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Public hearings began on Saipan in

March for all citizens of the Northern Marianas who were forced to join the

Japanese imperial army during World

War 11, according to the Micronesian News Service. The hearings are being conducted by the social committee of the Congress of Micronesia.

The committee is empowered by a congress resolution to seek, among other things, compensation for all Northern Marianas citizens who were drafted into the army “under threat of death to them selves or their families”. The committee is further mandated to seek com pensation from the Japanese Govern ment.

Earlier attempts to secure com pensation under the Micronesian Claims Act of 1971 failed because it was held that the act did not include service in the

Japanese army.

Marianas' Yes' Vote

An overwhelming majority of 93.3 per cent approved the draft constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas in a referendum held on March 6.

Resident Commissioner Erwin D.

Canham estimated that about 58 per cent of the 6,554 registered voters turned out for the vote.

He said he considered the turnout good, “since, the issues of the constitu tion were already voted in the covenant, and there were no political parties in volved”.

The number of voters opposing the constitution was 258, with 19 votes invalid.

Guam Gun-Runners

Gun-running between Guam and Truk is worrying officials in the US Trust

Territory, TT Attorney-General, Daniel

High, commenting on a case of the seizure of three carbines and two pistols from personal luggage being taken from Moen, Truk, to an outer island, said authorities suspect that considerable quantities of weapons are being smuggled into the area, but they don’t know why. Inspection regulations were

being tightened, he said.

Warning To Nauruans

A warning that Nauru could lose the prosperity to which its people had become accustomed was sounded by President Bernard Dowiyogo in his first

Independence Day address in February.

He said: “There is a danger now that apathy and indifference on our part will result in the loss of our prosperity and any real independence . . . What has

been attained by unity, discipline and

determination before and since indepen dence must be protected by unity, dis cipline and determination of no less

degree now.”

The new President of the Republic said that Nauru was as dependent on phosphate sales as ever, and with

phosphate sales stagnating there was just

not as much money to go around as Nauruans had become used to.

Chimbus Honour Taylor

Old memories revived at the February celebrations of self-government for Papua New Guinea’s Chimbu Province, the most populous in the country.

The advent of provincial government was officially declared by Mr Jim Taylor who, in 1933, became the first white explorer to penetrate into the Chimbu area.

He had been invited to officiate by Premier Siwi Kurondo who was serving as a policeman when Taylor came into the area 44 years ago.

Also on hand for the celebrations at Kundiawa sports ground were the Prime Minister, Mr Michael Somare, the Op position Leader. Sir Tei Abal, and the Minister for Provincial Affairs, Mr Oscar Tammur.

Provincial authorities have already served notice that they will be ap proaching Mr Tammur to have the prov ince’s name changed from Chimbu to Simbu, the preferred local version.

Tuvalu's Big Bang

Six World War II minefields in Funafuti lagoon, Tuvalu, will be blown sky high later this year if present Royal Navy plans don’t go awry. The Royal Fleet Auxiliaries vessel Grey Rover was in Funafuti in February to deliver two tons of explosives to be stored for the operation. She also left behind two RN divers who busied themselves disposing of old bombs and shells on the reef at Nanumea. The men were then to proceed to Tarawa where they would be joined

by four other RN underwater experts to work on the Betio-Bairiki causeway. Fif teen RN divers in all will take part in supervising the later blow-up in Funafuti

lagoon.

Png Death Claim

A Papua New Guinea woman who sued the government following the payback death of her husband in Decem ber, 1972, has been awarded K 35,000 damages in the PNG National Court.

Peter Claver Moini, the husband of Elizabeth Lauwasi Uguwa Moini, was killed in a payback incident after he had been travelling as a passenger in a government vehicle which hit and killed a child. The accident occurred on the Highlands Highway near Goroka. At the time Moini was serving as Associate Dis trict Superintendent of Education in the Eastern Highlands District.

Tom Neale S Visitors

A Russian research ship, the Kallisto, while carrying out a survey programme in the Cook Islands, visited Suwarrow, where it delivered mail to well-known hermit Tom Neale. Tom was delighted, and to show his appreciation was co-operative with the Russians, giving them great help, according to the leader of the Russian ex pedition, Professor Badenov. The expedi tion, organised by the Far Eastern Scien tific Centre of the USSR Academy of Sciences, concluded its Cooks survey at Pukapuka. It also visited Tonga, Western Samoa, New Zealand and Niue. After leaving the Cooks it was to go to Fiji and then return to Vladivostok.

Old Relic Goes

One of Niue’s oldest buildings, which began life 66 years ago as the Medical Of ficer’s residence, has been demolished. The site is wanted for the new $500,000 House of Assembly building, which is New Zealand’s gift to Niue promised three years ago when the island became self governing. The old building, which cost £574, has been used in the last few years for meetings of the Assembly.

Tribal Customs' Value

“There’s no need for a head-on clash between tribal customs and Christian ity,” said Papua New Guinea’s first

Anglican Archbishop in late February.

Archbishop David Hand was speaking in Port Moresby before taking part in a ceremony which inaugurated PNG as an autonomous province of the Anglican Church. The ceremony was honoured with the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Donald Cog gan, who had just begun his visit to PNG and other Island countries.

Archbishop Hand said PNG tribal so ciety contained far more strengths than many early church workers had realised, and there was a place for these strengths in modern Christianity.

Fiji Children Killed

Three children died and about 50 were injured when a school bus left the road on the copra island of Taveuni in Fiji and crashed on to a beach 4Vi to 6 metres below. The bus was on a narrow winding road, typical of Taveuni, at Nanuku, about seven miles from Waiyevo, which is about the centre of the island on the north western side. There were about 80 children on the bus.

The Fiji Cabinet discussed the accident, after which the Minister for Com munications, Mr Jonati Mavoa, issued a circular letter to bus drivers, appealing to them to see that bus transport rules were observed. Fie said his ministry believed that many of the problems being ex perienced were because many drivers were ignorant of their responsibilities as bus drivers. A few weeks earlier a school child was killed near Suva when he put his head out of a window as it passed close to a power pole. His head struck the pole.

90,000 Tongans

Tonga had a population of 90,128

according to the census taken in December, 1976. The figure was 16.4% higher than that of the 1966 census. Males outnumbered females by 46,029 to 44,099. Tongatapu had a population of 54,437, Vavau 15,065,

Haapai 10,812, Eua 4,486 and the

Niuas 2,328. The population of Nukualofa at 18,396 was 17.2% higher than that of the 1966 census.

People

Minister Charged

An interesting court case seems to be on the way in the Cook Islands. The Premier, Sir Albert Henry, was given leave to appear for his son, Mr Tupui Ariki Henry, Minister of Justice, Lands and Internal Affairs, who was charged in the High Court with having assaulted laveta Short, a Rarotonga barrister and solicitor. Sir Albert asked Chief Justice Gavin Donne to adjourn the case because his son needed time to seek legal action, and because the complainant, and prosecution, appeared to have subpoenaed all available barristers and solicitors to either act on his behalf or as witnesses for the prosecution. Thus his son would have to get legal assistance from either New Zealand or Australia. The matter was adjourned to May 9.

Nauru's Claim

New Zealand union lawyers have demanded that the Nauru Government be less confused in its statement of claim for $NZ432,241 damages against three New Zealand unions. The claim, which is being heard in the Supreme Court, Wellington, arises from an industrial dispute which caused the Nauruan ship, Enna G, to make a prolonged stay in

Wellington in 1973. The plaintiffs counsel agreed in February to amend the statement and the case was temporarily

adjourned.

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Png Job Policy

PNG’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sir Maori Kiki and Minister for Labour, Commerce and Industry Mr Gavera Rea, have agreed on a joint policy whereby non-citizens may change employment while in Papua New Guinia, without returning to their country of origin. The change of employment will only be approved if the employee has completed at least a year s term of employment with the employer who brought the immigrant into Papua New Guinea. The Chief Migration Officer and the Department of Labor, Commerce and Industry must be advised in writing by the intending employer that change of employment is sought and the passports surrendered to the Chief Migration Officer for re-endorsement. The Department of Labour will then advise the employer and the Department of Foreign Affairs whether or not the change of employment is approved.

Fijians For Niue

Niue Island’s Minister of Agriculture and Economic Development, Mr Young Vivian, would rather have Fijian experts working on his country’s projects than New Zealanders. “The Fijian would be more in tune with the way things are done in the Islands,” he says.

New Zealand experts in Niue tended to go about their jobs as if they were still working in New Zealand. Some did not

always appreciate that they were

working in an entirely different country, with a different social structure, soils and climate.

His statement brought a declaration of

“strong support” from New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Talboys.

“It would give people from one Pacific nation the chance to impart their knowledge of regional conditions to their less developed neighbours,” said he.

Friendly Stoppage

A , „ .

About employees of the Jft"" ‘ ndus . t . I f lal Corporat.on < .!*/"*"?, J„ y .„ wo rk ' pr< PP ss g ing on K( P ror jn ° Febr ° a P ™ The worker p s sem a , ist of .. requ ests” to company officials for consideration, They were for a num ber of improvements in conditions, and for a 35 c wa g e rise. Police said there was no violence involved. Employees of the

nearby Van Camp Seafood Company

gave fish to the idle MIC workers,

Following talks with MIC president Guy

Luttrel, who paid a special visit to Koror to discuss the “requests”, all were granted except the 35c pay rise. ia//\dwiwp in u/nMcw

Wmifphwu Iu Vvumtn

Lae women who wear very brief costumes or shorts are inviting assault from “certain individuals”, according to Superintendent lan McPherson, of Lae Provincial Police Headquarters. He said that in a recent P enod of ei B ht weeks ’ reports of assaults on females, un successful rape attempts and one rape case were received. These attacks occurred mainly at night, in houses and in the streets. In nearly every case the person at tacked had, without thinking, presented the opportunity to the offender. It was un advisable for women to display themselves dressed in very brief costumes or shorts or to sunbathe in swimming costumes in the backyards of their homes, as that tended to arouse certain individuals, he said.

Chris Elliott, aged 30 (second from left), put on traditional Manus ceremonial costume for his marriage at St Joseph's RC Church at Boroko, Port Moresby, in December to Angela Morove, of Marshall Lagoon, 1 50 km along the coast from Port Moresby. Angela wore the traditional costume from her own area. Chris, from Mackay, Queensland, is a naturalised Papua New Guinea citizen. He has lived nine years in PNG and was adopted by a Manus Island family, in PNG's far north, while he was teaching there.