Fiji prepares

to Join the United Nations

Even in the midst of the in

dependence celebrations, Fiji

was planning to get on with the more practical aspects of new nationhood.

Its application to join the United Nations was expected to go before the Security Council on October 12, for consideration by the General Assembly on October 13.

Immediately after October 10, the Prime Minister was to send a formal letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant, re questing submission of Fiji’s member ship application to the Security Council and the General Assembly.

Accompanying the letter was to be a declaration that Fiji accepted the obligations contained in the United Nations Charter, and an undertaking to fulfil them.

A speech of acknowledgement was already being prepared by the head of the Fiji mission at the UN, Mr.

Semesa Sikivou, whose diplomatic staff consists of Mr. R. W. Baker, Mr. Satya Nandan and Mrs. S.

Nandan, Mr. Sikivou was to attend the assembly proceedings and, in the likely event of acceptance, make a speech of acknowledgement.

The Prime Minister was planning to visit New York shortly afterwards to address the General Assembly, then celebrating the 25th anniversary of the setting up of the UN.

Membership of the United Nations will give Fiji a vote in its affairs and will open up full membership of many of the UN international organi sations and development agencies.

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara sees it as a relatively inexpensive way of obtaining the widest possible overseas representation, with Fiji’s representa tives being close to all possible sources of aid.

Fiji too, he says, might be able to offer something in the way of advice about multi-racial societies.

“The views of the African peoples seem to be taken for granted as the views of all indigenous people. This is not the case in the South Pacific,” he said recently. rE common roll issue remains the big question in Fiji, although independence preparations have kept it fairly much out of the limelight.

In September, some Fijian members

of the Suva City Council were still opposing the introduction of common roll as a method for council elections.

At a meeting called by Fijian members of the council, some speakers showed that they still feared Indian dominance should common roll be introduced.

The Chief Minister, as guest speaker, outlined a history of Indian dominance of township boards where common roll was practised—but pointed out that there was no way of changing the decision made at the constitutional conference in London.

This decision was that common roll be introduced in Lautoka and Suva councils.

He wanted Suva City Council to adopt the system so that the royal commission which would look at the electoral system after the 1971 general election could see how it worked.

It seems probable that the Chief Minister is foreshadowing what might happen in Suva—so that it might be considered a warning as to what might happen should common roll be introduced on a national basis.

He explained that at the 1965 con stitutional conference, the Alliance Party had objected to common roll.

During the 1970 conference, the Alliance made representations that it still opposed the system.

“But we had to concede that Britain as a third party at the con ference had a say and we agreed that common roll should be established at local government level,” he said.

He pointed out that township board elections at Nausori, Sigatoka, Nadi, Ba, Levuka and Labasa were on a common roll basis. Lautoka Town Council had approved the system in 1966, but had not put it into prac tice. Council had since changed its mind on the issue.

Giving examples of township boards dominated by Indians, the Chief Minister pointed out that the eight elected members of the Nausori Township Boards were all Indians.

At Labasa, there were seven Indians and one Fijian and at Levuka three Europeans and three Indians.

On the Ba board, there were three Fijians and 10 Indians.

At Sigatoka, there were two Fijians, five Indians and one Euro pean.

Out of 48 elected members of township boards, 42 are non-Fijians.

While it seems likely that the Suva City Council system of election will change in the not too distant future to common roll, it will do so against the will of a fair slice of the Fijian community and against the wishes of a good proportion of Fijian council members.