Bougainville Prov

inter-racial harmony and law and order in Fiji could break down.

Mr Butadroka was planning to enliven the October meeting of the House of Representatives with a motion asking Britain to foot the bill for shipping all Fiji’s 280,000 Indians to India, despite the fact that 90 per cent of them are Fiji-born to the second or third generation.

Revealing the motion, he said his party had changed its mind about letting Indians stay in Fiji provided Fijians were given complete political control of the country. Now it wanted them all out because they were grabbing all the jobs that Fijians should have.

Europeans and Chinese could stay because they did not really compete with Fijians, he said.

Meanwhile, Fiji is waiting for the report, expected some time in De cember, from the Royal Commission on its electoral system. At the 1970 Constitutional Conference, the Alli ance and National Federation could not agree on voting arrangements.

The Alliance—which has been in government for 10 consecutive years backed by Fijians, Europeans, Chinese, and other non-Indians, as well as a small, but still significant, number of Indians—favours com munal voting designed to keep all political power out of the hands of the numerically-dominant Indian community.

The NFP, basically Indian supported, wants a common elec toral roll in which race factors would be ignored.

This, says the Alliance, would mean that minority racial groups would not be sure of political repre sentations, hence trouble. At the London conference, both sides agreed on the present communal system which allows for a 52-seat House of Representatives. It guarantees Fijians and Indians 22 seats each and eight seats for other races who are com bined under the label of “General” voters.

But the NFP said it would accept the arrangement as a temporary one

only, and it was agreed that a Royal Commission would be appointed half way through the five-year life of the parliament elected at the first general election after independence.

This election took place in April, 1973, and the three commissioners, led by Professor Harry Street of Birmingham University, arrived in August.

They held public and private meet ings throughout the country and what was heard at the public meetings made it clear that Fiji’s voters hadn’t changed their minds.

The NFP’s representations were made in secret; even Professor Street said on the day of his departure that this had come as a ‘surprise’. Sc secret, in fact were the NFP’s repre sentations that several NFP MPs complained even they did not knov what the party was now officially advocating.

NFP supporters who made in dividual submissions in public to th< commission, said the same thing more or less; Give us a commoi roll. It’s being assumed that they echoed the party line.

And all the non-Indians, with on< or two unimportant exceptions hac the same view to put also: If Fij gets a common roll we will be sub merged.

The Alliance Party said it wa “unanimous that the present systen is the most appropriate electora system for Fiji’s political problem and the country’s emerging politica process”.

The Royal Commission’s recom mendations will not be binding. I seems hardly likely that the com mission will advocate the commoi roll that the Alliance and its sup porters fear. Its remedy will prob ably be yet another compromise tha will please no one but provoke J fresh outburst of arguments tha could make 1976 a politically me morable one.

Bougainville Prov

Govt suspended

The PNG Cabinet moved agains the secessionist Bougainville Pro vincial Government in mid-Octobe by suspending it and establishing i trust, the Bougainville Provincia Trust, to take over the provincia government’s powers and functions The provincial government’s execu tives vacated their offices at th( central government’s headquarter complex at Arawa. Acting Prinn Minister Sir Maori Kild—Mr Soman was overseas—said the suspensioi was only a temporary measure. Mi Benson Gegeyo is the new Bougain ville Provincial Commissioner.