SAMOAN PETITION FOR AUTONOMY

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25129, 10 March 1947, Page 6

SAMOAN PETITION FOR AUTONOMY

Submission to UNO Through N.Z. UNITY OF GROUP SOUGHT (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LAKE SUCCESS (New York), Mar. 7. Autonomy for Western Samoa is the subject of a petition signed by 46 Samoan chiefs and members of thdl Legislative Council, received by the United Nations through the New Zealand Government, which administers the territory under a United Nations trusteeship agreement. Sir Carl Berendsen, New Zealand delegate to the General Assembly of UNO, told the trusteeship committee when it was examining the trusteeship agreement for the territory in November that Western Samoa wanted selfgovernment rather than trusteeship. This fact is referred to in a letter from the New Zealand Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) accompanying a petition. Mr Fraser also asks that the New Zealand Government be informed of the methods envisaged for examination of petition. The petition contains a new feature in that it asks that an end be put to the “artificial division of the Sampan islands, established in the past without the consent of the Samoans.’ This raises a complex issue because Eastern Samoa is at present held under mandate by the United States, which so far has not submitted a trusteeship proposal covering the ter--1 The petitioners point out that they greatly value the manner in which New Zealand has carried out its mandate, and recognise the benefit which New Zealand’s administration has brought. They also ask that New Zealand continue to act as “protector and adviser” to Samoa after self-govern-ment has been achieved.

The all-Samoan Fono of representative* of districts, Faipula and judges decided not to accept the draft trusteeship agreement as presented to the Samoans by the New Zealand Government, said the “Facflic Islands Monthly” in December. Instead, it is stated, they submitted a letter to the Administrator of Western Samoa, embodying the views of the Samoan representatives as accepted at the Fono of November 18 at Mulinuu, and culminating the three requests, one of which was that self-government be granted. The following requests, which the New Zealand Government was asked to submit to the “present session of the United Nations Organsiation,” were contained in the letter:— “(1) We humbly beseech that Samoa be granted self-government. “(2) We earnestly pray that New Zealand will see flt to act as protector and advisor to Samoa in the same capacity as England to Tonga. “(3) We sincerely pray that the unnatural division of the islands of the Samoan group, enforced by the Three Powers in the past and without the consent of the Samoans, be left in abeyance until a meeting can be arranged between Eastern and Western Samoa.”

The reference to the Three Powers dates from the treaty signed by Britain. Germany, and the United States in 1899. under which Samoa was divided into two zones. While Samoans appreciate the progress and social services and the sympathetic treatment they had received during the last 10 years from the Labour Government, said the letter, and while they felt that the draft agreement of trusteeship represented an advance on the mandate, acceptance of it would bring them no nearer to the ultimate aim of self-gov-ernment.

The “Pacific Islands Monthly” added: “There are no reports from Eastern Samoa, but it is known that the natives there are as eager as their fellows in the west for political union of the whole group. The situation has been handled with great delicacy up to the present. The Samoans are fully as capable of selfgovernment as the Tongan* and there is no reason why the group should be politically divided—except that officials in Wellington, Washington, and London fear Toss of face.’ ”

STATEMENT BY MR FRASER

N.Z. FORWARDING PETITION

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 9. “The right of petition to the General Assembly of ‘ the United Nations is expressly secured under charter to Western Samoa and other trust territories,” said the Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) when the cabled message on the Samoan petition was referred to him to-night. 'He added that in accordance with its desire to assist Samoa in every way gossible the New Zealand Government ad forwarded this petition which was now being considered by the Trusteeship Council to the United Nations. It would, of course, be. for the Trusteeship Council to consider the petition but it should be noted that it in no way weakened the force of the trusteeship agreement under which New Zealand was responsible for the administration of the territory, said Mr Fraser. It should be remarked also that in the petition for self-government the desire was expressed that New Zealand should stand towards Western Samoa in the same way as the United Kingdom did towards Tonga.