Unrest in New Hebrides

Press, 9 August 1976, Page 14

Unrest in New Hebrides

Last month the National Party of the New Hebrides appealed to the South Pacific Forum to endorse a declaration of no confidence in the colonial administration of the island group.

The New Hebrides are governed jointly under a protocol drawn up in 1914 by Britain and France. On November 10, 1975, elections were held for the island group’s first Representative Assembly. Of the 29 members of the 42-member assembly who were elected under universal adult suffrage as “representatives of the people,” 17 were members of the National Party, which had called for independence foi the New Hebrides in 1977. The remaining 12 popularlyelected members of the assembly belong to groups opposed to the National Party. Nine members of the assembly represent “economic interests,” and four the traditional chiefs of the islands.

On July 23 the Joint Court of the New Hebrides ruled that an amendment to election regulations which had been passed by the Joint B r i t i s h-French Adminis-

tration was not legally binding.

The Joint Court was acting as court of appeal to settle a dispute about the Santo rural constituency arising from the General Election held last November. The Joint Court ruled that an amendment to election regulations prolonging the time allowed for voters to register did not supersede the previous regulation because of an error in its wording. As a result, votes cast by people registered after the original deadline were not valid. As sufficient such votes were cast to alter the results of the election, the three seats in the constituency were declared invalid and subject to re-elec-tion.

The three seats were won by Dr Titus Path and Mr Thomas Reuben — both of the National Party — and Mr Michele Thevenin, of the New Hebridean Action Movement. A similar judgment is expected in the dispute about the seat of Mary Gilu (National Party) in the Santo urban constituency.

The National Party saw the judgment as the ultimate proof of the Joint Administration’s incapacity to act in the interests of the New Hebridean people, said Mr Walter Lini, the president of the National Party. “It

shows yet again that there is no way that we can attain self-government and independence according to the stated desires of the New Hebridean people while both administrations remain in the country.” The telegram, directed to all delegations at the South Pacific Forum, explains the Joint Court ruling and states that this further delays selfdetermination for the country. Even now elections of the four chief representa-

tives to the assembly are not complete, and British sources indicated that the assembly would not now be able to open properly before October. The telegram sent by the National Party to the South Pacific Forum read in part, “This (the court’s decision) proves incompetence of and manipulation by the colonial administration. We declare no confidence in the administration and ask the Forum to endorse.”