Political Reviews

Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 john r haglelgam, david w kupferman, kelly g marsh, samuel f mcphetres, donald r shuster, tyrone j taitano

Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 lorenz gonschor, hapakuke pierre leleivai, margaret mutu, forrest wade young

© 2012 by University of Hawai‘i Press

135 political reviews • polynesia 201 with the Economic and Social Council island remained kingless for fourteen of the United Nations. months. http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/ In January 2008, a new health Young, Forrest Wade. 2011. Unwriting care center, encompassing the exist- “Easter Island”: Listening to Rapa Nui. ing Sia Hospital and new extensions, PhD dissertation, University of Hawai‘i at was established in Mata Utu, the Mënoa. territorial capital, on ‘Uvea. In accor- dance with the French Ministry of Health’s 13 January 2000 mandate, Wallis and Futuna the health center became the Health Agency of the Territory of the Wal- Because no reviews of Wallis and lis and Futuna Islands. The agency Futuna were published in TCP since also encompasses another hospital 2007, this review covers the 2007– (Kalevele) on Futuna and three dispen- 2011 period. saries, in Mua, Hahake, and Hihifo On 7 May 2007, a chapter of the (ieom 2010, 90–92). The agency is modern history of ‘Uvea Island (also a national and public establishment called Wallis) closed with the death of with administrative and financial Lavelua (King) Tomasi Kulimoetoke. autonomy and a primary mission— The lavelua’s passing also affected the to protect people’s health. The year social and political landscape of the 2008 also marked the beginning of whole Territory of Wallis and Futuna work extending and improving the (Angleviel 2008). Participating in the runway at Vele Futuna airport, which funeral procession were the two kings was undertaken mainly for security of Futuna, his majesty Tuiagaifo from reasons. In the economic arena, the Alo kingdom and his counterpart, Monitoring Committee of the Ninth Tuisigave, from Sigave kingdom. In European Development Fund (edf) his closing address at the very moving met in Mata Utu on 3 April to discuss ceremony, Tuiagaifo Soane Patita the development contract between Maituku reminded the crowd of the territory and the European Union the late king’s work and courage in (EU). Among the difficult issues dis- bringing modernity to ‘Uvea as well as cussed during the meeting was con- his efforts to maintain tradition and cern over elementary and high school local customs. Tomasi Kulimoetoke enrollments, which dropped by 5.8 was native to the southern district of and 5.1 percent, respectively, in 2010; Mu‘a on his father’s side and from this trend is expected to continue due the central district of Hahake on his to low birth rates and youth emigra- mother’s side. He had been appointed tion and may require education system king of ‘Uvea in 1959 with the sup- restructuring and class closures in port of Pelenato Pulufegu Fuluhea, an the future (ieom 2010, 88). Another influential personality from Mu‘a who thorny problem was the extension of was also the former lavelua (1947– Mata Utu harbor, which was delayed 1950). Lavelua Tomasi Kulimoetoke’s not only due to lack of materials but reign was mostly one of political and primarily because no local company social stability. After his death, the was able to handle the job. Finally a 202 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012)

French company was hired to under- reveals the gloomy social and eco- take the project. nomic climate prevailing in the terri- On 25 July 2008, Kapeliele tory. The decrease resulted from two Faupala, former Kalae Kivalu (prime trends—a reduction in the number minister) to Lavelua Kulimoetoke, of children born per woman and the was enthroned as king of ‘Uvea. The departure of youth abroad, mainly Royalist camp had to go through to France, for training purposes or in long and hard negotiations before search of jobs. making a choice that not everyone In the political arena, the 21 Sep- agreed with. There had been riots and tember 2008 legislative elections saw calls to depose Lavelua Kulimoetoke religious Brother Lopeleto Laufoa‘ulu after he gave refuge in 2005 to his win a second senate term over Social- grandson Tomasi Tuugahala, who had ist Vetelino Nau. Two days later, in an been sentenced to prison for invol- effort to strengthen air service passen- untary manslaughter following a car ger capacity, a second DHC Twin Otter accident (Angleviel 2006, 148). The aircraft named Manulele o Futuna Renovator (anti-royalist) side wanted (Flying Bird of Futuna) entered service every pulekolo (chief) and aliki fa‘u alongside the long-serving plane Ville (king’s minister) appointed during de Paris (City of Paris) (ieom 2009, and after that crisis to step down in 83; 2010, 80). In October, the exten- order to allow time for the two sides sion work underway at Vele airport to set up a peace process before look- on Futuna ran into problems when ing for a new king, but this was not some landowners threatened to done. Thus, from the outset, neither block access to the work site. They side unanimously accepted the new denounced the French administration’s king. On 28 July, Philippe Paolantoni proposed financial compensation as was appointed prefect of Wallis and disrespectful. Futuna, succeeding Richard Didier. After several attempts at peace, the But while former Prefect Didier gap between Royalists and Renovators seemed to have had cordial relation- widened, with each group maintaining ships with politicians and especially its own position. On 24 October, the with the Lavelua’s Royal Palace in Renovators lost one of their political Sagato Soane Place, the new superior leaders, Soane Uhila, who had been administrator did not. Tensions were a founding member of the major- palpable, and a poisonous atmosphere ity local union, Force Ouvrière, and existed between the French adminis- president of the Territorial Assembly, tration and the royal palace. 1992–1993 and 1999–2000. Dur- Also in July, the Territorial Statis- ing a visit to Wallis and Futuna in tical and Economic Studies Service November 2008, French Secretary of published the first demographic results State for Overseas Territories Yves of the 2008 population census, which Jego announced the establishment of showed a population decrease of 10 a price-monitoring committee charged percent from 2003 to 2008—down with annually determining the level from 14,944 to 13,484 inhabitants and structure of prices in Wallis and (Hadj 2009). This alarming fact Futuna and reporting to the pre- political reviews • polynesia 203 fect (ieom 2009, 1440); the setting tative of the commander of the French of a price cap on airfares between Armed Forces in the Pacific, based in Noumea and Wallis; and the creation Noumea, and the two kings of Futuna, of a locally adapted military service pursuant to talks with Secretary of (Service Militaire Adapté). In late State Jego. This accord laid the foun- 2008, two entrepreneurs were indicted dations of a future Groupements du for organized fraud and false use of service militaire adapté (gsma) center, invoices after an investigation into a to be based in Futuna Island. This tax-evasion scam. The investigation military center will provide training was conducted under the authority of to young unskilled people in various the Court of First Instance of Noumea fields such as building, agriculture, at Mata Utu and the financial supervi- security, and grounds maintenance. sion of New Caledonia. Since the signing, the kings and the Victor Brial from the Union pour chiefs of Futuna have been charged un Mouvement Populaire (ump, the with finding land on which to estab- majority party of the French President lish the gsma center. This proposal Nicolas Sarkozy), who served as dep- had been turned down several times uty of Wallis and Futuna from 2002 to by both Lavelua Tomasi Kulimoetoke 2007, was elected president of the Ter- and his successor, Lavelua Kapeliele ritorial Assembly on 4 February 2009. Faupala. On a broader scale, in Wal- He succeeded Pesamino Taputai, who lis on 27 March, New Caledonia was affiliated with the center-right President Harold Martin, Territorial party Union for French Democracy– Assembly President Brial, and Pre- Democratic Movement (udf-MoDem) fect Paolantoni held the first meeting under François Bayrou. President Brial of the committee that monitors the hosted representatives from the Euro- special agreement defining relations pean Council who were supervising between Noumea and Wallis and several projects supported under the Futuna. The talks orbited around ninth European Development Fund. Wallis and Futuna’s self-development, The European Council representa- with Caledonian support in various tives also helped local politicians in fields (education, agriculture, fish- the preparation of applications for the ing, sport, and so on). On 9 June the tenth European Development Fund. Wallis and Futuna price-monitoring The beginning of 2009 was marked committee was officially implemented by the first social conflict between (ieom 2009, 144). workers and executive staff of the As dawn arrived on 30 September, Health Agency on 23 February. The Wallis and Futuna awoke to find that workers denounced the administra- they had avoided the worst effects of tive methods of the director, who had a strong undersea earthquake that been in office since 2007, and called occurred near Sëmoa. A tsunami alert for higher wages. In response to the had been launched in the region, but workers’ demands, the director left the the alert system did not work in Wallis agency on 23 June. and Futuna or in the Fijian archi- At the end of March 2009, an pelago. accord was signed between a represen- On 2 November 2009, a new 204 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012) branch of the Agence pour le droit à Wallis Island went from bad to worse. l’initiative économique (adie), head- On 14 April, the island experienced quartered in France, officially opened a general cut-off of power and water in Mata Utu (ieom 2009, 145). This when access to the company in charge agency makes small loans available to of the territory’s power and water unemployed people through a micro- supplies, Electricité et Eau de Wal- credit system, allowing them to imple- lis et Futuna (eewf), was blocked by ment projects in various sectors such the company’s main labor union. The as trade, building, and handicrafts. company has offices in Mata Utu (in On 25 November, the employees of the central district of Hahake), as well the Health Agency began an indefinite as in the southern district of Mu‘a and strike, leading to a blockade of the in the northern district, Hihifo. The administrative center of Havelu that union objected to the dismissal of the was not cleared until 2 December. company’s executive manager and One week later, on 9 December, in questioned the recruitment of a com- the course of the new 2010 budget- mercial representative. This company ary session, Victor Brial was reelected is a subsidiary of Electricité et Eau de as head of the Territorial Assembly. Calédonie (eec), which is itself a sub- In light of the economic priority of sidiary of the world’s second-largest increasing the volume of imports to power company, gdf (Gaz de France) Wallis and Futuna, the politicians Suez. eewf replaced unelco, becom- decided to extend Leava harbor in ing the main power company on Wal- Sigave, Futuna. lis Island in 1975 and on Futuna in On 13 March 2010, Tropical 1987. The company became the water Cyclone Tomas devastated the island supplier for Wallis Island in 1986. (On of Futuna, destroying houses, schools, Futuna, which has rivers and streams, shops, and infrastructure along the water is directly routed without treat- main road as well as in several other ment from source captures to house- places. After Wallisian representatives holds.) Ownership of eewf is split led an aerial reconnaissance mission, among eec (67 percent), the Territory they declared the island a disaster of Wallis and Futuna (32 percent) and area, although fortunately no people others (1 percent). In the first half of were killed. On ‘Uvea, it was mostly the twentieth century, the reigning the plantations that suffered. On 23 kings gave lands to the French admin- March the parent-teacher association istration so it could establish its main of the Mata Utu Public High School, offices. In 1975 the administration the only high school in Wallis and gave a piece of land to eewf so the Futuna, shut down the school. The company could build offices. In 1997 parents’ representatives decried the a contract renewing and extending severely dilapidated building and the the water and power supply arrange- lack of security due in part to a dys- ment until 2022 was signed by eewf, functional electrical supply network. the Territorial Assembly, the lavelua’s The high school reopened five weeks representative, and the French admin- later, on 12 April. istration. The social and economic life on The eewf executive manager was political reviews • polynesia 205 dismissed by the general manager in company to reimburse people for these New Caledonia, Yves Morault, based losses. On 14 July, the new prefect, on numerous charges of interference Michel Jeanjean, succeeded Philippe in company operations. The dismissal Paolantoni and had to deal with the resulted in a demonstration organized thorny eewf issue. Four days later, by employees protesting Morault’s Lavelua Faupala sent a message to the decision. Morault argued that the prefecture announcing his decision strikers were stealing the company to terminate the contract with eewf and blamed the French State for its and demanding that the company passivity during this crisis, which leave Wallis. Moreover, the chieftain- progressively became an institutional ship of Wallis Island formed a new matter pitting eewf shareholders (ie, water and power company, the Société eec, the Territorial Assembly, and gdf Wallisienne de l’Eau et de l’Electricité, Suez) and the French administration with the dismissed executive manager against the lavelua and the Grande as head of the new company. It is Chefferie (the customary government), important to note that the Wallisian who have no financial stakes in the king made these decisions unilaterally, company. without consulting the Futunan chiefs. A delegation of strikers was granted On 20 July, when the newborn com- an audience with Lavelua Kapeliele pany began its operations, the whole Faupala and the Royal Council at the island experienced power and water Palace Office in Sagato Soane Place. cut-offs. Prefect Jeanjean ordered Meanwhile, negotiations continued eewf to resume providing the power between the strikers and company and water supplies. Things returned representatives who had arrived from to normal on 23 July. Five days later New Caledonia. The king ordered police reinforcements arrived from the strikers to block access to the Noumea and took possession of the company offices, arguing that the company’s offices from the strikers. land belonged to the king and that The extension work on Mata Utu he could therefore take it over at any harbor began on 25 October, super- moment. Soon, employees’ families vised by Boyer Enterprises. On 30 and relatives came over and joined November, the digital television service in the demonstration. Another issue tnt (Télévision Numérique Terrestre) arose to complicate matters: The Tu‘i was officially launched with eight new Mata Utu (the chief of Mata Utu vil- channels instead of the one channel lage) intervened on the strikers’ behalf, that was previously available. At the arguing that, since one eewf office opening of the budget session on 7 is located in Mata Utu, the company December, Socialist Siliako Lauhea had to provide the villagers with jobs, was elected president of the Territorial such as interior and exterior clean- Assembly, thanks to a new majority ing and maintenance. Also, due to looking for a political alternative to multiple power cuts, the population former President Victor Brial of the suffered losses in terms of damaged ump. household appliances. Therefore the Excitement continued to build in local Customers Association asked the Wallis and Futuna for the central event 206 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012) of 2011: the commemoration of the References fiftieth anniversary of their status as a French territory. In a broader perspec- Angleviel, Frédéric. 2006. Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2004 tive, French President Nicolas Sarkozy to 30 June 2005: Wallis and Futuna. The declared 2011 the Year of the French Contemporary Pacific 148–151. Overseas Territories. Wallis and Futuna also faces another challenge: ———. 2008. Polynesia in Review: Issues the organization of the next Pacific and Events, 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007: Wallis and Futuna. The Contemporary Minigames in 2013. Sports repre- Pacific 20:251–254. sentatives are working on planning a program and logistics. In February Hadj, Laure. 2009. Wallis et Futuna: 2011, the Internet provider Pacific Recensement de la population de 2008. Broadband resumed activity on Wallis, Institut nationale statistique et des étues économiques (insee) Première 1251 (July). being the sole Internet contract holder http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document with the Department of Posts and .asp?ref_id=ip1251 [accessed 19 September Telecommunications. In the cultural 2011] and religious arena, the Protestant Pentecostals published a Wallisian ver- ieom, Institut d’émission d’Outre-Mer. 2009. Wallis et Futuna en 2008: Rapport sion of the Bible, surpassing Catholic annuel. Paris: Editions ieom. http://www translation efforts. With regard to the .ieom.fr/IMG/pdf/ra2009_wallis.pdf peace process between Royalists and Renovators, members of the Women’s ———. 2010. Wallis et Futuna en 2009: Association of Wallis Island from both Rapport annuel. Paris: Editions ieom. http://www.ieom.fr/IMG/pdf/ra2010 sides sat down together. After peace _wallis_et_futuna.pdf talks, they met with the lavelua in order to show his majesty their deter- tf1 News. 2010. GDF-Suez s’est fait chiper mination to move toward peace. ses installations à Wallis et Futuna. http:// lci.tf1.fr/economie/entreprise/2010-08/gdf hapakuke pierre leleivai -suez-s-est-fait-chiper-ses-installations-a -wallis-et-futuna-6030947.html