Pacific Report
pp. 7-8 · Read in the full issue
Heavy Gaol Terms In Papeete
I A Papeete, Tahiti, court in February sentenced two young mem- I bers °f the pro-independence Toto Topuna organisation to 20 E lm P nsonmen t' and three others to 18, 10 and five years I Well-known independence advocate Charlie Ching was acquit ted of charges of murder and bombing, but got 10 years for planning abortive attacks against military targets. The charoes \ arose fram iac,dents in 1977. The defendants strongly affirmed ; their political motivation, stating that they saw themselves as I soldiers in a war for independence and against nuclear pollution For the defence, eight senior lawyers from France vigorously attacked colonial-type justice', and claimed that the accused r were denied basic human and legal rights. They served notice grounds 7 W ° Ud appeal against the sentences on these
Whitlam Foresees Pacific Turmoil
The inevitable move to independence of the French possessions in the Pacific would create tension and even turmoil on Aus tralia’s doorstep, former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam told a conference on sea power in Canberra in February. Mr Whitlam said the full implications of the declaration of 200-nautical mile fishing zones was only beginning to be understood. Practically the whole Pacific would soon be subject Jp control by countries in the region. Tonga, for example, would have a bigger sea domain than Japan a radical development in maritime politics. Mr Whitlam indicated that the role of the Australian navy in future would increasingly take on the charac ter of coastguard work. It was his view that its traditional role as part of a bigger allied force was gone forever.
Passive Resistance Move On Banaba
As PIM went to press the Banaban council of leaders were plan ning to fly from their Rabi Island, Fiji, to Nauru and then sail home to Banaba (Ocean Island) to demand that the British Phos phate Commission cease operations. This latest move to keep Banaba for the Banabans came at about the time the Gilbert glands independence bill was to be debated in the House of Commons. The bill would make Banaba part of the future Kiribati, the Gilberts’ chosen post-independence name. A Banaban spokesman said council members would be ac companied on their journey by Fiji Council of Trade Unions Usader Aptsai Tora and Fiji Government backbencher Fred Came, and would be met on the island by about 200 Banabans. . c °uncil planned to embark upon passive resistance sitting m tront of machinery and across roads - if the BPC did not stop work. Their move has been supported by Jai Ram Reddy, leader of the National Federation Party opposition in Fiji. The spokesman said that if the BPC tried to prevent pressmen land ing on Ocean Island the Banabans would invite them ashore as their own guests’ (PIM Political Currents).
‘Oil’ Rig For French N-Tests
After conducting 14 underground tests around the rim of French Polynesia s Mururoa atoll, France’s Centre d’Experimentations du Paafipue (CEP) will henceforth use the offshore techniques h . ' ho mpa + n ' eS dnll all further bomb P'ts from a platform ip IprpH P ntre ? f the lagoon - This was the main message -harne of thp P Pr 66 h° n reC6nt V ' Sit by General Dubost, in charge of the French nuclear test programme.
Soviet Envoy As Fence-Mender
-ence-mending seemed to be the order of the day during the Tird annual routine visit to Fiji made by the Soviet Union’s 9 am- SiY r Kpm Q Stra m A - V ' BaSOV - Reca,lin 9 Fiji Prime Minister ata S ' r Kamisese Maras remark (PIM August 1978) that he ? oub be Pretty scared’ to have a Soviet embassy in Suva Mr n aid n ,? b ? dy shou,d be scared’ of the Soviet Union The “.on had never threatened any other country or forced 1968 wLHnn ° th t? rS ' (What ha PP ened in Czechoslovakia in 968 was apparently something different.) But Mr Basov said
his country hoped to develop trade with Fiji in goods like agricul tural equipment, cars, radios, cameras and small power plants Fiji could find potential markets in the USSR for timber, sugar' copra and coconut oil. Mr Basov said that at no time during hSuva h3d raiSod thG matt6r ° f setting up a Soviet embassy
Png’S New Foreign Policy Moves
Papua NJew Guinea will establish overseas posts in Manila Philippines, and Flomara, Solomon Islands, this year. The moves will raise PNG’s number of overseas missions to 13. Meanwhile Foreign Minister Ebia Olewale has announced the appointment ot an Australian academic to conduct a six-month survey of PNG foreign policy, A key issue in the review, to be made by Dr Ted , Iters of Macquarie University, Sydney, is likely to be PNG’s relationships with China and the USSR
Fiji: Sugar Politics’ Victim
The eruption of Fiji’s sugar politics (PIM Political Currents) c aimed a top-level casualty with the resignation from cabinet of Minister for Communications and Works James Shankhar bmgh. Mr Singh, a cane farmer, was reported to have Teserva l? ns ??° u i the controversial new sugar farmers’ contract Warned by p n m e Minister Mara that he had to throw his weight behind the government campaign for it, or that ‘cabinet changes would be made affecting him’, he resigned,
Congratulations, Demos, For Hebrides
The new government of national unity of the New Hebrides (PIM February) has received goodwill messages from the govern ments of Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand. At the same time supporters of the ‘moderate’ parties have staged demonstrations in various places claiming that ‘too much power’ in the new government has gone to members of the Vanuaaku Party. In fact, the moderate parties and the VP each have five places in the government, with moderate Gerard Leymang as chief minister, having a casting vote. y
New Curbs On Fiji’S Press?
The Fiji Government is planning legislation for a press council Information Minister Ratu William Toganivalu said the govern ment was looking at relevant legislation from Singapore Sri Lanka and India. Ratu William said the Sri Lankan and Indian ordinances seemed to be ‘a bit on the rough side’ for Fiji but there was no harm in picking out what was wanted from them.
Mara On Politics And The Games
The future of the South Pacific Games could be affected if poli tics were brought into them, said Fiji’s Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. He was commenting on plans by an anti colonial and anti-nuclear group to stage demonstrations at the August-September games in Suva (PIM January). Asked if the government would stop such a demonstration Ratu Mara said it could only go by the law and either issue or not issue a permit for one. But if people spontaneously showed flags, as they had done elsewhere, there was not very much the government could do about it.
Micronesia’S Congress Meets
ASO-day session of the interim congress of the Federated States of Micronesia got under way on January 30 in Kolonia, Ponape.
I he meeting was held in newly renovated chambers at the for mer Ponape hospital.
Air Niugini Man Lashes Airport Decision
Upgrading of Port Moresby’s Jacksons Airport to accommodate Qantas Boeing 747 aircraft was ’disgraceful’, when Air Niugini could not get airfield improvements for domestic travellers according to Air Niugini’s general manager, Bryan Grey Mr Grey, who had announced his resignation from the airline’s top
job about a week before (PIM Tradewinds), said he agreed with government spokesmen that ‘what is good for Air Niugini is not necessarily good for PNG’, adding; ‘I would also like the plan ners and fund providers to realise that what is good for Qantas is likely to be a sight less good for Papua New Guinea.’
Women’S Resource Centre Closes Doors
Operation of the Pacific Women’s Resource Centre in Suva has been suspended until 1981, according to a decision of the sec ond Pacific women’s conference. Organiser Makereta Waqa vonovono said the suspension was due to the greater involvement of women in their own countries and the lack of secure and continuous funding for the activities of the centre.
Links would be maintained through the Peacesat satellite at the USP’s extension services and through quarterly newsletters.
More Lepers In Truk
A total of 89 active leprosy cases have been identified on several islands in the Truk Lagoon, Micronesia, after a survey held late last year. Sixty-nine had been previously registered, and 20 more were discovered during the survey.
New Sea Limits For Solomons
The Solomon Islands parliament has given the government power to declare new sea limits in addition to the 200-mile fishing zone introduced in January. The new powers will not be used immediately, but as it thinks fit the government may increase the territorial sea limit from three to 12 miles, as well as introduce a 200-mile economic zone.
Asian Police For Png?
Recruitment of police officers from Asian countries including Malaysia and Japan is under discussion in Papua New Guinea police circles. The idea is to train a crack squad of PNG police for top level security duties, including acting as security officers for top government officials and visiting dignitaries and providing security at airports.
Australian Aid For Png
Papua New Guinea would receive $A223 million in Australian aid in 1979-80 and $232 million in 1980-81, according to an announcement by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrew Peacock. Under arrangements which began on July 1, 1976, and which extend over five years, PNG receives a minimum of $lBO million in budgetary support aid from Australia each year.
Under the provision for annual supplements, the supplement will be $43 million in 1979-80 and $52 million in 1980-81.
Bulk Drug Buying By 15 Countries
A list of essential drugs for combined bulk purchasing has been adopted by 15 South Pacific countries at a meeting in Suva.
The meeting, sponsored by the World Health Organisation and the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation, brought together representatives of the 15 countries concerned American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Gilbert Islands, Guam, Nauru, New Hebrides, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and Tuvalu.
Moonists’ Land In Tonga
The ‘Moonist’ religious cult, of Korean origin, has quietly implanted itself in Tonga, according to a report in the Tonga Chronicle. The newspaper says that so far' five Tongans, four teen-age boys and a young woman, have forsaken their homes to live permanently at the cult’s missionary centre at Peseti Latu’s housing complex at Pahu, Nukualofa.
Fiji’S First Loss In Lebanon
In Lebanon two Fiji soldiers were killed and four were wounded in a rocket and machine-gun attack by Arab guerillas on February 3. Dead are Corporal Vidya Sagar, 32, of Nasea, Labasa, and Private Alifereti Oaranivalu Leitubadei, 18, of Vunaqoro, Ruwailevu, Nadroga. Wounded were Private Lote Tuidravu, 30, of Wailevu, Labasa, Private Navitalai Nabobo, 20, of Suweni, Wairiki, Taveuni, Private Epeli Sivua, 32, of Nacula, Labasa, and Private Indar Sharma Deo, 25, of Labasa.
Norfolk Rejects Island Bill
Norfolk Island Council on February 7 unanimously rejected the
Norfolk Island Bill 1978 as unacceptable to the people of the island. The rejection comes in the wake of a build-up of sen timent spearheaded by the Society of Descendants of the Pit cairn Settlers. However, the council has invited Australian Minister for Home Affairs Bob Ellicott to resume negotiations for a bill which will give the islanders an acceptable degree of self government. The council also decided to seek Norfolk mem bership of the South Pacific Commission.
FIJI LOOKS BACK TO OLD VILLAGE SYSTEM Fiji is considering reintroduction of a traditional local govern ment system which was scrapped 30 years ago. Under the sys tem, Fijians run their local affairs as administrative units called tikinas, possibly led by an official known as the buli. Revival of the system, it is hoped, would check a decline in respect for law and order in the villages, coupled with unwillingness to fulfil communal duties.
Multi-Million ‘Political’ Fire In Png
Sympathisers of Irian Jaya freedom fighters have claimed responsibility for burning government offices in Port Moresby in January. The fire destroyed the finance department offices and caused damage estimated at several million dollars.
Arcadia For Breaker’S Yard
Well known in island ports throughout the South Pacific, the P&O cruise ship Arcadia was withdrawn from service in January, and prepared for the breaker’s yard in Taiwan. Arcadia will be replaced by the more modern Sea Princess, described by her owners as ‘ideally suited to cruising in South Pacific waters’.
Enjebi Folk May Go Back
Natives of Enjebi Island in Enewetak Atoll may be allowed to return to their nuclear-bombed homeland within the next few years. The director of the US Defence Nuclear Agency, Vice- Admiral Robert Monroe, said the SUSIOO million Enewetak clean-up had been so successful that the island, previously thought to be a nuclear desert, might be resettled.
Tuvalu Gets The Millions
An agreement has been signed in Suva between Britain and Tuvalu providing for $A4.65 million to be made available to Tuvalu by the British Government on grant terms. A special development fund providing for a further grant of about $A4.5 million was agreed at the constitutional conference in London last year, and a technical co-operation agreement is expected to be signed shortly. Forty-one projects have so far been agreed for Tuvalu including provision for a seaplane service between Funafuti and outer islands, completion of the electrification of Funafuti, and various construction, agricultural and marine projects.
Marshalls’ Fishing Future Bright
The Japan Marine Fishery Resources Centre has completed gathering data for research on the fish and fish bait resources of the Marshall Islands. Indications are that Marshalls waters had an average yield of 51 buckets of bait per day, which compares favourably with areas already engaged in large-scale commer cial fishing like Fiji, where the average was claimed to be 35-40 buckets per day, and Ponape 30 buckets per day.
Australian Pilots ‘Black’ Png Airline
The Australian Federation of Air Pilots has threatened to blacklist pilots joining or working for an internal Papua New Guinea air line, Douglas Airways. The threat follows the airline’s sacking in December of 17 striking pilots. The AFAP has threatened that pilots will be unable to get work with Australian airlines if they work for Douglas.
Bougainville Copper’S Profit Jump
Directors of Bougainville Copper have lifted final dividend from 50 to 12.60 a share following a sharp improvement in operating profit in the second half of 1978. Earnings before tax and exchange movements jumped from $A26.8 million in the first half to $35.7 million in the second half,
Diarrhoea Micronesia’S Top Killer
Diarrhoea! disease was the main cause of death in the US Trust Territory in 1977, health services officials said. Most deaths oc curred in the Marshalls and Truk districts.