. . . and New York

A two-day seminar was held in New York in mid-November on the theme: the Law of the Sea convention as it affects Pacific Islands nations.

Hosted by the newly formed Pacific Islands Association, the seminar was chaired by the as sociation’s president, Lelei Lelaulu of Western Samoa.

A galaxy of law of the sea experts addressed the seminar and led the subsequent discussions.

The keynote address was gi ven by Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore, president of the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference.

The policies of the Pacific nations were spelled out by Am bassador Los of Papua New Guinea, Ambassador Bole of Fi ji, and Ambassador lion of the Federated States of Micronesia.

John Temple Swing, vice president of the Council on Foreign Relations, critically ex amined the US refusal to sign the convention, while Brian J. Hoyle of the US Department of State defended the decision.

Other well known experts ad dressing the seminar were Pro fessor Logue of the Common Heritage Institute, Dr Gwenda Ward and Dr Mary Fisk of the UN Law of the Sea secretariat, and Peter Watson, vice-chairman of the American Bar Association South Pacific Law Sub committee.

Among other personalities at tending the seminar was Lelaulu Fetaui, widow of Mata’afa, first prime minister of independent Western Samoa.

Also in attendance were repre sentatives of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad ministration, the Australian Em bassy, Washington, the UN Trusteeship Council, the UN De velopment Program, the National Council of Churches of the USA, the United Methodist Church, the American Council of Volun tary Agencies for Foreign Ser vice, the Bechtel group of com panies, the Lockheed Corpora tion, and other business and pro fessional delegates.

The Pacific Islands Associa

tion is a division of Foundation for the Peoples of the South

Pacific.

Father Stan Hosie

in New York.

U.S. opts out of

A-bomb island

The US Department of Defense, as part of its cost-cutting prog ram, will not renew land-lease rights on Tinian in the Common wealth of the Northern Marianas.

As a result, much of the island will be returned to local control by mid-January.

It was from Tinian that Ameri can bombers took off to atom bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945.

In a mid-1982 move, the Ti nian people declared that after waiting four years for a decision from the US as to whether it would be renewing its leases on the land, they had decided that if outstanding payments were not made by January 8, 1983, the US option would be terminated.

Fiji says “no”

to non-alignment

Fiji’s Minister for Foreign Af fairs, Mr Qionibaravi, says that Fiji’s independent stand in inter national relations is better main tained by it remaining outside the non-aligned movement. Mr Qionibaravi was replying in the House of Representatives in December to calls from some opposition members for the gov ernment to consider joining the non-aligned movement. The foreign minister said that the movement had drifted away from its original objectives.

Instead of maintaining a neut ral stand in relation to the super powers, the movement had now become dominated by radical and extremist groups of a par ticular ideology. Mr Qionibaravi said that Fiji had gained world respect because of its indepen dent views on many issues, and its contribution to international peace-keeping efforts.