Vanuatu holds to independence, non-interference

Jules Andrews

Australia's imperialist ambitions in the South Pacific suffered a 
marked setback this week when the government of Vanuatu announced 
its decision to expel the Australian Federal Police from the 
country and close their office in the country's capital Vila.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been accused of 
interference in domestic politics and espionage.

The decision comes after recent national elections at which the 
new government campaigned on a platform of reducing international 
influence in the country.

A press statement signed by Vanuatu's Foreign Minister, Barak 
Sope, confirmed the expulsion: "The Government has decided to 
close the AFP office effective from 15 September 2004.

"The decision was made because Vanuatu already has Australian 
Technical Advisers who are assisting the Vanuatu police under the 
Australian Defence Co-operation Program. This decision is to 
ensure Vanuatu, especially the police and the general public at 
large, are not confused over the role of the police."

However, during the ensuing diplomatic spat between Australia and 
Vanuatu further accusations were made by Mr Sope's office, 
including "spying through tapping telephone calls" and that 
"sensitive information is being passed back to the Australian 
Government".

Mr Sope said no formal agreement was made to allow the AFP into 
Vanuatu. "Vanuatu cannot just turn up in Sydney and set up a 
police station and spy on Australians. We are putting things 
straight."

Fear factor

In retaliation Alexander Downer, Australian Foreign Affairs 
Minister, has begun to wage a propaganda campaign against Vanuatu 
with the Australian media airing Government concerns over "the 
corruption issue", "transnational criminals", "international drug 
syndicates" and "Chinese triads".

Australia has now threatened to lead an international boycott of 
foreign aid to Vanuatu: "There's not much point in wasting money 
on good governance programs and assisting governments if they're 
going to get into kicking people out on allegations of spying", 
said Mr Downer.

"We're talking with the Americans and the Europeans and 
international institutions about this issue in the context of our 
aid program."

Australia's imperialist push

Australia has made no secret of its plans to dominate the South 
Pacific, using the mantle of "assisting failed states" to justify 
its takeover of local affairs.

The right-wing Australian Strategic Policy Institute has been 
advising the Australian Government on the process, most recently 
recommending doing away with national currencies and setting up a 
"South Pacific Dollar", and other rationalisation measures 
including the scrapping each country's national airline into a 
single international carrier.

So far the Australian Government has taken complete control over 
the Solomon Islands whilst retaining the "Government" for public 
face. Australian bureaucrats head the public service departments; 
the Australian Defence Force patrols the Solomon's borders and 
intervenes in local "hotspots"; and the Australian Federal Police 
"assists" in local law and order.

Under threat of withdrawing all aid, Australia has also forced 
its "advisors" and Federal Police back into its former colony of 
Papua New Guinea.

Most recently Australia seized the assets of the "bankrupt" 
Government of Nauru, and is currently preparing an intervention 
force for "Failed State Number Three".

Vanuatu must have seen the writing on the wall, and has chosen to 
maintain its independence rather than end up "Number Four".

Sinister colonial legacy

Vanuatu comprises 80 islands that lay approximately 2000 kms east 
of Cairns, and has a population of 200,000.

The citizens are known as Ni-Vanuatu (the Bislama term meaning 
"born in Vanuatu", a corruption of the French "Ni en Vanuatu"), 
and as a legacy of its colonial era the official languages are 
English, French and Bislama — a pigeon language drawing on the 
other two (Bis — from the English "Beach", and lama — from the 
French "la mer".) 

Colonialism cut a tragic swathe through Vanuatu. Between first 
European settlement in the late 1700s and World War II, it is 
estimated that 95 per cent of the population — 950,000 people — 
were wiped out, either through introduced disease or deliberate 
slaughter.

Long after slavery had been officially abolished in the British 
Empire thousands of Ni-Vanuatu were still kidnapped and forcibly 
deported to work on sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji 
under the guise of "indentured labour".

Vanuatu's entire stock of sandalwood was felled for export.

Foreign political intervention reached its peak during the 1970s 
as Vanuatu negotiated its independence with its British and 
French joint rulers.

French secret agents and US business interests financed and armed 
separatists on the northern island of Santo, hoping to foster a 
civil war and the establishment of a separate pro-French/US 
republic when independence was formally declared.

The insurgency was put down with the help of Papuan troops.

Vanuatu, while still heavily dependant on foreign aid, has 
maintained a degree of independence that has irked foreign 
powers.

One of the first actions of the new independent government in 
1980 was the nationalisation of all foreign-owned land. Vanuatu 
is the only South Pacific country to belong to the Non-Aligned 
Movement.