Briefs

Washington rejects UN Bougainville pro

posal

UNITED Nations proposals for a five man UN political office in Papua New Guinea has apparently been rejected by

Washington.

The United States was reportedly seek ing further financial clarifications on the proposals.

UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, planned to deploy the mission to support a peace agreement signed at the end of April between separatist leaders on the island of

Bougainville and Port Moresby.

AFP reported that during closed-door consultations at the UN Security Council, the American delegation wanted to ensure the 1.4 million dollars needed for the oper ation would not be added to the UN’s reg ular budget.

Washington, which owes more than one billion dollars in UN dues, has established tough criteria for supporting new UN oper ations.

AFP says that during the meeting, Britain’s Ambassador, Sir John Weston, expressed frustration with the US position.

Begional security an issue

DELEGATES from Forum member countries met in Suva, Fiji for three days in June to discuss the co-ordination of law enforcement and security co-operation in the region.

The Secretary General of the South Pacific Forum Secretariat, Mr Noel Levi, CBE, noted the lack of progress by Forum Island Countries in enacting the legislative priorities identified under the Honiara Declaration.

These cover issues such as extradition, mutual assistance in criminal matters, for feiture of the proceeds of crime and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and

Psychotropic Substances.

“Progress in this area will assist in

establishing a regional

legislative framework to combat transnational crime,” Mr Levi said. “I would therefore urge you all at this meet ing to have a frank and constructive dis cussion on the reasons for the lack of implementation, and consider ways of moving forward so that the deadline of the

year 2000 can be met,” he said.

The annual Forum Regional Security Committee meeting also includes represen tatives from specialist law enforcement agencies such as the South Pacific Chiefs of Police Conference (SPCPC); Customs Heads of Administration Regional Meeting (CHARM); Pacific Island Law Officers

Meeting (PILOM); Pacific Immigration

Directors Conference (PIDC) as well as a number of other regional organisations.

TCSP conducts tourism review THE Commercial manager of the Tourism Council of the South Pacific, Ilisoni Vuidreketi, is currently in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, conduct ing consultations on the new approach of tourism in the region.

Vuidreketi told a news conference that the consultations cover areas on regional private sector tourism development and UNDP Preparatory Phase for Sustainable Tourism component, SIBC reports.

He said the assessment is to substantiate the private sector tourism development activities, and his findings will be forward ed to the European Union that has shown interest in assisting the TCSP in its planned programmes.

Vuidreketi added the assessment will look at marketing, research, information and statistics, membership services and technical assistance requirements.

It will also be aimed at formulating activity proposals for sustainable tourism

that may bring employment opportunities,

as well as improving sustainable livelihood through proper use of natural resources.

Vuidreketi will also carry out similar assessments in Papua New Guinea.

Tongan Jetties to be completed this month THE construction of two jetties for Ha’ano and Ha’afeva Islands in Tonga’s Ha’apai Group, are expected to be com plete by this month. The two projects are

being managed by the Ha’apai

Development Committee, Radio Tonga

reports.

The committee’s secretary, Kalolo Fihaki says the Ha’ano jetty was funded by AusAID at an estimated cost of 35,000 pa’anga (US$2O,OOO) while the Asian Development Bank and the Tongan gov ernment funded the Ha’afeva jetty at the

cost of 800,000 pa’anga (U 55477,000).

Tuvaluans and Ni-KiPibati strengthen

friendship

A GROUP of 80 Tuvaluans from the northern island of Niutao is in the Kiribati capital Tarawa on a month-long visit to strengthen the friendly relationship the two countries once held.

Members of the group will see a changed Tarawa from 1976, the year in the colonial days when the two populations once lived together under British rule.

Tuvalu and Kiribati were then known as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony.

Nauru has new leader The honourable Bernard Dowiyogo MP, a former President, has returned to power with a comfortable majority after a June 17 no confidence vote in the Nauru parliament defeated Kinza Clodumar MP.

Bernard Dowiyogo is the longest con tinuous and most widely experienced member of parliament.

He was first elected to parliament in 1973 and has held his seat, ever since.

Regarded as a most capable administrator, he has always taken a major interest in questions relating to the environment.

This will be Bernard Dowiyogo’s fifth term as President.

The outgoing President, Kinza Clodumar, and the newly elected President have been friends since student days and are close colleagues in the parliament.

The President, under the Nauru consti tution, is elected by and from the members

of parliament.

Fiji's Nationalßank changes its credit card management Nationalßank in Fiji last month made management changes to its credit card business. Since 1992, National MBf Finance (Fiji) managed the credit card business of the Nationalßank, however the bank has now made a strategic decision to assume the managment function of this sig nificant part of the product range.

Nationalßank credit card customers can look forward to interest rate concessions of over 50 per cent and fee reductions of at least 30 per cent when the management transition is completed. ■