the locs

currency.

Stuart Inde[?]