Tahiti Letter

Higher taxes , so Papeete goes on strike

From James Boyack In Papeete

Territorial Assembly President Gaston Flosse called it the “Year of the Great Beginning” and everyone agrees, although the heretical alliance of those who would have Tahiti independent, with the working bourgeoisie, be lieves it may be the beginning of the end.

The “Great Beginning” relies on a 1974 territorial budget of 8,774 million CFP, unprecedented in French Polynesian history and approximately double that of last year.

It is the Gaullist-cum-Indepen dent version of a cultural revolu tion which, at best, will make these 120 islands a Europe-sized appen dage of France for a long time to come, and at worst, previews the pro-Paris parties’ designs on re-election in 1977. The budget is the second voted by the pre dominantly Gaullist assembly majority, elected for a five-year term in September, 1972.

At a special assembly session for visiting Overseas Territories Minister Bernard Stasi, in January, President Flosse outlined the majority’s economic and political goals.

Clear objectives

“Our objectives are clear,” he intoned, in French with staccato vowels indicative of his Polynesian linguistic heritage. “They flow from one realisation: despite the presence of the Pacific Experi ments Centre, which still contri butes almost half of our gross national product (59 per cent in ’67, 48 per cent in ’73); despite the brilliant take-off of tourism which, from seven per cent in 1967 grew to 18 per cent of the GNP in 1972; despite aj high standard of living, albeit poorly shared among all social categories, the territorial economy recently has hovered a:t the brink of a dis quieting phase of stagnation, while

dangerous inflation is rampant.”

The time had come, he ex plained, to whip the economy back into shape.

"Whip” is his word for a SA23 million 1974 programme of im provements. This money, like that which Flosse recalled was spent by President Roosevelt on depres sion public works, will filter back to the people and guarantee a new prosperity for those urbanised Polynesians no longer participants in the 19605’ atom-economic boom.

"It is in difficult periods that audacity and imagination are called for, to give the economy the vigour to surmount the crisis,”

Flosse explained.

Minister Stasi agreed. The en tire business community and the assembly minority, did not.

Debonair Stasi

Debonair Minister Stasi took the occasion of his major public ad dress, during his two-week official visit, to confirm what he had already told Flosse and Indepen dent spokesman Frantz Vanizette during their fund-seeking trip to Paris one week earlier . . . the French Government would make sure that the assembly could bor row 2,300 million CFP (SAI7 million) in France. It would pro mote and/or guarantee the loan.

Strong pressure had been applied for Paris to guarantee this large amount. Otherwise there was threat of a breakup in the coalition majority, that political enigma which so adeptly has kept the variously-nationalist minority at bay.

Of course, there was the prob lem of $6 million in additional local taxes which was also decided for 1974. The businessmen of Papeete drove a harder bargain than the central government.

They screamed proverbial bloody murder at the new taxes

and in desperate protest, they closed almost every commercial establishment on the island. Only a government ultimatum to open the shops or face gendarme action curtailed the 99 per cent success ful general strike, and only agree ment by the assembly majority to re-consider new modes of taxation prevented a second threatened strike.

The new taxes included a one to three per cent direct tax on gross business takings and in creased import duties on some luxury items. In opposing these latter measures, businessmen argued that inflation and the oil crisis (18 per cent transportation increase from Europe in one week) might produce the extra revenue at the old tariff. Furthermore, high prices on luxury goods like jewellery and crystal-ware would hurt tourist purchasing power.

The business tax issue had already flared up on two earlier occasions. In 1958 and 1968, direct taxes were challenged by mildly violent public demonstra tions. The ’6B ’‘manifestation”, drawing its scenario from the suc cessful overturning of business tax 10 years previously, made public defiance of a one per cent tax on gross business takings. Rocks were distributed in the offices of a prominent businessman-politician and the incited proletariat took to the streets. As ritual required, the assembly building was stoned.

The governor relented to the ex tent that he postponed the tax one year.

In the present case, local money grabbers argued it was treasonable to reason that those who are making the money should pay: those who are drawing the greatest profit from the French and CEP presence should be taxed the heaviest.

At the same time, the autono mist-independence parties declared the new budget inflationary and a

big bluff. Recalling that last year’s infrastructural budget was only one-sixth of this year’s proposed outlay, the vociferous minority in the assembly said there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of the money being used in 1974.

They accused the Gaullists of playing power-politics with Paris funds, of bribing the electorate, and by so doing creating a fiscal escalation which, in the end, will come out of the consumer’s pocket.

The one criticism of the budget which had the ring of truth was that not enough was earmarked for long-term income-producing investment. For example, $lO million will be spent for low income housing (800 to 900 new homes will be built) for the Papeete slum population which has abandoned traditional agriculture on outer islands—and this is an in dispensable, wise investment. But only $500,000 goes directly to agricultural activities, without which Tahiti cannot feed itself.

Warm reception

Bernard Stasi arrived in Tahiti in the middle of this noisy clamour over taxes and independence. He arrived the very morning the stores closed down, a propitious coincidence, if not a deliberate one, for as much as anything, he came to test the waters into which France will be throwing so much money in the near future.

At his final news conference, he waxed emotionally eloquent about the “genuinely warm” recep tion he received everywhere he went —around Tahiti, to Raiatea, Huahine, Bora Bora and to most of the staunchly pro-French, Catholic Marquesas Islands, on his way back stopping in the Tuamo tus. He was received like a head of state: small brown children sang the Marseillaise; he saw nothing which would cast doubt on the sagacity of the latest French in vestments in this part of Polynesia.

But, he did not meet a delega tion of autonomist-separatist poli ticians led by National Assembly Deputy Francis Sanford and Senator Pouvanaa A Oopa.

This refusal to talk unpleasant political turkey became “the un

fortunate incident” in an otherwise thoroughly appealing Paris con tact with its distant Polynesian kin.

Stasi played soccer in Tahiti, rode horses in the Marquesas and went for a bare-chested paddle in an outrigger canoe with Edna Tepeva, Miss France, 1974, last year’s Miss Tahiti. He danced the tamoure day after day and made a well-publicised journey through one of Papeete’s most squalid neighbourhoods.

But he refused to discuss the possibility of a referendum in which the Polynesians would de termine whether they want to re main French (with or without self government) or whether they de sire independence.

Meets Sanford

There were charges and counter-charges about why this meeting did not take place. The minister surprised his final press conference by saying that he did meet Deputy Sanford early in his visit. It was then, he said, that the deputy requested an interview for a cross-section of autonomist lead ers.

The minister said he refused this meeting because of statements made during a 3,000-strong pro independence, anti-tax rally held the previous Friday night in front of the Papeete City Hall. The minister said that some auto nomist leaders, including the dep uty, had “grossly insulted the President of the republic and the Prime Minister, while passing se vere judgement on the republic it self . . . additionally, I am not authorised to discuss or give in dependence”. (as The Journal de Tahiti pointed out, the delegation only wanted to discuss a referen dum.) Newspaper accounts said Stasi was upset by being called “little kid”, allegedly by one of the ora tors, but at his news conference the man in charge of French over seas holdings denied being a “little kid”, and added “I admit the pos sibility my decision could rein force the politics of Francis San ford”.

This last avowal is a measure of the high competence of the

man. He perhaps recognised, as did some people I know, that the Tahitians are an excessively vain people, little appreciative of total rebuff. Some say this non-meeting could have the unfortunate con sequences of ending forever hope that dialogue might lead to some form of “autonomic interne”, in keeping with long-standing San ford-Pouvanaa proposals.

Independence

It was last July that Francis San ford and Pouvanaa switched gears and began to militate for inde pendence, instead of autonomy. (PIM, Aug p 8.) At that time, this reversal seemed like idle chatter. Neither of the autonomist parties rushed out to support their leader’s un ilateral decision. Sanford said he wanted independence because he interpreted French nuclear tests as the final indication of scorn felt by France for the Polynesians.

This latest rebuff (Ministers Billotte and Rey also refused to talk), can only swell the ranks of those who agree with Sanford.

Curiously, the minister’s re fusal may also precipitate the in ternal self-government that France for six years has denied Sanford and Pouvanaa. The Gaullist ma jority, in the voice of Gaston Flosse, officially requested greater “autogestion” (self-management) of local affairs. In response to Flosse’s assembly welcome speech, the minister said, “Don’t you think, honestly, sincerely, there are really more pressing priorities (than autogestion)?”

An alternative

After “the unfortunate incident”, autogestion may one day become a suitable alternative to a ground swell (however unlikely it seems today) for independence. The minister told the press conference he had agreed to study forms of autogestion—“a serious examina tion,” he promised.

One journalist asked if the new status could be applied in 1975.

Overseas Territories Minister Bernard Stasi replied without hesitation, “Why not?”