Hebrides independence in 1980?

The New Hebrides, jointly ruled by Britain and France since 1906, will become independent in the second half of 1980, according to a joint British-French statement released in Paris in July.

The statement came after three days of talks between the two governments on one side and six New Hebridean delegates of the Nagriamel Federation, the Tan Union and the elected Chiefs’Council on the other.

The big absentee from the talks was the Vanuaaku Party, largest political party in the New Hebrides The statement from the two governments said that the territory would be given internal autonomy early next year. Rules governing the working of the administration will be drawn up at a further conference to be held in Vila in December or January.

A referendum and new elections for a representative assembly will be held before the proclamation of independence, the statement said.

The Paris conference followed a similar meeting in London last October.

A representative assembly, elected by popular vote in 1975, held its first meeting in the New Hebrides last year. It was suspended hy the British and French resident commissioners in March, 1977, following a boycott of its proceedings by the Vanuaaku Party. 1° a statement released in Vila on the eve of the Paris talks the Vanuaaku Party recalled that on July 18 it had sent a communique to the two resident commissioners advising them that it would not be represented at the Paris talks.

The communique added that although the Vanuaaku Party would not be represented “physically or vocally” in Paris, it requested the governments of Britain and France “to exercise their civilised judgment to recognise our people’s demands which our party has voiced.”

The communique went on: “For the British and French Governments to unduly defend the rights of minorities would, if the two colonial powers are not careful, be tantamount to ensuring the continuance of aspects of the colonial past which would tend to prolong divisions

among the people of Vanuaaku” (name used by the party for the New Hebrides).

The Vanuaaku Party is demand ing that the party emerging from the next elections with a majority in the Assembly should form a govern ment, but the British and French j iave stated that “the two govern ments hope to tranfer responsibility to a COU ncil of ministers reflecting t he widest possible range of New Hebridean opinion’’. . .

The communique reminded the f ßr msh and French Governments h Q a ‘ a \ ota ' ° f 34 ™! er ? m th ? 1975 elections, 20 000 had voted f? r th « Vanuaaku Party (then the New Hebrides National Party), a clear bU/o majority This vote had been for a political programme which had “majority rule” and “independence in 1977” as its foremost slogans. The com munique said that if the party had changed its position on anything, it was in its acceptance of the political compromise of calling for self government rather than full inde pendence in 1977.