The Largesse Of Hu Yaobang

During his April tour of the South Pacific (PIM, May p 7), Hu Yaobang, China’s Communist Party leader, promised a $U5240,000 cash grant to Western Samoa, to add to the $1.5 million unspent from the $4 million loan advanced in 1982 for the building of the sports stadium in Apia. Mr Hu told Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana that China’s developing interest in the South Pacific would not upset traditional friendship among the region’s states. After Mr Hu had visited Fiji, acting Prime Minister Ratu David Toganivalu said China had undertaken to become a steady customer for Fiji’s sugar and had promised a cash grant of SUSBOO,OOO to be used for any development project decided on by the Fiji Government. At a meeting in Port Moresby between Mr Flu and acting Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Father John Momis, Mr Hu offered aid, both financial and technical, for agricultural projects and electrification in rural areas. He also gave Papua New Guinea more than $A500,000 to add to interest-free loans of nearly $5 million, granted earlier this year. Fr Momis promised to send a technical team to China to investigate other forms of assistance which China could offer.

Fisheries: U.S. “Depredations” Irk Japan

Managers of the Taiyo Fisheries Company, of Tokyo, operator of Japan’s biggest fishing fleet and partner with the Solomon Islands Government in Solomon Taiyo Ltd, operators of the fish canneries and fishing bases at Tulagi and Noro, have expressed “deep pessimism” about the future of their industry in the Pacific, primarily because of what they regard as the depredations of big American purse seine vessels, and the overall attitude of the American Tuna Boat Association. They say that the industry is out of control, and that fish stocks are being endangered because of the indiscriminate use of the “super-seiners” under the American flag. Indications that Russian fleets are also likely to increase their Pacific activities also give the Japanese cause for concern.

However, the Japanese point out, the Russians are, at least, careful to fish in areas of exclusive economic and fisheries zones only after reaching agreement with the nations involved which, they say, is a good deal more than the Americans do.

Violence in Noumea escalated towards the end of May with a series of four bomb explosions introducing a new and ominous aspect to the burgeoning crisis. Three bombs exploded in Noumea and one in a rural village. One Kanak was killed and a dozen or so injured in the explosions, bringing the death toll in the current crisis to 23.

The French president’s special envoy to New Caledonia, Mr Edgard Pisani, declared that the only way to deal with the situaion was to ’’paralyse the militant extremists. ” He did not go into details, but observers have noted the build-up of French forces in the territory. Pisani said that New Caledonians were slowly accepting the French plan for elections in August to replace the territorial assembly with a congress - seen as a first step towards a referendum, before 1987, on independence from France. Only two ’’radical minorities” opposed the plan, Pisani said. One was a Kanak minority which sought immediate independence, and the other composed of settlers who rejected independence on any terms. Each group now had to be ’’paralysed” if a peaceful choice was to be made.

A first step seemed to be taken a few days later when Pisani met with 40 Kanak chiefs to discuss land distribution and ”a return to traditional values.”

Record Entry In Oceania Boxing Fest

A record number of 96 entrants was received for the annual Oceania Amateur Boxing titles held in Melbourne from May 9 to 12. The Amateur Boxing Union of Australia commandeered the Dorset Gardens Motel complex in suburban Croydon to stage the tournament and accommodate the boxers coming from all over the Pacific area. Australia was represented by two complete teams,

while at least 72 boxers came from 10 Pacific nations. The largest overseas contingent, 16, was from Papua New Guinea, while New Zealand flew in a team of 12. American Samoa, traditionally part of the United States amateur boxing scene, was represented for the first time, with a seven-man squad. Other countries to send teams were Western Samoa (7), Taiwan (7), Fiji (6), Cook Islands (6), Vanuatu (6), New Caledonia (3) and Niue (2). Footnote: The Oceania Flyweight Title in 1983 was won by an 18-year-old Sydney boxer in his first international contest. Later he represented his country in the World Youth Cup and the Olympic Games, then turned professional. His name: Jeff Fenech, since the end of April IBF World Bantamweight Champion.

Fui To Open Washington Embassy

Fiji will establish an embassy in Washington DC and close its consulate-general office in Los Angeles. The office in Los Angeles was opened with a view to increasing the tourist flow to Fiji. A Fiji Government release said there was a need for a residential diplomatic representative in Washington to promote and protect more effectively Fiji’s interests in the United States. Hitherto, Fiji’s permanent representative at the United Nations has handled all diplomatic business with the United States. It is expected that Winston Thompson, secretary to the Fiji Public Service Commis sion, will be named as ambassador to the United States. Following the visit to Washington by its Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, and President Reagan’s promise of aid, Fiji is moving to the U.S. power centre where all the lobbying is done.

Fui Bows Out Of Arts Festival

Fiji has decided not to take part in the South Pacific Festival of Arts due to be held in Tahiti from June 29. John Thoman, treasurer of the organising committee for the proposed group, said the decision had been made because of the lack of funds. The committee had been unable to raise even half the money required to send the 120-member group to Tahiti.

Lange In Britain: The Off-Record Story

David Lange, Prime Minister of New Zealand, well-known for his opposition to the bomb, dropped a bomb of his own on his visit to Britain early this year. When he set foot on British soil after the furore surrounding his visit to America, many Britishers held their breath in anticipation of some stormy days. “The Americans have so much trouble with their allies,” wrote The Times, “they must sometimes think the Russians quite easy to deal with. At least with the Russians they know where they are. ” In the event, the storm clouds never opened up to quite the predicted extent. Even Mr Lange’s meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on the final day of his stay, was remarkably cordial. How was the fallout restricted? Probably there was a good bit of give and take on both sides. Some British commentators went to some lengths to warn the British Government off any tendency to bully its small ally. “How far is it sensible for the larger countries in the alliance to go on trying to bring the smaller ones into line?” asked Geoffrey Smith in The Times. “If private persuasion fails should public pressure be applied? The Western Alliance ... is an association of free peoples and independent governments, who cannot be corralled. For that reason its burdens are not borne equally and they never will be. It can be held together only by the larger members accepting that they will not be able to get all their own way. ” Mr Lange, for his part, moderated his remarks at the much publicised Oxford Union debate. The initial wording of the motion which Mr Lange was to debate with American Moral Majority man Jerry Falwell was: “The Western Nuclear Alliance is morally indefensible. ” But even Mr Lange found that a bit too strong only 48 hours before meeting Mrs Thatcher. The resolution was in fact reworded four times, in the end leaving the New Zealander free merely to debate the ethical issue without reference to the political setting. Mr Lange seized on the opportunity to deliver a heartfelt plea for his country, and the nations of the South Pacific, to be free to make their own decisions on whether or not to permit a nuclear presence in their part of the world. “There is only one thing as terrifying as the nuclear weapon pointed in your direction,” he

said, “and that is the nuclear weapon pointed in your enemy’s direction. The intention of those who for honorable motives use nuclear weapons to deter is to enhance security; they succeed only in enhancing insecurity. The machine has perverted the motive.”

“We in New Zealand,” he continued, “used to be able to think that we could sit comfortably while the rest of the world destroyed itself; now we know that if the nuclear winter comes we shall join all the rest of you. It makes no sense for a country that faces no threat to seek to surround itself with nuclear weapons. It makes no sense for a region which is the most stable in the world to allow itself to become a strategic arena for the nuclear powers ... In the South Pacific, it is not difficult to achieve the balance of force which allows you cheerfully to dispense with nuclear weapons. If you remove the weapons of your friends and allies you put all the nuclear powers on the same footing. In the South Pacific there is at this moment the chance to turn away from the inhuman logic of nuclear weapons. The government of New Zealand had excluded nuclear weapons from New Zealand; more than that, I hope that it and other governments in the South Pacific will shortly ask all the nuclear powers to honor a South Pacific Nuclear-free Zone . . . there is no humanity in the logic which holds that my country must be obliged to play host to nuclear weapons because others in the West are playing host to nuclear weapons ... To compel an ally to accept nuclear weapons against the wishes of that ally is to take the moral position of totalitarianism. Rejecting nuclear weapons is to assert what is human over the evil nature of the weapon; it is to restore to humanity the power of decision; it is to allow true moral force to reign supreme. ” The motion was eventually carried by 298 votes to 250. But in spite of this strong support, Mr Lange’s words did little to assuage the concern of those in government who wonder how to keep the alliance intact. Mrs Thatcher evidently gave Lange the benefit of the doubt, in pledging continued British support for New Zealand trade. Perhaps she, like many others, recognises the somewhat unique position in which the nations of the South Pacific find themselves. But the story, far from being over, has only just begun. Edward Peters in London.

COOKS: MINI GAMES AND A 20th ANNIVERSARY The 1985 Mini South Pacific Games will be held in Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands, from August 1 to 10. A new national stadium is being built at a cost of SNZI.4 million. On August 4 the Cook Islands will have completed 20 years as an internally self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.

Oz Dockers Delay Islands Cargoes

Ships carrying food and other supplies for Micronesia and Kiribati were delayed in Sydney in April by demands made by the Australian Ship Painters’ and Dockers’ Union for improved conditions for their crews. The ships were the Filipino-owned General Valdez, which was carrying containers and refrigerated goods for Micronesia, and the Japanese-owned Logistic Ace, which had a cargo of food destined for Tarawa. A spokesman for the agents for Logistic Ace said that Kiribati was almost entirely dependent on food supplied by the ship.

Sick Soz Hampers Fui Trade

Fiji manufacturers who took part in a recent four-day trade display at the International Trade Development Centre in Sydney found the ailing Australian dollar was an obstacle to trade. Although the exhibition resulted in negotiations for sales valued at about $F850,000 and the promise of substantial sales over the next 12 months, local importers looked askance at the rising prices, caused by the widening gap between the Fiji dollar and the Australian dollar. The latter, in relation to the Fiji dollar, has fallen by 20 per cent since the beginning of the year. Fiji’s trade commissioner in Sydney, Neville Smith, said; “Most of the participants in the trade display made excellent contacts and found that Fiji products, generally, now have a ready acceptance for quality, delivery and so on, but in many cases formal contracts were not completed owing to the volatile nature of the currency. ” The display was organised by the Economic Development Board of Fiji in co-operation with the trade development centre which has been established by the Australian Development Assistance Bureau.

Vanuatu’S Tax Haven Makes Money ...

The number of new companies incorporated in Vanuatu under the offshore banking scheme increased by 72 per cent in 1984 compared to the 1983 total. After allowing for companies voluntarily struck off or placed in liquidation, 1984 showed an

overall net increase of 12.4 per cent. Direct revenue from the incorporation of new companies, plus stamp duty and overseas ship registrations, amounted to about SAI.S million. . . . AND PUTS IT ON A U.S. LIST One of Australia’s leading political commentators, Maximilian Walsh, has pointed the finger at offshore banking systems in Vanuatu and Nauru as possible clearing houses for the vast sums of money flowing from the international drug traffic. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald of April 4, on the links between banking and organised crime, Mr Walsh noted: “Interestingly, two recent additions to the U.S. drug enforcement administration’s list of hot money havens are Vanuatu and Nauru. In the U.S. and one suspects here the laundering of money is undertaken by a third party unconnected with the actual drug trafficking. This is in accordance with the hallmark of organised crime the plea of non-involvement, deniability of knowledge of the source of the funds.”

Bbc Documentary On Tongan Royalty

The British Boardcasting Corporation is making a 50-minute documentary film on Tongan royalty. Ms Merata Mita, the Maori producer/director of the New Zealand film Patu, which dealt with the controversial Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand in 1981, was chosen by the BBC to direct the film. Working with her is BBC TV reporter Michael Dean. It is believed to be the first time the BBC has commissioned an independent filmmaker to produce and direct a documentary for its services. The documentary will be screened as one of the series The World of Others, which was started by David Attenborough in the 19605.

Kiribati In Tourist Venture

Kiribati has established a link between Tarawa and the Marshall Islands, particularly Kwajalein Atoll, as the first move to create a tourist industry. The Ministry of Natural Resources, the Otintai Hotel on Bikenibeu and the Seamen’s Hostel have combined to organise extended weekend tours, mainly to the beaches which figured in Pacific War battles, and war relics.

Kanaky Cause Comes To Sydney

Supporters of a Kanak-style independence for New Caledonia staged an “International Day of Solidarity with Kanaky” on April 20 in major Australian cities. FLNKS representative Hnalaine Uregei was the focus of a public meeting in Adelaide; while in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney Australian sympathisers domin ated the rallies. In Sydney pickets and posters were outside the premises of the New Caledonian Tourist office; symbolically apt, since the theme of that particular gathering was a boycott of tourism to the French territory, but somewhat limited in achievement, since the tourist office was closed. Well known Sydney-based activists Helen Jarvis, secretary of the Committee Against Repression in the Pacific and Asia (CAKPA), Denis Freney, long-time supporter of Vanuatu’s Vanuaaku Party and East Timor’s Fretilin, and Bob Green of the Aboriginal Land Rights movement, addressed the gathering, which was casually observed by four uniformed state police and one federal plainclothes policeman. There were few passers-by, fewer spectators and even fewer Kanaks present. A police spokesman said that no trouble had been anticipated and that their own presence was merely routine.

The only confrontation, albeit brief, occurred when an argument developed between the supporters of Kanaky and a member of the Communist Left who was distributing counter-literature claiming that Kanak independence would betray the ideals of working class internationalism and that the Kanaks’ claim to be the “indigenous Melanesians” was fraudulent. Norman Douglas.

Alleged Noumea Gun-Runners New Charges

In Brisbane, four Frenchmen released from jail after federal charges of gun-running were dropped, are now facing a total of 10 new charges in a civil action planned by Australian Customs. The earlier charges alleged that the four had planned to smuggle guns to New Caledonia aboard a private yacht. A customs spokesman said on May 1 that writs had now been issued alleging that the four possessed and conveyed prohibited exports. He said that weapons seized by federal police officers in March have now been impounded by the customs department. Lawyers for the four men Alan Grelier, Vu Viet Chaun, Jean Nicholas Bondaletoff and Paul Cu Ngo Ly threatened to take action against federal police officers for wrongful arrest.