Banabans try

Gilbertese, Banabans try to sort their differences

The Gilbertese Government and the Banaban people of Ocean Island were to come together at Tarawa in the middle of October for vital discus sions on the future of Ocean Island.

The conference was being chaired by Fiji’s Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kami sese Mara.

The Banabans currently have a High Court case progressing in Lon don (see story opposite), but the Tarawa talks are separate. They have been called to discuss the demand by the Banabans for (1) immediate in dependence for Ocean Island, and (2) for the income from the phos phate deposits still remaining.

These deposits are being mined by the British Phosphate Commissioners and only have a few years to run.

The Gilbert Islands, within whose boundaries the island lies, obtains most of its income from taxing the phosphate, but a smaller amount in the way of royalties is paid to the Banabans, who are the land owners, and who currently live on Rabi, in the Fiji group.

The Gilbertese have declared that although they will discuss future ar rangements with the Banabans, they will not permit Ocean Island to be come independent.

The Banabans have insisted that this is their number one requirement.

They say they intend to live on Ocean Island, and they have a draft con stitution drawn up for the new Banaba, which is the old name.

Leading the Banaban delegation is Rotan Tito, head of the Rabi Council, and Chief Minister of the Gilberts, Naboua Ratieta, will lead the Gil bertese delegation.

Britain is frankly concerned about how to handle the dispute, and is hoping that some sort of Islands’ style compromise will be worked out at the Tarawa conference with the help of Ratu Mara.

The Gilberts, Tuvalu and the Solo mons are all an embarrassment, be cause none of them looks economic ally viable. Britain is, behind the scenes, working on Australia and New Zealand to take greater financial re sponsibility in those areas—particu larly with the Gilberts and Tuvalu.

In London there is some suspicion that Britain may in fact want to dump these colonies before time, and is already working to a timetable which will make the Solomons independent in 1976, the Gilberts in 1977 and Tuvalu in 1978.