Tricky Reefs On The Solomons’

Cruise To Independence

From a special correspondent

After the British Government had deferred indefinitely the constitu tional conference that would have confirmed Solomons independence, the British sent a special represen tative to Honiara. Mr Richard Posnett, the British negotiator, however, did not please Mr Keni lorea, the Solomons’ Chief Minister, who seemed to have expected Mr Posnett to have wider-ranging powers.

As Mr Kenilorea said in a radio interview: “When this .person (Mr Posnett) came we thought he would come with counter-proposals. He did not show flexibility. He did not have the mandate to negotiate on behalf of the British Government.”

Mr Kenilorea was obviously let ting his frustration show.

Mr Posnett’s approach had, in fact, been quite cautious. He had been given 24 hours’ notice to go to Honiara which must have left little or no time for briefing on the situ ation in the Solomons. Mr Posnett, who had never been to the Solomons before, saw his role as “ex

ploratory”.

While Mr Kenilorea was showing signs of frustration, it was obvious that relations between Professor Yash Gai, the constitutional adviser to the Solomons Government and the Solomons Legislative Assembly, were rather strained.

As the legislature was determined to stand by its draft of the Solomons’

Constitution, Professor Yash Gai was probably wondering what use his presence in Honiara was serving.

The professor had arrived in Honiara a few days before Mr Posnett.

Throughout the negotiations the Solomons Government was secre tive. Mr Kenilorea defended this, saying; “Since it is a negotiation it must be treated as confidential.”

However, there were those who thought the Kenilorea government was being overly non-com municative. In particular, the Solomon Island Christian As sociation criticised the government for lack of information on the dis agreement between the two govern

ments and the lack of open debate on the issues involved.

The SICA criticism brought the desired reaction from Mr Kenilorea, who gave a radio inter view. Though Mr Kenilorea would not have satisfied SICA fully, he did give some background to the dis agreement. Much of what Mr Kenilorea said, however, was com mon if to that time unofficial knowledge.

The issues of disagreement were listed as citizenship and land.

The draft of the proposed con stitution requires that for “auto matic citizenship” after Solomons’ independence, a person must have at least two grandparents born in these islands. The “two grandparent clause” apparently is a reduction from a previous proposal that all four grandparents were to have been born in the Solomons. It is apparent, however, that the Solomons Government is prepared to modify its stand on this matter no further.

As Mr Kenilorea said; “That is the stand of the 38 members of the House.”

This clause, obviously, will affect Chinese merchants in the Solomons, of which there has been an exodus in recent years. It will also have its effect on the Gilbertese, who the

British administration brought to the Solomons from the over-popu lated Gilbert and Phoenix islands in the mid-fifties. There was no con sultation with the Melanesians as a whole at the time of this re settlement.

The original four grandparent clause would have affected persons of mixed blood. Consequently, and not surprisingly, the Archbishop of the Church of Melanesia in the Solomons, Norman Palmer, who is Euronesian, has been a critic of the government on this issue. It is ob vious, however, that the “two grand parent clause” will still affect a large number of people.

Persons unable to get “automatic citizenship” will have to apply for citizenship. This will enable the Solomons’ administration to “scrutinise” such applicants, as Mr Kenilorea puts it. The government is concerned about “illegal im migrants” among the Gilbertese.

Their resettlement in the Solomons, apparently, was not very strictly

policed.

Mr Kenilorea is among the “liberals”, it would appear, in rela tion to applications for,citizenship after independence. He has per sonally championed the cause of Dr Charles E. Fox, the Anglican mis sionary who spent 65 years in the Solomons.

Dr Fox had written to Mr Kenilorea of his wish to become a Solomons citizen.

Mr Kenilorea has pointed out to the assembly that provisions in the constitution would not allow Dr Fox to become an automatic citizen and that an inflexible approach would discriminate against people such as the bishop, who had given their lives to the Solomons and its people.

It will remain to be seen whether the British accept the citizenship clause as it stands, Mr Kenilorea’s fine words notwithstanding.

It will also remain to be seen whether Mr Kenilorea’s “liberal” approach will predominate if the clause is accepted by the British.

Some Gilbertese and Chinese fear

Chief Minister Kenilorea.

post-independence discrimination.

Related to the citizenship clause is the land issue, and it appears that the Solomons Government has com promised on this issue. Originally, the clause stated that only “auto matic citizens’ had the right to own freehold land. Mr Posnett’s visit has brought about a modification of this whereby it will be possible for non automatic citizens to hold land freehold.

The previous land clause would obviously have discriminated against Gilbertese, Chinese and European expatriates. It seems that the British negotiator was able to separate the two issues of land and citizenship and once this was done, then the prospects for the calling of the Constitutional Conference seemed very much brighter.

Melanesians outside the govern ment have been expressing their frustration over the British Govern ment’s holding up of independence.

Many educated Melanesians would happily see the remnants of the Bri tish administration pack up and go.

It has been seen that, for all Mr Posnett’s fine words about the peo ple of the Solomons being “British protected persons”, this phrase has little substance.

After the Guadalcanal earth quake, the Solomons seemed to be more an Australian and New Zea land protectorate. The Australian helicopter came 24 hours after it had been requested. Even British on Guadalcanal have openly expressed their disgust at the relative lack of British aid after the earthquake.

The British and Australian governments are hiding their rela tionships in the Solomons behind a diplomatic smile. It is, however, fairly obvious that the Australian High Commission in Honiara would not miss the British administration once it departs.

Highly-placed and well-informed sources have it that the relations between the British administration and the Australian High Commis sion smack of “spy versus spy”.

Privately, the commission is ad vising the Kenilorea government to “stand up” to the British. The Bri tish, for their part, keep the Kenilorea government well inform ed of the commission’s attitudes. It is known to the Kenilorea govern ment that the High Commission’s faith in it is only recent.

Apparently, the commission in