islanders protest over prices

Gendarmes come in when Wallis islanders protest over prices

From a Noumea correspondent

Irate islanders in the Wallis group have removed their French Adminis trator Mr Jacques de Agostini and demanded the withdrawal of the Sofrana shipping line from their waters in protest over the soaring price of goods imported to the islands.

The French High Commissioner in the Pacific, Mr J-G Eriau, hastily flew to Wallis from Noumea aboard a French naval aircraft when the furore flared up in November. He was accompanied by other civil ser vants together with the Public Prose cutor, a colonel and five gendarmes.

The Wallis affair came to a head when the angry islanders demon strated in their capital Mata Utu and

prevented the Sofrana vessel berth ing and discharging cargo on its 6weekly voyage. This prompted the immediate flight to the island of Sofrana Director, Gaspard Ravel, the French Director of Maritime Services in Noumea, Mr Jean Sauvee and a public servant from the Wallis office in Noumea.

French reaction was immediate— the return to Noumea of Mr de Agostini, whose removal was de manded by the islanders, and a promptly-announced 20 per cent drop in freight rates plus a 20 per cent cut in prices on grocer shop shelves.

Calm was thus speedily restored and the Capitaine Tasman was allowed to berth and discharge its cargo.

Next move was the arrival in Wallis, only four days after the first French mission, of High Commiss ioner Eriau with gendarmes and other escort. Mr Eriau met with the island’s hereditary chiefs and elected representatives.

At a gathering of about 60 not ables in the Territorial Assembly, local leaders repeated their demands for the replacement of Mr de Agos tini and the Sofrana Line. It was re ported that the islanders were not prepared to guarantee the safety of the French Administrator should he try to return to pack his belongings.

Returning to Noumea after these talks, Mr Eriau stated that the French Government would consider nominating a new administrator in the group as well as examining the possible take-over of the shipping service.

Throughout the tempest, Noumea reports reaffirmed the islanders’ loyalty and attachment to France.

However, when provisions arrive only at six-weekly intervals accumu

lated price hikes are inevitably in furiating. Moreover, the violent out cry from the whole population of more than 5,000 people must be seen against a background of the poverty of a subsistence economy, , with very few paid job opportunities i and heavy dependence on cash from i migrant workers going to New Cale donia, where home-bound cheques < have been diminishing under the pre- • sent economic slump.

Life in Wallis and Futuna, 1,200 ( miles from Noumea, remains a fairly T tightly-closed circuit within the; French empire. A widespread group ( of international specialists—health,, agricultural, rat-control officers and J others—who inspected the islands? several years ago under a programme j run by the South Pacific Commission! came out with such a devastating < report of the islands’ sanitation and! health situation that it aroused af furore in Noumea’s French adminis tration.

That was during the term of offices of the late Afoafouvale Misimoa asg SPC Secretary-General and thes French immediately made it knownc that SPC specialists would no longen be welcome in Wallis, so the was placed out of bounds to foreignn inspection.

Rothmans (PNG) has

government interest

The Investment Corporation oh Papua New Guinea in December; acquired a 26 per cent shareholding in the local subsidiaries of the Aus? tralian tobacco and cigarette manui facturers, Rothmans of Pall Mali (Australia) Ltd. The deal was worth $587,000, giving the corporation shares in two companies formerly wholly owned by Rothmans.

The companies are Rothmans oc Pall Mall (PNG) Pty Ltd and Right land Tobacco Pty Ltd, both operating factories near Goroka in the PNC Highlands. The two companies emr ploy more than 350 New Guineans and supply markets in PNG, thr British Solomons and the New Hebrides.

The PNG Investment Corporatioic is a statutory authority sponsored be the Australian Government and nov wholly responsible to the PNO Government. It is designed to phasg ownership of PNG ventures into tbr hands of New Guineans. At presem it holds the shares in its own namn and issues unit trust type shares whicc can be bought only by PNO nationals. , . .

The corporation now has substantial shareholdings in 24 major compam© which previously provided no equitt for New Guineans.