'La Bombe Fidjienne' In Noumea

From a Noumea correspondent

The French “Secret Police”, currently engaged in a massive campaign to track down agents of Australian imperialism in the Pacific, were shocked in May to find some of those agents had penetrated the security net at Tontouta Airport and reached the Caledonian capita, of Noumea.

The secret agents even went so far as to drop a “bombe”—a Fiji one— at the headquarters of the South Pacific Commission The French press, which is energetically crusading for the expansion of French influence in the Pacific, could not fail to accuse Australia of being the instigator of this “bombe Fidjienne”. The point was that in a detailed document Fiji had urged drastic cuts to certain SPC activities in the Social and Health departments while concentrating more on economic development aid.

The proposal was made when the SPC’s member governments met at the SPC’s Noumea headquarters for the annual Planning Committee meeting, which, under the new arrangements streamlined the SP Con-

ference activities, recommends the future work projects for approval at the annual SP Conference, to be held this year at Nauru. .. th « r oHino pffprt nf recess ion and inflation on . <, pr , h H t thp piiians orocuts but they 'wer'e C the on i y ones to suggest more effective U J G f commission funds.

The French press, however, was ? ui t c . k hfch ffhSSl

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by French performance in this sector has b £ en P ? fte . r tbe no f on ? r ? poi J ,? n hygiene, or the lack of it, in Wallis J® la ? d s^ a ! y f ar f f go d t *° f b f in F J e t^ c^plec^i ng Wall S out ' Meanwhile, noting Fiji’s emphasis on economic development aid, the French immediately saw the proposal as a move to get the SPC headquarters out of Noumea and across to Suva where is housed the_ South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-

operation—an “Australian organisa tion” according to the Noumea press, which saw that such a move would allow Australia to “demonstrate her leadership in the South Pacific”.

Now, Island leaders and others have often expressed the desire to see the SPC’s headquarters in an atmosphere where it would be more welcome among local people, since the French claim that they have little need for outside help in the terri tories.

Moreover, at various times the French have cast covetous eyes on the precious piece of real estate occupied by the SPC at Anse Vata beach. However, it has served as a convenient spot for Paris to keep a close watch on all the Pacific Islands, the French having been the only power to keep an official based for many years in Noumea with the sole task of keeping an eye on SPC staff activities.

France would, therefore, certainly wish to avoid any SPC move away from the strategic Noumea monitor ing centre.