Islands

From the

Press

The Times of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, quoting Mr Roy Evara who has been dropped from the PNG cabinet for what the government describes as

‘disloyalty’

I am an architect and champion at the destruction of governments.

I could go ahead and tell the nation about everything and embarrass the government, but I won’t do it I am a Christian.

Part of a letter signed ‘Dibwet Jose’, published in the Nauru Post After 12 years of independence we have come upon our bridges ...

We have wasted or squandered our money on bright things like elaborate and expensive parties, on cars and clothes, on furnitures, hi-fi sets, television and such. We and not only us, but every developing country like us becoming independent have never ;eemed to be able to manage our own affairs, especially finance. We lave been trailing well behind the industrialised countries, and we ;eem not to be able to formulate our own plans. We are like moths, ittracted to bright lights. How much have we spent already on the leautiful European lifestyle? We can afford it now while the ihosphate lasts, but can we afford it in the future? Just look at Dcean Island. fhe Pacific Daily News, Guam, quoting Mr John A.

John, a United States representative to the Asian

)evelopment Bank

he potential for development in Micronesia and the role of the ending institutions are delicately inter-related. It’s not unlike making love in a canoe. Even if both parties are willing, they must •e aware of the limitations of their environment if they are to ucceed. he Times of Papua New Guinea, quoting a pledge by )pposition Leader Michael Somare to include women i his ministry if he is elected to government next year lr Somare described PNG women as ‘aggressive’ and having etter reasoning than men. ‘For example, in parliament they are ke back stops he said. ‘Given a chance in this male-dominated )ciety, women could contribute a lot to development in this ation.’ art off an editorial in The Fiji Times, Suva, on the ftermath of the South African rugby tour of New ealand iji and its fellow Pacific Island states have displayed a restrained id balanced attitude to the Springbok tour of New Zealand ... ow African and Asian nations are threatening to boycott the ommonwealth Games in Brisbane if the New Zealanders show up, id the United States is being similarly threatened with a boycott the Los Angeles Olympics. The Pacific Islands should continue have no truck with retaliation of this sort. Once again sport is fing prostituted for shabby political purposes by nations which in any cases, have not just cupboards full of skeletons but acres of ass graves.

And part of another editorial on the same Jbject from the Samoa Times, Apia ie Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand is over and regrettably, though understandably, our government had little to say about it amly on the excuse that we had no right to interfere with New

Zealand’s internal affairs. The real reason, of course, is known to most people: Muldoon of New Zealand and Tupuola of Western Samoa are close friends. It is hoped however that the internal protests which troubled New Zealand will give future leaders food for thought about right action ... New Zealand wants to believe itself the champion of the underprivileged people of the world.

Show us.

Part of a letter criticising Inherited’ legal procedures in Papua New Guinea, signed by John Mark Nakutau, and published in the PNG Post-Courier, Port Moresby What I have seen in district courts is that the prosecutor reads out a statement which is followed by some harsh questions from the magistrate who, in many cases, reads out his decision straight away.

This has probably been adopted from the colonial days, but the difference nowadays is that expatriate magistrates (whites or other non-citizens employed from outside countries) run a more humane session than the Papua New Guineans do.

Editorial comment from The Observer, Apia, Western Samoa It now appears more and more convincing to anyone who has been closely following the recent Public Service Association strike from its birth to its end three months later that there was indeed a more subtle motive in allowing the strike to drag on. The strike as it was could have not have happened at a time more agreeable to government. It was necessary to let the strike continue into months so that it could be held responsible for losses and messes already amassed ... At the bottom of it all the government had been looking for a scapegoat. And the strike had been heaven-sent.

A plaintive observation from a statistical bulletin published in Port Moresby by the Papua New Guinea National Statistical Office It has not been possible to produce a full and very accurate set of import statistics for 1980 for a number of reasons ... Thus the set of statistics which are being produced for 1980 are also being labelled ’preliminary’ although it is not likely that they will ever be revised.

The Samoa Times, Apia, reporting on a youth seminar held in the Cook Islands Cook Islands youth say there are not enough bright lights and discos in their country, and that their society is too restrictive towards their needs. They believe that church sermons should be shorter and that sports should be allowed on Sundays. They also feel they do not know enough about sex and sexually transmitted diseases. The young people made these views known at the South Pacific’s first national seminar on youth and adolescent health held recently in the Cook Islands.

The Papua New Guinea government news magazine Hiri, quoting the Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan There is more to Papua New Guinea than multi-coloured posters in a travel agent s office. It is time to stop describing us as creatures from the Stone Age covered in bangles, beads and plumes. Quite often these days behind the paint and feathers you will find the holder of a degree in political science, a highly-qualified nursing sister or even a government minister. Papua New Guinea no longer needs to conform to someone else’s preconceptions.

The Reporter, journal of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Technology, Lae, publishing directions on how to reach an office in an annexe building Route A is for the agile. It is graded ‘quite tough’ and involves an ascent of one staircase, the traverse of a wooden corridor, and the final descent of another staircase with two right-angle bends. Route B is graded ‘physically easy but mentally taxing, some navigational skill required’ and involves finding the front door to the building which is actually at the back. You walk through the ground floor lobby, turn right and then turn right again at the first doorway. If you get lost on either route you should retrace your steps and try again, perhaps with the aid of an Explorers Club guide. If you still get lost, shout ‘help!’ but do it quietly so as not to disturb the intellectual calm of the building.