Islands At War With Themselves

Tensions have built across the region over the nomination of a Pacific candidate for a top international position. Such is the divide that is developing that it could see two Pacific candidates put forward for the influential position of secretary-general of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) group. There is an understanding in the 79-nation ACP Group that it is the Pacific's turn to provide the secretary-general, who heads the ACP Secretariat in Brussels.

The Pacific has never held this top position. But efforts amongst the 14 Pacific states which belong to the ACP to decide on a single Pacific candidate have run into real problems.

As the month began and with it the countdown to the big ACP Head of States and Government Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, at the end of the month: PAPUA NEW GUINEA insists former PNG government minister Sir John Kaputin was voted the Pacific candidate at a meeting of Pacific ACP trade ministers in Port Moresby. SAMOA said not so, and that its candidate, current ACP assistant secretary-general Pa'o Luteru was still in the race. Samoa said the decision was not supposed to be on the Port Moresby meeting agenda, and heads of government, not the trade ministers, are the ones who decide.

In the PNG capital Port Moresby, there is anger that Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase appears to be delaying on implementing support for Sir John.

A letter from Qarase to formally inform regional leaders of Sir John's candidature was not delivered to leaders on time. In fact, the letter was sent well after the ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Gaberone, Botswana last month-where the Pacific, according to local observers, should have sent clear signals about its intention.

A Papua New Guinea official said. ³We're very much offended. We've been given the excuse of Ratu Mara's death as the reason for the lateness of the official notification. But the PNG meeting which endorsed Sir John's nomination was held early April and the region should have been notified immediately. It is such an important position, that those who should have been conveying the decision should have done their job, so there is no confusion. Who is undermining the Pacific position?²

When this edition went to press, only five Pacific leaders had responded to Mr Qarase's letter.

Mr Qarase is the current ACP Group President, and he is proceeding with some caution. In Samoa, there is quiet but strong concern that PNG, with strong backing from Vanuatu and the Solomons, appears to be trying to ram through Sir John as the Pacific candidate. Tonga is believed to be providing Samoa strong support in this view. Both Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi and Tongan Prime Minister Prince Ulukalala ŒLavaka Ata are well known throughout the ACP Group and their influence outside of the Pacific should not be underestimated.

Samoa has already been boosted by support it got from English-speaking African countries last month during an ACP council of ministers meeting in Gaborone, the Botswana capital. These African states support the view that it is the Pacific's turn. But they stress that the Pacific candidate must be someone who has been heavily involved in current ACP negotiations with the European Union (EU).

The ACP and EU have one of the world's most successful aid, trade and development partnerships. But they are now locked in intense negotiations over the implementation of what is known as the Lome Agreement, and the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) which are part of this.

This is NO time for someone new and not already involved in these negotiations to come in to head the ACP Secretariat, the Africans are stressing.

For this reason, some of the ACP English-speaking states are quietly pushing for Dr Luteru to be the Pacific candidate. He is someone who is well known to them through his many years of ACP work. So as Sir John, who's not only highly regarded in the region, but also well respected in ACP countries. He had served on a number of joint ACP/EU fact finding missions in both the Pacific and Africa. He had also served as a co-president of the ACP/EU Ministerial Joint Assembly. There was a time when the amount of time he spent away on ACP work was questioned in PNG. Now, he could reap the reward for those long hours on ACP duty.

Meanwhile, some of the French-speaking African states are also saying this is not the time for someone new to come in. But they are instead calling for the current secretary-general, Jean-Robert Goulogana, of Gabon, to be given another term. This is so he can see through the negotiations with the EU, they say.

Amidst all this, one thing is certain. Samoa is most unlikely to back down and withdraw Dr Luteru as a Pacific candidate despite the heavy PNG pressure. The Samoans remember that under heavy PNG pressure they withdrew an outstanding candidate for Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general. The Samoans agreed to this to enable the Pacific Way of consensus to prevail. Samoa's gracious withdrawal allowed Papua New Guinea's Noel Levi to be unanimously appointed and to go on to serve two terms heading the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. In Apia, they're saying Papua New Guinea quickly forgot this and never reciprocated Samoa's gesture. Samoa is unlikely to step aside for them again. With very heavy PNG pressure on one side, and Samoa's excellent connections on the other, no wonder Mr Qarase has been cautious.

So, let's hope that when Mr Qarase takes the podium at Maputo to make his big speech as the outgoing ACP president, the Pacific then would have made up their mind, so when he makes the big announcement about the Pacific candidate, there is one and one only from the region.