Letters

Fair Games

THE ARTICLE by Carson Creagh in your January issue on the South Pacific Games demonstrates his lack of understanding.

The last paragraph in particular of his story is in direct conflict with the constitutions of the participating countries or should be.

Sports administrators have a respon sibility to see that their country or terri tory is represented in regional games. They should be charged with this responsibility by the constitution that guides them: people may consider this to be a simplistic or “head in the sand” approach, but every one is entitled to their own opinion.

It is unfortunate that politics regularly use sport because it presents perhaps the best platform for demonstration. All na tional sports administrators should be at tempting to maintain an autonomous body that does not make decisions on the basis of race, politics or religion.

Governments do sometimes try to stop sports teams travelling, which thwarts both athletes’ and administrators’ prepa rations that cover many months and often years.

Please, Mr Creagh do not criticise sports administrators for doing their job (usually voluntarily, I should add). They should not have to make political judg ments; and they should not have to be political clairvoyants.

Brian J Wightman

Nukualofa Tonga

Out Of The Frying Pan ...

I WRITE to congratulate you on your ex cellent February Opinion, “Why Conser vation Is Crucial”, in which you refer to the importance of the Convention on In ternational Trade in Endangered Species

(Cites).

I would also draw readers’ attention to another article in the same issue: “In Praise of Fried Fruit Bat”, which suggests that the pest problem of fruit bats in Madang and other parts of Papua New Guinea could be alleviated by exporting the animals, fro zen, to Guam.

Readers may not be aware that over-ex ploitation of many fruit bat species in Guam and some other South Pacific countries has resulted in the recent listing of nine species by CITES. International trade in flying foxes is now controlled and monitored ... and anyone contemplating setting up in the frozen fruit bat trade would be well advised to contact Papua New Guinea’s Department of Environ ment and Conservation to ensure that ex port permits are.

Frank Antram

Director TRAFFIC Oceania □

The Japanese Invasion

YOUR ARTICLE titled “Japan’s Busi ness Invasion” by Tony Siaguru in the February issue was good and productive for international advancement.

In addition to Mr Siaguru’s observa tions, I believe that there are three more problem areas in the Japanese “business invasion”, particularly regarding its ODA (Official Development Assistance). 1) Only about one per cent of total Japa nese ODA goes to the Pacific Islands. 2) Allocated only every single fiscal year, the amount can hardly match recipients’ five-year or seven-year development plans. 3) Fiji or Nauru cannot be recipients of Japanese ODA because their GNP per capita is too high to qualify. Even if the Northern Marianas, with its population of 33,000, need funds to match the rapid in crease of Japanese tourists, who will num ber more than 160,000 in 1988, the islands cannot get the Japanese ODA because it is a US territory.

If Pacific Islands Monthly and other in ternational magazines continue to carry articles such as Mr Siaguru contributed, Japan may find a solution to its Pacific problems.

Hiroshi Nakajima

Executive Director The Pacific Society Tokyo

Us Samoa To Vote

CONTRARY TO correspondent David North’s report in your January issue, American Samoa has non-voting mem bership on the Republican National Com mittee and will be participating at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.

Under Republican rules, expansion of membership and addition of convention delegations can only be approved at the quadrennial national conventions. That procedure was adopted long ago so that all players in the presidential game would play by an unchanging, pre-determined set of rules each presidential election cycle, and is one of the reasons we have won the White House four of the past five elections.

The Republican Party of American Sa moa was only organised in 1985, hence this year is the first convention at which the subject of our affiliation can be addressed.

In January, the Republican National Committee voted to recommend to the convention a rule change that would grant our party a .full, voting membership and would authorise us to send voting dele gates to all future conventions. We antici pate convention approval of this change in New Orleans this August.

Amata Radewagen

Republican National Committeewoman for American Samoa Washington DC