Gilbert, Ellice separation talks begin

A formal conference to draft a formula for separating the Ellice Islands from the Gilberts and form the territory of Tuvalu was scheduled to open at Tarawa, capital of the GEIC, on March 13. It was expected to last a week.

Head of the Pacific Dependent Territories Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Lon don, Mr E. A. W. Bullock, was meet ing the Ellice representatives and also the GEIC Chief Minister, Mr Naboua Ratieta and other Gilbertese ministers.

Before arriving at the conference, Mr Bullock boarded the MV Nivanga at Funafuti and visited several of the Ellice islands where he talked to the people.

The Gilbertese are not expected to raise any objections to the Ellice people’s decision to seek separate status under Britain while the Gilberts go independent. On the contrary.

now that the Banabans of Ocean Is land are pressing for independence for Ocean Island and for all the revenue from the remaining phos phate on the island, many Gilbertese feel that the future —if they lose phos phate revenue—will be less of a burden if the Ellice people are no longer part of the territory.

GEIC’s Deputy Governor, Mr Tom Layng, was in London in February for talks with British officials. His return to Tarawa was followed by the news that Britain has agreed to an immediate grant of $350,000 to allow an early start on the construction of housing and offices on Funafuti, which will be the Ellice capital, and on the extension of Motofoua School, Ellice’s only secondary school.

The Tarawa talks will be followed by a visit to Tarawa in April of Mr A. Beattie, a British government economist.