Page 8 - Islands Business March 2022

Whispers Whispers

Samoan style opposition to the proposal from tourism berra for recycling in Australia. Tonga’s
Samoa’s former PM, Tuilaepa Sailele industry operators. Deputy Prime Minister said at the end of
Malielegaoi has been found guilty of February, the humanitarian emergency
contempt of court in relation to last Still on marine sanctuaries, a pro- assistance had brought over 1.5 million
year’s contentious election. But in a posed sanctuary in the Commonwealth litres of water to Tonga, some 114,600
judgement that reflects the extraordi- of the Northern Mariana Islands is being litres of it in plastic bottles.
nary way Samoans have moved on from undermined by misinformation over
the saga, no penalty has been imposed fishing rights, claim its supporters. Cannot connect, try again
on Tuilaepa or two others associated Advisors to the Western Pacific Regional All dotcom.fj domains were down
with his Human Rights Protection Party Fishery Management Council believe the for a day earlier this month, affecting
(HRPP). They were found guilty of sanctuary would stop subsistence and banking, government and other essen-
ignoring the rulings of the court over cultural fishing, and any future deep- tial services. The University of the South
the legal winner of the elections, and sea mining. More than 57% of CNMI’s Pacific runs the .fj registry, but has not
of accusing the courts of colluding territorial waters would fall under the disclosed what caused the outage. USP
with the victorious FAST party of Fiame proposed sanctuary, including the iconic called in IANA, the global coordinat-
Naomi Mata’afa. Supreme Court justices Marianas Trench. Proponents for the ing body for the Domain Name System
Robert Fisher and Raynor Asher said the sanctuary says fake information being (DNS) to help with the problem, and we
former PM’s behaviour was the “grav- circulated about its scope is having a hope, is looking at how it can build in
est possible examples of contempt of toxic effect on the debate. more redundancy to avoid such outages
court”, and “by rejecting the [ruling of happening again. Meanwhile in the Mar-
the] Judges, they invited legal anarchy. Russian oligarchs and the Pacific shall Islands, there have been intermit-
Many others accepted the invitation. It Maritime Cook Islands has confirmed a tent disruptions to internet systems this
was a troubling time for Samoa.” But Russian-owned yacht registered to Cook month due to cyber-attacks. National
they also said it was now enough that a Islands has been sanctioned by the Trea- Telecommunications Authority CEO
legal precedent had been set, and the sury of the United States. The yacht, Tommy Kijiner Jr. has told the Marshall
country had moved on. It’s hard to see which is estimated to be worth US$90 Islands Journal that while the reason for
such an outcome in some of the region’s million, belongs to Russian oligarch the attack may never be known, “The
more litigious countries. Viktor Vekselberg. A spokesman for only conclusion we arrived at is that the
Maritime Cook Islands told Cook Islands attack was probably related to the Rus-
Meanwhile, the damage suffered by News that the organisation was “work- sian invasion of Ukraine.”
Samoa’s Nafanua II patrol boat when it ing through this with Ministry of Foreign
ran aground as it transported police to Affairs and Immigration and Ministry of University woes
provide security during a HRPP rally last Transport”. Meanwhile Marshall Islands Fiji National University has defended
year, is too extensive to fix. An Austra- foreign minister, Casten Nemra, says its academics’ credentials after former
lian government statement said: “Own- the nation is considering “expelling” Vice Chancellor, Professor Nigel Healey
ership of Nafanua II is being transferred from its ship registry any Russian yachts wrote that some FNU staff had obtained
from the Government of Samoa to the or boats that have been targeted by degrees from “diploma mills” to up-
Australian Government as we look at Western-led sanctions on Russia over grade their qualifications. Current FNU
options for disposal.” its invasion of Ukraine. Nemra made Chancellor and Chair, Tessa Price said
the statement during an official visit to the cases cited in Professor Healey’s pa-
Palau’s ocean dilemma Taiwan. No timeframe or further details per for the Journal of Higher Education
Palau’s House of Delegates is again have been given. Policy and Management dated to before
looking at the possibility of opening 2020 and the staff in question had since
its marine sanctuary for fishing for Message in a bottle left the university. Price says last year
five years. The proposal being deliber- Photos of critically-needed water an audit of all staff was conducted,
ated would allow long-line and purse bottles being shipped to Tonga in the and their qualifications recorded. Over
seine fishing in what is currently a immediate response to the Hunga at the University of the South Pacific
no-take zone. It has been described as Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcanic eruption (USP), where the Fiji government’s
a response to the economic devastation and tsunamis begged the question, how ongoing refusal to release grant funding
COVID-19 has wrought on tourism-de- would all that plastic be disposed of? continues to put university finances un-
pendent Palau. The nation is set to host Now the No Pelesitiki Community Group der pressure, staff and student associa-
the ‘Our Oceans’ conference and the has taken the initiative to collect the tions say Professor Healey’s “frank and
optics of rolling back oceans protections bottles and other plastics, and will use informative piece outlines what many of
at this time will be playing on the minds compactors donated by Australia to help us have suspected, from infringements
of some, although others fear that it recycle the waste. A first collection has such as academic freedom, Government
will just be a matter of delaying the been compacted and wrapped into plas- interference and the desire to create a
inevitable. There has also been strong tic bails for loading on the HMAS Can- world class university based on the ‘Sin-

8 Islands Business, March 2022