Soviet Complaint About N.Z. Control of Western Samoa

Grey River Argus, 28 February 1949, Page 5

Soviet Complaint About N.Z. Control of Western Samoa

LAKE SUCCESS, Feb. 25

The Trusteeship Council should urge the Western Samoa administering authority to grant general suffrage to the Samoans, Senor Victor Carpio (Phillippines) said to-day. Addressing the council during a general discussion on the annual report of the New Zealand Administration, Senor Carnio said that the authority should increase the industrialisation of Samoa and raise the standard of living of the indigenous populations. Mr A .A. Soldatov (Russia) pointed out that the newly-created Legislative Assembly of Western Samoa had only advisory functions. This was contrary to the recommendation of the Trusteeship 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 eleven representatives for 67,000. 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 self-govern-Sir Carl Berendsen (New Zealand) said he was distressed and desolated by what Mr Soldatov had said. He added that he quite well understood why Mr Soldatov had said these things, but he himsdTT believed that the administering authority had done a good job. . x M Pierre Ryckmans (Belgium) said’ that the "eneral impression of the council, with the exception of the Soviet delegate, was that the Samoans were a happy people. He was not in-agreement with the Philip* pines arid Russian delegates with respect to universal suffrage. Ine Samoans had a way of life quite 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 enioyed better economic condition, than the people in some civilised countries.