Vanuatu PM challenges France over disputed islands

PORT VILA: Vanuatu does not have the might like that of a superpower country as France but it will kneel on its knees and pray to its God until France will arrive at its senses and relinquishes two of our islands – Mathew and Hunter. “And with God before us who will be against us,” Prime Minister Edward Natapei told close to 200 people who participated in a Solidarity March for Mathew and Hunter on Saturday. Natapei said many countries of the world just “tremble” when they hear about the might of France but Vanuatu, which is only a dot on the world map, stands up before France and demands that Paris returns what is rightfully part of the sovereign state of the Republic of Vanuatu. Vanuatu has all the physical evidence and oral tradition to support its claim over Umaenupni and Leka but it seems that France out of its arrogance and its colonial mentality refuses to return the islands to Vanuatu. Natapei told the crowd at Independence Park that if France does not want to come to the table of negotiations with Vanuatu over the two islands then Vanuatu would be forced to take France to the International Court of Justice. “All the papers are ready,” the PM said. Natapei’s courage in not giving in to France’s stubbornness and colonialism was applauded by many people who gathered at the Independence Park where speeches were delivered. But Natapei said today’s leaders are only following the footsteps of many people like the late Father Walter Lini and the late Joe Joseph who decided three years after Independence in 1983 to reclaim Mathew and Hunter. A minute's silence was observed in their honour. He paid particular tribute to the members of the MV Euphrosyne, a wooden government vessel at that time that transported government officials to Mathew and Hunter, because they knew very well beforehand that they would be encountered by the French navy. In fact a crew member told the Daily Post sometime later that a French navy ship that was on full “ahead” threatened to cut the MV Euphrosyne with its speed in half. Just some meters before impact the French navy ship wheeled itself away. The French meteorological service, Météo-France, have set an automatic weather station on one of the islands in 1979, and the French Navy regularly visits both of them. Meanwhile, there was a very poor turn out at the Solidarity March that started from Museum parking at Namba tu, through tropical market, PMC, past the Town Hall to the Cathedral, down to the Moorings along the Lini Highway through the French Embassy in the hear of Port Vila, then back up the Post Office road to the Independence Park. Before the March organizers had expected many thousands of people to take part in it. The Prime Minister who is the Minister for Public Service made the call about the public march for solidarity on November 27, 2008 but the Daily Post found out that nearly all the civil servants did not listen to their prime minister’s plea. That’s despite the fact that today’s civil servants are better paid and even have better work conditions compared to any other time in the history of Vanuatu, thanks to Government Remuneration Tribunal and the tax payer’s money. Out of the 52 Members of Parliament that recently got an 80 percent pay rise, only six MPs participated in the March defining our boundary and sovereignty. Prime Minister Natapei, Finance Minister Sela Molisa, Internal Affairs Minister Moana Carcasses, Health Minister Moses Kahu, Deputy Opposition Leader Ham Lini and government backbencher Dominique Morin were among MPs that took part in the march. Deputy Lord Mayor Ruben Olul and some members of the Town Hall marched and two or three DGs and two or three government department directors were part of the Solidarity March organisation but otherwise, the presence of government workers was non-existent last Saturday. Their failure to turn up or the poor communication to let them know about the march did not prevent members of very simple ni-Vanuatu who just hear the word Mathew and Hunter and they turn up in their numbers because they know it’s a march for “freedom.” Ordinary families and their little ones braved the rain last Saturday and marched with Natapei in his quest to reclaim Umaenupni and Leka for the Republic of Vanuatu. - Vanuatu Daily Post/Pacific Media Watch Article: Natapei tells France to return islands