Fear "Suppression"

Ellice Islanders

By Gilbertese

Concern that under a new Gil bert and Ellice Islands Colony constitution, the Ellice Islanders would “not get the full develop ment they should rightly re ceive”, was voiced at the March sitting of the GEIC House of

Representatives.

Member of Northern Ellice, Sione Kleis, was “totally against” a new Gt,IC constitution because when the time comes “the fate of the Ellice people would be suppression by the Gilbertese”.

A Gilbertese answer to this out burst—in the face of pending changes in the administration of the colony— was to accuse Mr. Kleis of “racialist” separatism and “downright selfish ness”.

Mr. Naboua Rateita, Member for Marakei in the Gilberts, said the Gilbertese didn’t want to politically dominate the Ellice. However, he didn’t see why there should be an equal number of representatives for an unequal proportion of the popula tion. (In the GEIC there are about 47,000 Gilbertese and 7,000 Ellice; in the proposed constitution there will be 19 Gilbertese seats and four Ellice in a new parliament.) The Gilbertese would not stop the Ellice people from “going it alone”, if they so wished, he said.

Gilbertese would continue to ad vance towards self rule in an atmos phere of “friendship and love of one’s neighbour”.

Such was the Rateita-Kleis con frontation of the House’s varied March session—a session which the GEIC’s new Resident Commissioner, Sir John Field, described in his open ing address as “probably the most important gathering ever to have taken place in these islands”.

Sir John was probably right, be cause the House discussed two vital steps forward which will affect the GEIC well into the 70’s—the new constitution with a measure of limited self-rule and an economic develop ment plan.

Sir John’s cries about Islanders having to face up to realities, knuckle down and make do as best they can weren’t much different from those of his predecessor, Mr. Val Andersen.

“The economic storm is already

approaching us. And when it breaks it will be a violent one—make no mistake about that,” Sir John told the House.

The development plan was a “last chance” he added. The plan is based, with important changes, on the Mooring Socio-Economic Survey, ap proved in principle, by the House early last year ( PIM, Feb., 1969, p. 32).

P-NG settlers?

Typical of the House, however, discussion of the plan and the con stitutional changes took their places among the dozens of parochial issues.

But the development plan was ap proved and the constitutional report will be further discussed next meet ing.

During the House, government ad mitted it was “considering” making an approach to Australia for per mission to resettle residents of the GEIC in New Guinea.

Sir John Field