WESTERN SAMOA: DISCUSSION BY UNO COUNCIL

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 February 1949, Page 6

WESTERN SAMOA: DISCUSSION BY UNO COUNCIL

NEW YORK, February 25. the Trusteeship Council should urge the Western Samoa administering authority to grant general suffrage to the Samoans, said Mr Victor Carpio (Philippines) today. Addressing the Council during a general discussion on the ahnual report of the N£w Zealand administration, ' Mr Carpio said that the authority should increase the industrialisation of Samoa and raise the standard of living of the indigenous population. Mr A. A. Soldatov ((Russia) said that the newly-created Legislative Assembly of Western Samoa had only advisory functions. This was contrary to the recommendation of the Council. He considered that it did not give the natives sufficient representation. Whereas the Europeans had five representatives for 1010 people, the natives had only 11 representatives for 67,000. “Undemocratic” System

Mr Soldatov also criticised the structure of the tribal system, which he described as undemocratic. The Administration, he said was not providing for sufficient participation of the natives in the economic life of the territory. There was a lack of secondary schools, and not a single Samoan had received a university education. He asked that the Administration do more for the Samoans in the political, economic, social, and educational fields, with a view to promoting their progressive development towards selfgovernment. Sir Carl Berendsen (New Zealand) said he was distressed and desolated by -what Mr Soldatov had said. He added that he well understood why Mr Soldatov had said these things, but he himself believed that the administering authority had done a good job. . M. Pierre Ryckmans (Belgium) said that the general impression of the Council with the exception of the Soviet delegate, was that the Samoans were a happy people. He would not agree with the Philippines and Russian delegates -about universal suffrage. The Samoans had a way of life different from Europeans, and the introduction of universal suffrage would upset, the whole system of their lives, with which they were satisfied. He held that the Samoans enjoyed better economic conditions than people in some civilised countries.

Native Advancement Mr Carpio, answering Mr Ryckmans, said that the trusteeship system would be of no value if there was no progress in the advancement of the native inhabitants of the trust territories to a higher level of life. He believed it was the duty of the Council to promote advancement. He added that his previous observations had been made in the spirit of the United Nations Charter.

A drafting committee will be appointed later to formulate the observations, conclusions, and recommendations of the Council for inclusion in a report to the General Assembly.