Tahiti Letter

Political muddle and a Royal stomach ache

From Al Prince In Papeete

POLITICS played a dominant role in the affairs of French Polynesia in September, October and right through the early part of November. The only cer tainty emerging from the exchanges between Tahiti and Paris was that there will be no new law going into effect on January 1 as originally scheduled, changing the relationship between France and her overseas terri tory.

However, the debate, sometimes heated, that has occurred since March over the so-called “new Statute” got side-tracked during the first week in November, and, despite the efforts of French Polynesia Governor Daniel Videau to set the record straight, the new year may arrive with the principal officials locked in a dis cussion of two possible courses for Tahiti—indepen dence or a ‘Department’.

The new debate stems from a seemingly-innocuous statement by Olivier Stirn, the French Minister for Overseas Departments and Territories. At the very end of Mr Stirn’s Overseas Territories’ budget presentation for next year, he was quoted as saying that a regional statute and the status of a French Department is pre ferable for those territories that have not considered their ties with the French Republic irreversible.

Mr Stirn was describing the three developments he has found in 1975 emerging from Overseas Territories.

One was a territory becoming a Department of France.

The second was a territory having a regional statute with the status of a French Department. And the third was the statute proposed for French Polynesia and New Caledonia, permitting more decentralisation from France administratively and economically, but rejecting internal autonomy, or self-determination.

The newspapers here immediately had a field day, along with the local politicians. Le Journal de Tahiti interpreted Mr Stirn’s remarks to mean that a regional statute and departmentalisation are the best solutions the French Government can propose to Overseas Terri tories.

The local politicians immediately interpreted Mr Stirn’s remarks to mean a choice for Tahiti between independence or a department. Obviously, these are two extremes, independence meaning a complete break with France, and a department meaning the purest form of French status possible, putting Tahiti in the same category as Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean—as much an integral part of France as any part of the country.

In effect, however, what the local politicians did was to reiect Mr Stim’s proposed new statute, independence, for the time being, and the status of a department.

But Governor Videau, concerned over how the de bate had become sidetracked to include the possibility of Tahiti becoming a department, wasted no time in trying to set the record straight. He said the interpre tations by the news media and politicians of Mr Stirn’s

statement did not conform with the truth. Governor Videau said that the statutory text presented by France and himself as recently as the October 31 meeting of the French Polynesia Territorial Assembly has not contained anything indicating a regional statute or de partmentalisation.

But the debate continued, nevertheless, over Mr Stirn’s remarks. French National Assembly Deputy Francis Sanford, leader of the autonomist movement, was touring the United States as a guest of the Ameri can Government.

Upon returning to Tahiti on November 12, Mr San ford noted that Mr Stirn had told the French parlia ment and the press that “We can have our independence when we want it. Thank you. We have already known it for three years, it having been set up as a right written into the Constitution. The only alternative he offers us to rushing into independence is departmental isation, which no one here wants. Why then does he put before us such an absurd choice?

“Since Mr Stirn doesn’t want to explain it to us, I will do it in his place. The reason for it is that he wants to assure peace (excuse the word) for the CEP and CEA military personnel and technicians in the years to come. Because President Giscard d’Estaing has given the green light for an excessively ambitious military programme he intends to develop a third generation of nuclear bombs, supplying multiple war heads, consequently resulting in continued underground tests at Mururoa at least until 1982—if all goes well, which rarely is the case.

“The withdrawal of the CEP and the CEA from the Tuamotu sites would not constitute the first step of this programme. The best would then be for Paris to transform French Polynesia as quickly as possible into a department”.

Then, without the Territory Assembly and the Government Council there would be no one to effec tively protest the decisions made sovereignly by Paris.

“There would also be, certainly, some income taxes as in France, as well as all the other metropolitan legis lation, paralysing and unsuitable for specific local con ditions”, Mr Sanford said.

But the Deputy then wondered what might happen if the electorate in Tahiti turned the scales and voted for independence, in effect, calling Mr Stim’s bluff.

But Mr Sanford rejected both independence and de partmentalisation as the course for French Polynesia.

Instead, he repeated his long-standing demand for in ternal autonomy as the most acceptable course for the territory.

Mr Stirn probably did not realise at the time he was amplifying his Budget for the Overseas Territories that he was opening up a can of worms in Tahiti that has only added fuel to the political fire in the debate over exactly what will be French Polynesia’s future relationship with France.

rHREE of the seven munitions thieves of 1972, who were sent to France’s maximum security prison icar Marseilles, returned to Tahiti in late October as ree men. Robert Cahn, Charlie Ching and Felix feheiura were greeted at Tahiti-Faaa International Air >ort by Tahiti’s Senator to France, 76-year-old Pou /anaa a Oopa.

After three years in prison, much of the time in olitary confinement, Cahn said upon his arrival, “We hall continue our fight”. Ching was a little more pre :ise about what fight. “Tahiti belongs to the Tahitians, fhe French are not here to throw the Tahitians out )f Tahiti. It’s up to the Tahitians to throw the French nto the sea”.

Cahn also complained about the stand taken by ocal politicians, claiming they were too wishy washy.

The trio was released under a general amnesty 'ranted all except serious criminals, such as those con icted of murder, when France elects a new President, /alery Giscard d’Estaing was elected more than a year igo. * * * * HIRARD Gilloteaux spent his 60th birthday and last official day with the Tahiti Tourist Board on November 5 escorting British Princess Margaret to the fahiti-Faaa International Airport. For Gilloteaux, it vas a fitting last official duty after 14 years of work n the field of tourism in French Polynesia.

For Princess Margaret, it was the end of a H-day inofficial visit that left a lot of ruffled feathers and not nuch in the way of goodwill. Shortly after the Princess

arrived from Sydney and had been greeted by Governor Videau, she and the small staff travelling with her moved into their suites at Tahiti Travelodge Hotel. The Princess stayed in her room the whole time with a reported Royal stomach ache.

The ailment prevented the Princess from attending a lavish picnic that was arranged for her on the nearby island of Moorea. But it was only at the very last minute, when Governor Videau came calling for her, that the Princess declined the invitation. The picnic went ahead as scheduled while the Princess slept in her room.

If some officials here were upset by the Princess’s stomach ache, Qantas Airways was even more upset when it found out that Princess Margaret’s private secretary was telling journalists here that he and the Princess had upset stomachs “probably because of some of the food we ate on the flight”. The Royal group was flown from Sydney to Tahiti on Qantas.

As for Gilloteaux, he was feeling a different kind of pain, knowing that his very last day was also the final day for a hotel apprenticeship school that he helped set up in Tahiti. In both cases, it was a matter of offic ials in Paris deciding not to continue budgets—either for Gilloteaux’s salary or the operation of the school.

Gilloteaux arrived in Tahiti in 1961 to become head of the government tourist bureau, a job he held until the present Tahiti Tourist Board was created in 1966.

At that time, Gilloteaux became manager of promotion, publicity and public relations. He was director of pub lic relations when he left the Tourist Board on Novem ber 5. His position will now be filled by Patrick Robson.

Asked the day after he officially left his post what his plans are, Gilloteaux said, “I’m looking for a job”.