Briefs

FRITs chauffeur partially Hind Western Samoan Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana’s chauffeur was replaced by a police officer after he admitted to being partially blind.

In April, the 72-year-old PM’s distinc tive black Nissan Patrol, while on its way to parliament, careered into the back of a pick-up truck.

As the driver of the pick-up, 20-year old Mafutaga Toitua, went about apologis ing to Alesana, the man was punched and verbally abused by Samoa’s old first citi zen.

Toitua later found himself locked up for three days on a charge of attempting to cause bodily harm to the ageing PM.

“My son was shocked at what hap pened,” said Toitua senior.

According to his son, on the third day of imprisonment, he was bailed up before the PM, who then apologised for the accident.

Days later it emerged the chauffeur had admitted to suffering from Parkinson’s dis ease and being partially blind.

Toitua senior intends to press charges of assault, wrongful arrest and dangerous

driving.

Work on Bougainville resumes Australia has resumed restoration activities on Bougainville with the return of aid workers in mid-April.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer announced that an

Australian-funded general practitioner and

a medical technologist had recommenced work at Sohano Hospital and two more medical personnel were due to start within the next two months.

And the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have recommenced their programme on main

land Bougainville.

Downer added that Australia would pro vide assistance in provincial restoration and in building up the capacity of the Bougainville Transitional Government and the soon-to-be-formed Councils of Elders.

“This kind of support is part of Australia’s support for the peace process on Bougainville,” he said.

Rabuka calls for cooperation The 11th summit of the Melanesian Spearhead Group was held in Fiji last

month. The meeting, which was initially to be held at Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s province in Savusavu, began in the capital, Suva, because of bad weather.

It was continued in Savusavu after the weather cleared.

Attending the meeting were Papua New

Guinea Acting Prime Minister John Giheno; Solomon Islands PM Solomon Mamaloni; Vanuatu PM Serge Vohor; and FLNKS President Rock Wamytan.

During his opening address, Rabuka stressed the importance of looking ahead and a clear sense of vision. With the Lome Convention expiring in the Year 2000, countries in the region will have to look beyond this to the 21st century and prepare themselves for the realities of the new era, Rabuka said.

He said the interests of these countries and their people were best served when they developed the ability to anticipate and initiate.

He said unity and solidarity were vital to the future of the region and that mem bers should make full use of the MSG to explore all avenues of collective coopera tion to further the economic interests of

these countries - both within the region

and beyond.

He added that the region, with its natu ral and unexplored potential resources, have been and will continue to be of inter est to its more advanced neighbours.

This made it vital for the region to

develop and explore practical and mutually

beneficial cooperation among itself in as many different areas as possible, he said, adding that everyone should work together and pool their commercial and diplomatic resources in order to ensure that we get bet ter deals in the interest of its people.

“We can look for avenues for increased trade between ourselves and at how we can help each other in improving our terms of trade with other countries,” he said.

PNG police raids NGO offices The Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC) has condemned the early-moming police raid of three NGO offices in Port Moresby last month. The offices raided belonged to Individual and Community Rights Advocacy Forum (ICRAF), PNG Trust and PNG Watch Council.

Police confiscated computers, floppy diskettes, files and overseas correspon dence.

Jonathan O’ata, executive officer of PNG Watch Council, and two of his col leagues, John Kawowo and, John Napo, were arrested. They were charged with organising an illegal assembly but were released on bail of Kl5O (SUSII4).

Lopeti Senituli, PCRC director, said the three had been primarily responsible for organising the soldiers and public protest outside the PNG National Assembly which forced Sir Julius Chan to step aside as

prime minister.

Senituli said he believed another reason for the arrests was the NGOs’ role in rais ing funds for Jerry Singirok’s legal bills to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into the controversial Sandline mercenary deal.

Kiribati's successful passport sale The Kiribati government’s revenue from the sale of passports to foreigners topped the SAI-million ($US700,000) mark dur ing the first four months of this year, a Pacnews report stated.

And Kiribati’s chief accountant, Teriba

Tabe, attributed the sales increase to the recognition of such an investment, which is being promoted by agencies internation ally.

The Green passports scheme is mainly bought by Chinese from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Revenue from passport sales last year was SAI.S million (SUSI.OS million).

Radio Kiribati reported.