Standing Alone!

Now It’S Eight

Tuvalu, nine islands with a total land area of 25.9 square kilometres scattered over 1.3 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, and 9 000 people, will go independent on October 1 after three days of celebrations, writes John Carter.

And the Queen’s sister. Prin cess Margaret, back in circu lation after illness will be there to hand over the documents establishing Tuvalu as a sover eign, independent country. To date there is no news of the programme for the junket but the islet of Fongafale, adminis trative centre of the capital, Funafuti, will be crowded. It’s only the size of two or three football fields and canoe-loads of Tuvaluans will be making for the spot. There’ll also be the VIPs from the South Pacific countries and further afield.

As accommodation is lim ited and there’s nothing on Funafuti of Buckingham Pal ace standard to house the prin cess and her party of five, she will be the guest of the Royal New Zealand Navy on a war ship which will grace the cel ebrations.

There may be fireworks like

the ones which gave the Solomon Islanders a big thrill at their independence cel ebrations in July. There’s sure to be dancing but the big thrill for the Tuvaluans will be Prin cess Margaret. Even in faraway Funafuti, 400 miles south of the equator, they’ll have heard

of her Royal Highness’s

headline-making divorce from Lord Snowdon and her friend

ship with Roddy Llewellyn, a

pop singer.

The princess will leave Lon don on September 24 and arrive at Funafuti, via Fiji, early in the afternoon of Sep tember 29. She will return to Fiji after the celebrations end around noon on October 1 and is expected to spend a few days

in Fiji.

Independence comes to the former Ellice Islands exactly three years after separation from the Gilberts, with whom they formed a crown colony, and only four months after

becoming self-governing the

shortest term of self government in the history of the Commonwealth.

Fearing domination by the

Gilbertese, who outnumbered them seven to one, the

Tuvaluans opted for separation even though they had been warned they’d get nothing out of the partnership assets except one small ship. The one thou sand Tuvaluans working in the Gilberts were told they might have to look elsewhere for jobs but they still decided to go it alone hopefully with help from Britain.

Now Tuvalu - which means ‘eight standing together’ - will paddle its own canoe from October 1 with some financial help from Britain, around $8.2 million of it, for a special development fund, for con

tinuing developmental aid, the

budget and technical aid. This will foot bills until 1980.

No one knows what Britain will hand over after that, but the Asian Development Bank, United Nations agencies and other agencies are expected to come to the party.

Without aid, Tuvalu would find the going very rough. It has 300 well-trained seamen working all over the seven seas and it contributes to the work forces in the phosphate indus try on Ocean Island and Nauru. There’s a little subsist ence farming but there’s no future in scratching a living from the meagre soil which barely covers the coral.

Fishing has great promise.

Tuvalu, as a sovereign state, will now declare its 200-mile economic and fisheries zone.

An agreement has been signed with mineral prospecting firms but the prospects of finding mineral wealth in Tuvaluan waters is remote.

The new nation is also nego tiating for its own airline with a Wellington (NZ) firm and Britain has been asked to fund this service to the tune of $B6 135.

There’s every indication that New Zealand and Tuvalu will move to form a special re

lationship involving aid.

Which is only to be expected, perhaps. New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Rob Muldoon, is making amends for his crack a year or so ago. Someone men tioned Tuvalu and Mr Mul doon remarked that Tuvalu was only a group of a few islands with coconuts that no one wanted. But Australia and New Zealand will help Tuvalu.

If they don’t, maybe Russia and China will.

The man who will take Tuvalu into independence, Chief Minister Toalipi Lauti (left), and Her Majesty’s Commissioner to Tuvalu, Tom Layng